State regulators approve controversial Texas electricity market reform
The substantial change in the way the state’s market works will first be reviewed by the Legislature. Full Story
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![The Decker Creek Power Station, a natural gas power plant northeast of Austin on February 28, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
EPA moves away from Permian Basin air pollution crackdown
The oil industry pushed hard against the proposal to issue an ozone nonattainment designation, which would have required that companies reduce oilfield emissions. Full Story
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![A natural gas flare operates less than 200 yards away from a family home on March 14, 2022 in Midland.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
State agency that oversees Texas power grid needs more money to do its job, Sunset Commission finds
The Public Utility Commission has about 200 employees but needs more to handle shoring up the state power grid and tackling an expanded list of regulatory duties, according to the state Sunset Advisory Commission. Full Story
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![Electrical workers repair a power line in Austin on Feb. 18, 2021. Many Texas residents are still without power, and many don't have clean drinking water or working water at all.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Supreme Court will decide whether ERCOT should be immune from lawsuits sparked by deadly winter storm
Many people and insurers sued the Electric Reliability Council of Texas after the 2021 freeze. The nonprofit says it shouldn’t be liable. The state Supreme Court has a chance to weigh in. Full Story
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![The Supreme Court of Texas hears the final arguments concerning whether ERCOT has sovereign immunity, at the Supreme Court Building on the Capitol grounds in Austin on Jan. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
A Texas project hopes to turn water into fuel for cars, planes, ships and trains — using wind
New subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act are powering the race to build the country’s first large-scale producer of “green hydrogen.” Full Story
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![The Hale Wind Farm located outside of Petersburg and south of Plainview.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
Greg Abbott calls for investigation into Atmos Energy following disrupted natural gas services during freeze
Atmos, a major natural gas provider for the state, apologized for last week’s service disruption that left some Texans without heat during freezing weather. Full Story
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![The Dallas skyline is barely visible from Winfrey Point in Dallas on Dec. 22, 2022. Temperatures dropped from 45 degrees at 9 a.m. to 25 degrees shortly before noon.]()
Credit: Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
After underestimating power demand, Texas electric grid operator gets federal permission to exceed air quality limits
The U.S. Department of Energy granted permission for power plants to release more pollution than is normally allowed — if grid conditions worsen. Full Story
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![Details of electrical transformers at the Austin Energy/Sand Hill Energy Center
in Del Valle on March 24, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas power grid holds amid record winter demand, but test isn’t over
At least one person died in the freezing weather. High demand for electricity is forecast to continue into Saturday. Full Story
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![A woman and a man wait for the bus in Dallas on Dec. 22, 2022.]()
Credit: Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Texas shelters prepare for twin emergencies: arctic cold and an increase in migrants
Cities and nonprofits are using a variety of strategies to keep unhoused people warm. But some organizations warn they’re already at capacity as El Paso sends migrants across the state. Full Story
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![The Dallas skyline during the wintery weather on Feb. 3, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texans should prepare for “life-threatening” wind chills, but officials remain confident in power grid
Gov. Greg Abbott and other leaders say Texans should protect their homes and vehicles as large portions of the state will experience dangerously cold temperatures. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference regarding Texas’ emergency response to an unprecedented winter storm gripping Texas on Feb. 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: Our latest newsroom hires
Emily Foxhall, Laura Garcia, Michele Gonzalez, Julia Guilbeau and Stephen Simpson are the latest additions to the Tribune’s news and events teams. Full Story
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![The exterior of the Texas Tribune office in downtown Austin on Nov. 5, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Federal report identifies cause of 2019 Port Neches chemical plant explosion
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board found that TPC Group LLC failed to identify problem areas where dangerous chemicals might cause explosions and didn’t implement a safety recommendation that could have prevented the blast. Full Story
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![A process tower flies through air after exploding at the TPC Group Petrochemical Plant in Port Neches. An earlier massive explosion sparked a blaze at the plant on Nov. 27, 2019.]()
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Texas power grid expected to withstand extreme cold this week
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas expects sufficient electricity generation as much of the state will plunge into frigid temperatures. Full Story
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![A power substation in Northwest Austin during a winter storm on Feb. 3, 2022.]()
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To ease looming West Texas water shortage, oil companies have begun recycling fracking wastewater
Oil and gas companies are increasingly reusing “produced water” as West Texas aquifers are being depleted and the practice of injecting wastewater into disposal wells triggers more earthquakes. Full Story
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![Fracking's water demand requires the construction of ponds like these, which store millions of gallons of fresh water. Aug. 21, 2013.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
GOP lawmakers accuse investment firms of breaking a law that prohibits divesting from oil and gas
At a senate committee hearing in Marshall, Texas Republican lawmakers accused investment firms of pulling back on fossil fuels, running afoul of a 2021 law that prohibits the state from contracting with or investing in companies that “boycott” oil, natural gas and coal companies. Full Story
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![Pumpjacks at sunrise in the Permian Basin in West Texas.]()
Credit: Jerod Foster for The Texas Tribune -
In defamation lawsuit against Beto O’Rourke, lawyers debate whether Kelcy Warren is a public figure
Warren, a Dallas pipeline tycoon, sued O’Rourke in February over accusations he made on the campaign trail that Warren effectively bribed Gov. Greg Abbott with a $1 million campaign contribution following the 2021 power grid collapse. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers ask state agency to delay power market redesign until after 2023 legislative session
In a Monday committee hearing, lawmakers questioned whether a Public Utility Commission proposal to redesign Texas’ electricity market would lead to the building of more natural-gas-fired power plants. Regulators say it would. Full Story
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![From left: Peter Lake, chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas and Brad Jones, interim president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), speak at a press conference about the grid on May 17, 2022.]()
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Texas grid still vulnerable to extreme winter weather, ERCOT estimate shows
Changes to Texas’ power grid have improved ERCOT’s ability to keep power flowing during major winter storms, but in an extreme scenario, the grid could still face rolling blackouts, a seasonal assessment shows. Full Story
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![Electrical workers repair a power line in Austin on Feb. 18, 2021. Many Texas residents are still without power, and many don't have clean drinking water or working water at all.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Biden administration quietly approves huge Texas oil export project
The Sea Port Oil Terminal would be 30 miles off the Texas coast and is one of four proposed offshore terminals designed to dramatically expand the U.S. oil export capacity. Full Story
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![A crude tanker docks at the Flint Hills Resources onshore export terminal in Corpus Christi.]()
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Texas energy officials’ proposal to overhaul the power grid is drawing skepticism
In the wake of the deadly 2021 winter storm, the Texas Legislature ordered an overhaul of the state’s power market to prevent future widespread blackouts. But some senators aren’t fans of the main option on the table. Full Story
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![Reliability Coordinators monitored the state power grid during a tour of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) command center in Taylor in 2012.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Julia Robinson
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