Houston Chronicle: West Texas rancher pours $2 million into Sarah Stogner’s underdog campaign for statewide oil and gas board seat

May 17 — Ashley Watt, who owns a 75,000-acre ranch in the Permian Basin, is helping bankroll a substantial TV ad buy in the final two weeks before Stogner faces the Railroad Commission’s chair, Wayne Christian, in the runoff.

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KTRK-TV: ERCOT to explain later this week how 6 facilities went offline, prompting conservation notice

May 17 — Texas’ power grid operator reassured the conservation notice it gave to millions of customers heading into the weekend did not signify emergency conditions despite six generation facilities tripping offline.

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Reuters: Texas power use hits monthly record again during heatwave

May 20 — Power demand in Texas hit a monthly record on Thursday and will likely break that high on Friday as consumers keep air conditioners cranked up to escape a lingering spring heatwave.

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Austin American-Statesman (Commentary): Abbott and ERCOT should face facts: The grid isn’t fixed

May 22 — It’s been almost a year since Gov. Greg Abbott proclaimed that he and state lawmakers did “everything that needed to be done” to prevent electricity blackouts like the one that left hundreds of Texans dead and millions more shivering in the dark for days during a brutal freeze in 2021.

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Power Engineering: A look at Texas’ rule change for scheduling plant maintenance

May 20 — The Public Utility Commission of Texas approved ERCOT’s Nodal Protocol Revision Request 1108 (NPRR1108) on May 12. ERCOT proposed NPRR1108 in order to implement sweeping grid reforms passed by Texas legislators following the February 2021 winter storm that killed more than 100 people and left millions without power for days.

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Houston Business Journal: Can ERCOT meet record demand for power in Texas this summer? Industry experts weigh in

May 21 — Demand for power in the ERCOT region has never been higher, the state’s electric grid manager said in a recent report. Power industry experts explain what that could mean for Texas this summer.

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NPR: Much of the U.S. could see power blackouts this summer, a grid assessment reveals

May 20 — grid reliability report says power outages are likely in parts of the Midwest, California and Texas. The Western drought and a mismatch between supply and peak summer demand are some reasons why.

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KVUE: Texas crypto miners prepare for summer power grid conditions as ERCOT expects record demand

May 20 — Cryptocurrency mining facilities use massive amounts of energy to operate but are also able to shut down if grid conditions tighten.

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Reform Austin — Why Is Texas Recruiting Crypto Farms When The Electric Grid Is Under Stress?

May 20 — It’s worth remembering that ERCOT has little actual power to punish miners if they fail to adhere to their pledges, just like they cannot actually make people turn down their air conditioners. Should the crypto mining operations begin to drain the power so much that it causes damage to the grid, ERCOT will likely only be able to recommend that the legislature pass a law regulating the industry and funding enforcement. Thus far, both ERCOT and the legislature have been slow to punish power providers who failed to provide electricity during emergencies, and it is unclear why they would be more aggressive with another profitable enterprise.

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Bloomberg: ‘Hell No’: Finance Firms Tell Texas They Don’t Boycott Energy

May 19 — The responses offer a window into how Wall Street is navigating the political landscape that Texas has thrust on the financial services industry. The headache for banks and asset managers may not stop in the Lone Star State. Republican lawmakers around the country have taken up bills that are similar to what Texas passed.

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San Antonio Express-News: Texas’ grid operator told power plant to delay repairs ahead of May heat wave. Then it crashed.

May 20 — On May 12, Texas’ power grid operator told at least one power plant to delay its scheduled repairs and keep operating to help meet demand during hotter-than-expected May weather.

 

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