News Round-Up: November 2023

My High Plains: Railroad Commission of Texas assesses $1.06 million in fines

Nov 15 — The Railroad Commission of Texas reports that it has assessed $1,063,647 in fines involving 342 enforcement dockets against operators and businesses at the Commissioners’ Conference this week. According to RRC Commissioners, “Eighteen dockets involved $217,172 in penalties after operators failed to appear at Commission enforcement proceedings.”

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Texas Standard: Plans for a southeast Texas liquified natural gas terminal have been put on hold

Nov. 16 — A liquified natural gas export terminal in Texas has been halted, at least temporarily.  The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals this week ruled that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality didn’t apply consistent emissions standards when approving Sempra Energy’s Port Arthur LNG project. However, in a statement on Wednesday, Sempra said construction is continuing on the project under existing permits and it remains committed to working with the TCEQ.  

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KUT: Texas has approved new science textbooks, but advocates say they fall short on climate change

Nov. 20 — Wayne Christian, the head of the Texas Railroad Commission — which regulates the industry — had urged the state board to choose books that were supportive of fossil fuels. Christian said he was happy with what the board ended up approving. “The Texas State Board of Education did the right thing by rejecting radical environmentalist propaganda on ‘net zero’ and ensuring our students learn the benefits of fossil fuels,” he said in a statement.

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Bloomberg: Earthquake That Hit Texas Oil Country Was State’s Second-Biggest

Nov. 8 — The earthquake that rattled West Texas oil country in the early morning hours on Wednesday was the state’s second-biggest ever, coming almost a year after a record temblor rocked parts of the Permian Basin.

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Utility Dive: Texas voters approve $10B energy fund, with most going to build gas-fired power plants

Nov. 8 — The fund will be administered by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, with $7.2 billion allocated for new construction or upgrades of dispatchable power generation.

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Houston Public Media: Proposition 7 would provide billions in incentives for new power plants in Texas

Nov. 6 — Supporters say the creation of the energy fund will bolster the Texas grid. Opponents say it’s an unnecessary giveaway to power companies and the gas industry.

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The Hill:Texas voters to decide whether to put billions toward gas power plants

Nov. 5 — This Election Day, Texas voters will decide whether or not to open up billions of dollars to support natural gas power plants. Proponents of the measure tout it as a way to improve the state’s electric grid — which infamously failed in a massive winter storm in February 2021, leading to the deaths of 246 people, or more than 750 according to one investigation.

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News4SA: ERCOT’s precautionary measures for reliable power: Expect more emergency alerts

Nov. 5 — ERCOT is taking steps to prevent a repeat of the devastating winter storm that hit Texas two years ago.

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Texas Tribune: Texas power grid operator approved for a 40% budget increase

Nov. 3 — The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said it needs more money to comply with new regulations, hire more employees and fight legal challenges. It said the budget increase will cost power customers less than 20 cents per month.

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Platts: Texas grid’s chances of energy emergency higher in January, according to ERCOT

Nov. 1— ERCOT’s Monthly Outlook for Resource Adequacy for January shows that for the hour ending at 8 am in January, the grid would have a 20.6% chance of entering an energy emergency alert and 16.8% chance of ordering rotating outages if a winter storm similar to December 2022 occurred in January.

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