Yahoo: RRC commissioners assess over $2 million in penalties
Yahoo: RRC commissioners assess over $2 million in penaltiesApril 24 — The Railroad Commission of Texas assessed $2,456,002 in fines involving 711 enforcement dockets against operators and businesses at the Commissioners’ Conference on Wednesday. The Commission has primary oversight and enforcement of the state’s oil and gas industry and intrastate pipeline safety.
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Utility Dive: ERCOT launches new planning efforts as 2030 load growth projections soar 40 GW in a year
April 24 — The growth is being fueled by a range of sectors, including artificial intelligence, data centers, industrial electrification, hydrogen and electric vehicles, said ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas.
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Odessa American: PUCT adopts second rule for implementation of the Texas Energy Fund
Odessa American: PUCT adopts second rule for implementation of the Texas Energy FundApril 25 — The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) on April 25 adopted a new rule to implement the Texas Energy Fund Completion Bonus Grant Program. The program will provide grants for new dispatchable electric generation facilities or expansions of existing facilities that meet certain planning requirements after June 1, 2023, and interconnect to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid before June 1, 2029. The new rule establishes procedures for applying for a completion bonus grant, terms for annual grant payments, and performance requirements.
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Houston Chronicle: Texas Power Company Warns of Catastrophic Failure if Storage Issues Go Unresolved
Houston Chronicle: Texas Power Company Warns of Catastrophic Failure if Storage Issues Go UnresolvedApril 25: ERCOT, the power grid operator for Texas, has warned of flaws in some solar, wind and battery storage resources that could disconnect the grid if there are frequency disturbances such as lightning strikes or equipment failures.
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Forbes: FERC Pipeline Dispute Has Big Implications For The Future
Forbes: FERC Pipeline Dispute Has Big Implications For The FutureApril 25 — It isn’t often we see any company in the oil and gas business actively seeking enhanced regulatory oversight by the federal government, but it’s happening in a pipeline-related case in Louisiana and Texas.
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Forbes: Cheap Natural Gas Means Lower Electricity Prices Except In Texas
April 16 — The great irony for the energy capital of the world is that the low price of natural gas drove down electricity prices everywhere but Texas, the nation’s largest natural gas producer. Texas also has more utility scale renewable electricity generation than any other state. The low and zero fuel prices cannot overcome the flawed market design used by ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. The market design handicaps the capital investment required to produce inexpensive and reliable electricity supplies.
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Utility Dive: Equinor jumps into ERCOT market with 110 MW of merchant battery projects
April 16 — The projects come as battery storage capacity in ERCOT could grow to 17,700 MW by mid-2025 from 6,300 MW in March, according to data from the grid operator.
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Houston Landing: Houston fights $5 rate hike that would subsidize CenterPoint customers across state
April 5 — Houston City Council is poised to reject a request from CenterPoint to raise natural gas bills by $5 per month as part of a statewide consolidation that would lower rates elsewhere.
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Clean Technica: Solar Beats Coal In Fossil-Friendly Texas, Despite Fossil Friends
Clean Technica: April 6 — The renewable energy juggernaut keeps rolling on in Texas, even though public officials in the state have bent over backwards to protect fossil energy interests. In the latest twist, Texas has set itself up as potential market for new concentrating solar power technology that can pump out electricity or industrial process heat on a 24/7 basis, no matter what the sun is doing.
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Solar Power World: Monthly solar generation tops coal for first time in Texas
April 5 — For all of 2017, solar generated just 0.6% of ERCOT’s demand, or 2.26 million MWh. In March 2024 alone, solar generation reached 3.26 million MWh, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) hourly grid monitor. The increase pushed solar’s share of ERCOT generation to more than 10% for the month, also a first.
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Reuters: Eclipse overshadows Texas’ solar power strength
Reuters: Eclipse overshadows Texas’ solar power strengthApril 9 — The electric grid in Texas has gained the reputation of being held together with duct tape after blackouts in the past decade. But on Monday from around noon to 3 p.m. CDT, when the moon briefly blocks the sunlight in a solar eclipse, the Lone Star State will do just fine. That’s despite massive growth in solar power. Fast-growing access to battery technology is helping, and less-predictable natural events, like 2021, opens new tab’s cold snap, will provide a bigger test. But for now, the Lone Star State’s solar strength can overshadow the eclipse.
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CBS News: 2021 winter lawsuits can move forward, appeals court rules
CBS News: 2021 winter lawsuits can move forward, appeals court rulesApril 3 — Negligence lawsuits are moving forward against Oncor and other power companies, tied to the misery that many endured during the deep freeze of February 2021. If you were in North Texas for the winter storm blackouts in February of 2021, you remember how helpless so many felt.