Reuters: Texas rail commissioner advocates tax credits for natural gas industry
Aug. 5 — Texas Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright said in an op-ed the natural gas industry should get tax credits similar to renewable energy, to protect state infrastructure from extreme weather events such as the February winter storm and reduce gas flaring.
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Forbes (Commentary): Fixing The Texas Power Grid Requires New Oversight — Don’t Hold Your Breath
Aug. 5 — This week, the PUC and the state’s grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, are talking about ways to tweak the emergency pricing formula. But neither the PUC nor state lawmakers have paid serious consideration to how to better manage the overall system.
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KPRC: Can solar energy be affordable and reliable?
Aug. 4 — In the United States, solar energy consumption increased nearly six-fold between 2012 and 2018. The availability has also made it more affordable for many people who are looking for other energy options.
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Utility Dive: The US power sector is halfway to net zero emissions, but it gets harder now, analysts say
Aug. 4 — Renewables led the power sector’s recent energy transition, but breakthroughs are needed to decarbonize the transportation, building and industrial sectors.
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Texas Tribune: Energy industry showers Gov. Greg Abbott, other Texas politicians with campaign cash after they passed power grid bills
Aug. 4. — For some energy experts, the increase in donations for the officials at the close of the session looks like a reward for not passing more stringent regulations and raises questions about whether lawmakers let the oil, gas and the broader energy industry off easy for its massive failures.
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S&P Global: Texas regulators mull scarcity pricing, outage planning, generation performance
July 29 — To address issues arising from the deadly mid-February winter storm which left about 4 million Texas electricity customers without service, some for days, Texas regulators on July 29 discussed potential changes to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ scarcity pricing and outage scheduling rules.