March 18, 2021 — Had they been winterized, wind and solar would have been of significant help in providing electricity during the February power crisis, a Stanford University professor of civil and environmental …
March 18, 2021 — Plano-based Denbury Inc. says retired BP America manager and technical expert Cindy A. Yeilding has been appointed to Denbury’s board of directors effective immediately, bringing the board number to …
March 18, 2021 — Rep. Kyle Biedermann‘s Texas House bill 4341 would transfer Aggregate Production Operations oversight from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) after what …
March 18, 2021 — Following the February power crisis, a large number of bills were filed to address related problems and one of those issue was the perception that renewable energy was a …
March 17, 2021 — Former Select Energy CEO Holli C. Ladhani has been elected to Marathon Oil‘s board of directors, effective at the end of this month. She’ll serve on the Corporation’s committees for …
March 17, 2021 — An updated application for Critical Load Serving Electric Generation and Cogeneration has been posted on the ERCOT website. There is an April 1 deadline for the summer peak, and an October …
March 17, 2021 — District 5 state Senator Charles Schwertner’s wide-ranging plan under his SB 3 establishes an “energy emergency alert” system, a “blackout alert” as it may be called, sets up the …
March 17, 2021 — District 49 state Rep. Gina Hinajosa‘s HB 3912 lays out conditions for preparedness ahead of weather emergencies. The bill charges the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Railroad Commission …
March 17, 2021 — Kinder Morgan has a new group in development to pursue energy transition opportunities. The Houston firm has formed Energy Transition Ventures within the company “to identify, analyze and pursue …
March 16, 2021 — Following the publication of a Tuesday Texas Monthly story indicating a cozy relationship between the PUC and Wall Street investors, Governor Greg Abbott received the resignation of Public Utility Commission of Texas Chairman Arthur D’Andrea.
Mr. D’Andrea was the last of the three PUC commissioners left standing after the resignations of Chair DeAnn Walker early in the month then the resignation last week of commissioner Shelly Botkin.
Gov. Abbott said he’ll name a replacement within “the coming days.”
An Abbott spokesman said there will be an announcement “soon” about the entire PUC.
It was only last Thursday that the PUC announced the placement of Adrianne Brandt and Brad Jones as the heads of ERCOT accountability at the commission.
In a statement released Tuesday night, Gov. Abbott said, “Tonight, I asked for and accepted the resignation of PUC Commissioner Arthur D’Andrea.
“I will be naming a replacement in the coming days who will have the responsibility of charting a new and fresh course for the agency.
“Texans deserve to have trust and confidence in the Public Utility Commission, and this action is one of many steps that will be taken to achieve that goal.”
Loren Steffy wrote in his Texas Monthly story that a 48-minute recording of a phone call between Chair D’Andrea and Bank of America Securities (which is among conversations already noted during the past two weeks in The Texas Energy Report) and investors reveals D’Andrea “promising to put ‘the weight of the commission’ behind efforts to keep billions of dollars from being returned to utilities that were forced—thanks to decisions by the PUC—to buy power at sky-high prices, even after the worst of the blackout had passed.”
Mr. D’Andrea has consistently sided against repricing the ERCOT-mandated overcharges that arose during the February power crisis despite being at odds with Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Gov. Abbott and many members of the state legislature.
March 16, 2021 — A bill closely defining energy storage services has been introduced in the Texas Legislature by District 9 state Sen. Kelly Hancock. His SB 415 would define energy storage devices …
March 10, 2021 — Two bills have been filed in the Texas Legislature by Rep. Erin Zwiener that she says will address the challenges of climate change. HB 1820 is aimed at strengthening …
Update 7:00 pm: House Speaker Phelan released a statement saying in part, “Speaker Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have had no conversation about SB 2142…Under House rules, Speaker Phelan will refer all …
March 15, 2021 — District 60 state Rep. Dr. Glenn Rogers‘ bill for preparedness for weather emergencies after the February power crisis centers on natural gas facilities and electric generation facilities. HB 3386 …
March 15, 2021 — Houston-area District 13 Rep. Ben Leman has filed a bill allowing the State of Texas to confiscate materials at abandoned wells and have them auctioned publicly or sold privately …
March 15, 2021 — A CenterPoint subsidiary says it’s closed on a registered public offering totaling $400 million in mortgage bonds and $700 million in higher-interest mortgage bonds. CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric LLC …
March 15, 2021 — Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick mobilized the Texas Senate on Monday, ramming through a bill from state Senator Bryan Hughes intended to force the PUC to “reverse” charges made by …
March 14, 2021 — District 9 state Sen. Kelly Hancock has a bill before the Texas Legislature aimed at cost recovery from the ERCOT interconnection system. Companion bill HB 4502 in the House …
March 14, 2021 — A bill before the Texas Legislature calls on the state’s investment funds stop doing business with companies that “boycott” the O&G industries. SB 13 proposed by District 22 state …
March 12, 2021 — Lt. Governor Dan Patrick last week called for a reduction by the Public Utility Commission of Texas of more than $3 billion in overcharges during the power crisis last …