Articles tagged: energy
ERCOT Is Refusing to Release Records On How it Prepared for the Winter Storm
The nonprofit corporation is asking Ken Paxton’s office for permission to ignore requests seeking information on the costliest winter storm in the state’s history.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas—the corporation at the center of the power grid failure that left millions of Texans with heat or power last month a...Read More
Loon Star: The Great Freeze
Playing the blame game.
To see more political cartoons from Ben Sargent, visit our Loon Star State section, or find Observer political reporting here. After Texas’ electrical gri...Read More
ERCOT Increased Revenue and Executive Pay In Years Before Texas Power Outages
Top ERCOT officials collected six-figure salaries while failing to prepare for extreme weather events that they were warned about.
Bill Magness sat in the Texas Senate chamber for several hours Thursday, defending himself and the Electric Reliability Corporation of Texas (ERCOT) that he run...Read More
Clogged Toilets, Snow Inside: How the Winter Storm Exacerbated Problems in Texas Lock-Ups
After the near-total collapse of the state’s electric grid, many jails and prisons lacked heat and running water.
For more than a week, 60-year-old Willis Darby was pretty sure he had COVID-19: He was congested and suffering from headaches at the Bastrop County Jail where h...Read More
“Power Companies Get Exactly What They Want”: How Texas Repeatedly Failed to Protect Its Power Grid Against Extreme Weather
Texas regulators and lawmakers knew about the grid’s vulnerabilities for years, but time and again they furthered the interests of large electricity providers.
“Power companies get exactly what they want”: How Texas repeatedly failed to protect its power grid against extreme weather” was first published by Th...Read More
Why Texas Wasn’t Prepared for Winter Storm Uri
A disaster management expert weighs in on how poor planning and communication failures deepened the crisis that left millions without power during the deep freeze.
The snow has melted and the record-breaking, freezing temperatures have warmed back up, but Texans in nearly every county will be dealing with the aftermath of ...Read More
Nine Texans On How They Survived A Frozen Week
After an unprecedented freeze swept Texas, the state’s grid approached a catastrophic blackout. Millions of Texans lost power or water—or both.
Nine Texans On How They Survived A Frozen Week After an unprecedented freeze swept Texas, the state’s grid approached a catastrophic blackout. Millions of Tex...Read More
Top Texas Lawmakers Call for Investigation and Action on State’s Energy Grid Operator
“The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has been anything but reliable over the past 48 hours,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement.
“Top Texas lawmakers call for investigation and action on state’s energy grid operator” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, non...Read More
Bridge to Nowhere
Where the Texas Gulf Coast meets Mexico, a trio of fossil fuel companies is planning an industrial complex the likes of which Texas’ Rio Grande Valley has never seen.
Where the Texas Gulf Coast meets Mexico, a trio of fossil fuel companies is planning an industrial complex the likes of which Texas’ Rio Grande Valley has nev...Read More