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The energy crisis in Texas last February is still a vivid memory for Texans, and despite confidence by Gov. Greg Abbott that the electric grid will not fail this winter, concern has centered on the fact that some natural gas companies would have been able to opt out of winterization requirements through a simple form and a fee of $150.
In response, the Texas Railroad Commission moved to institute a rule that will prevent natural gas infrastructure businesses from opting out, according to the Houston Chronicle. The Railroad Commission regulates the gas and oil industry in Texas.
According to the Chronicle report, public interest groups, energy experts and lawmakers were concerned about what would result in a weak link in the power grid. Those who do want to opt out must now “provide objective evidence demonstrating a reasonable basis and justification to support an application for an exception.”
Abbott recently told Texas residents in a televised interview that he guaranteed the lights would stay on this winter and that the electric grid would be good to go in the event of a major storm.
“Everything that needed to be done was done to fix the power grid in Texas,” Abbott said in a report by Houston Chronicle.
Last February a winter storm left millions of Texans without power after the electric grid failed. Some of the blame has fallen on the natural gas industry by critics. The gas industry has said that the power generators failed first and then created a wave of outages across the grid.
Railroad Commission Chairman Wayne Christian defended the natural gas industry’s involvement in the industry in response to accusations that they should bear a large amount of guilt.
“While no form of energy performed perfectly during (the crisis), the insistence that natural gas producers are the primary culprit of the February blackouts is pure hyperbole,” Christian said.
According to KUT.org, Christian also stated “the winter storm has been used as a weapon by media and the far left to attack fossil fuels.”