Texas gas companies face fines up to $1 million for failing to prepare for extreme weather

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Texas regulators approved new rules requiring natural gas companies to properly prepare equipment for extreme weather or face fines of up to $1 million. | via TexasTribune

Black tarps covering the tanks at a Midland oil and gas well owned by Ovintivare, shown Dec. 8, are part of the company’s weatherization efforts.

Critics are skeptical about whether the Railroad Commission can prevent another catastrophe like the one that struck Texas in February 2021, when extended freezing temperatures shut down natural gas facilities and power plants, which rely on each other to keep electricity flowing. The resulting blackouts left millions of Texans without power for days, and hundreds of people died in the winter storm.

Jim Wright, one of the three Railroad Commission board members, addressed those concerns during Tuesday’s meeting to adopt the new rules. He said “repeat and deliberate attempts to avoid compliance will not be taken lightly by the Commission and it will result in a referral to the attorney general.” While the Railroad Commission took more than a year to implement weatherization standards, the Texas Public Utility Commission, which oversees the state’s power grid operator — the Electric Reliability Council of Texas —implemented rules last fall requiring power plants to fix “acute” issues exposed by the February 2021 disaster.

 

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CrismonUTCOP TexasTribune Pocket change!

TexasTribune A whole $1M. How are they gonna come up with that kinda money? Cool, then what?

TexasTribune Caprice they'll certainly pass on to their customers, no doubt.

TexasTribune Just in time before the election. How convenient! 🙄 $1 million is pocket change for those guys.

DonnaHowardTX TexasTribune nice

TexasTribune That’s chump change for oil & gas cos.

wendy_mcroberts TexasTribune “repeat and deliberate attempts to avoid compliance will not be taken lightly by the Commission and it will result in a referral to the attorney general.” HAHAHAHA That guy is a dirtbag. He’d never do a damn thing.

DonnaHowardTX TexasTribune It’s about time!

TexasTribune Bout damn time & should only be the start

DonnaHowardTX TexasTribune That's like a $1 fine for me! What a fucking joke Texas under GregAbbott_TX has become!

TexasTribune What’s the effective date of the rules?

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Texas gas companies face fines up to $1 million for failing to prepare for extreme weatherCritics are skeptical about whether the new rules by the Railroad Commission will prevent another catastrophe like the power grid disaster in February 2021. Yeah, I'm skeptical. Seeing as how this is an election year repubs are faking like they're on top of things but it's all a smokescreen and we should not fall for it.
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