On the heels of our latest statewide freeze, and leading up to the anniversary of Winter Storm Uri — one of our state’s most catastrophic weather events — we want to highlight how the Railroad Commission, our state oil and gas agency, has a crucial role in securing our electric grid. In part one, we will discuss the Railroad Commission (RRC)’s authority over natural gas production and past history with extreme weather oversight. In part two, we will discuss the RRC now and what they have done in the three years since Uri.

Part I: How did we get here?

Each winter in Texas, we brace ourselves, wondering and worrying how our power will hold if the temperature dips, and if we can adequately prepare. This energy anxiety is a result of a long history of overlapping political and regulatory forces, leading us to where we are now. While some agencies, like ERCOT and PUCT have recieved deserved attention for their role in grid oversight, the Railroad Commission of Texas, our state oil and gas agency, continues to avoid the public's scrutiny.

The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) is responsible for the rules and policies that oversee natural gas production and its transportation from the ground to power generation facilities - known as the natural gas supply chain. In Texas in 2021, roughly 48% of the electricity on our grid was generated from natural gas-powered turbines. 

 

RRC Ignored Extreme Weather Warnings

In 2011, when Texas experienced widespread power outages affecting 4 million power customers, federal officials recommended that the Railroad Commission consider establishing rules to weatherize the natural gas supply chain.

 

After the commission declined to pass such standards, Texas experienced widespread power outages again in 2021 during Winter Storm Uri. The second largest cause of electric power plant outages was natural gas fuel shortages. Many of these fuel shortages were caused by water freezing in natural gas wellheads and pipeline components. The 2021 storm affected 4.5 million power customers in Texas, leading to hundreds of deaths, the largest carbon monoxide poisoning event in state history, and hundreds of billions of dollars in damages.

Stay tuned for part two!

On December 28, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded primary permitting authority (“primacy”) to the state of Louisiana for Class VI carbon dioxide storage wells. This is a disappointing blow to the environmental justice communities along the Gulf Coast who have been organizing against this decision for the last few years.

 

Louisiana, much like Texas, has hundreds of thousands of unplugged oil and gas wells venting toxic gasses into the atmosphere and leaking radioactive material into nearby land and water. The states have similarities in their reluctant regulatory agencies, too: the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR) and the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC), the state’s oil and gas agency, have long histories of putting industry profits over the interests of the people.

Jan 30: RRC Open Meeting (Austin, virtual)

Jan 30: Presentation: CCS is Not Enough / Carbon Fee & Dividend (virtual)

Feb 2: Last Day to Register to Vote in Mar. 6th Major Party Primary Elections

Feb 6: Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District reconvened prehearing conference at the RRC

Feb 14: Railroad Commission Open Meeting (Austin, virtual)

Feb 20: First Day of Early Voting in Major Party Primaries

Feb 22: Texas Climate Jobs Hydrogen Summit (Houston, TX)

Mar 6: Primary Election Day

Tell the EPA: Deny Texas CCS Primacy! 
 

As the Railroad Commission seeks EPA approval to oversee carbon dioxide injection wells in Texas, now is the time to urge the EPA to protect our groundwater and deny the RRC’s application to oversee these dangerous projects.

Join our P-13 Working Group

 

On February 6th, the Railroad Commission (RRC) will hear from Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District (MPGCD) on their formal complaint about the RRC’s jurisdiction to plug problem wells that were originally drilled as oil and gas wells, but were conveyed to landowners as “water wells” ( Docket No. OG-23-00013093). Some of these wells are referred to as “P-13 wells.” This complaint, and how the commission decides to handle it, is relevant to our groundwater quality and landowners all over Texas who have agreed to take responsibility for such wells. Commission Shift is organizing a working group of interested stakeholders to discuss potential policy solutions to address problems that arise from these “P-13 wells.” Join the working group.

Announcing our 2024 Poster Contest!

 

Commission Shift's annual poster contest is now accepting submissions!

 

Designs can come from anyone based in Texas. This year’s theme is The People of Texas. Messages and images can include the call that the people of Texas deserve stability, safety, clean air, and clean water. We can't wait to see your submissions!

RRC Open Meeting - Austin, virtual

Tuesday, Jan. 30

9:30-10:30 AM CST.

Presentation: Carbon Capture Storage is Not Enough / Carbon Fee & Dividend (virtual)
Tuesday, Jan 30 RSVP

6:30 - 8:30 PM

Commission Shift Policy Manager Paige Powell will explain what promoters of carbon capture storage fail to mention, such as earthquakes, sinkholes, and public costs. Germán Ibañez of The Houston Climate Movement will discuss legislation to speed up the energy transition in Houston. 

CCUS Deep Dive

Wednesday, Feb 21, 2024 
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM CST.

With Becky Smith, Texas Director of Clean Water Action

 

While underground storage of carbon sounds promising as a climate pollution reduction strategy, it carries inherent risks. We at Clean Water Action know climate change to be inextricably linked to water resources, quantity, quality, and availability for humans and natural systems. Please join Clean Water Action’s Texas Director, Becky Smith, for a webinar to learn about threats to water from ongoing and proposed carbon storage methods underground in Texas. Becky will be joined by Lynn Thorp, National Campaigns Director for Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund.

We're Hiring!

 

Commission Shift is hiring for a position to expand our organization’s capacity and reach! Are you or someone you know a good fit? Take a look at our listing for an Executive Assistant.

• The Houston Chronicle covered the failure of the Railroad Commission’s well plugging program to keep up with the backlog of orphaned wells- “They could have put way more money into plugging, and they chose to decrease funding,” said Virginia Palacios, executive director of Commission Shift.”
• An unidentified, leaky well in Crane County continues to spill carcinogenic brine water. An op-ed explains the uncontained well and the Railroad Commission’s lack of transparency. Now the landowner is speaking out about his “struggl[e] to get answers from the Railroad Commission.”
• Dr. Maria Reyes, Commission Shift Deputy Director, discusses orphaned wells in El Manana, “Cuando los operadores ya no existen, la responsabilidad de estos pozos para ser tapados pasa al estado. Hay como 8 mil sin operador, pero también hay 115 mil y se calcula que tomaría más de 20 años para tapar todos estos pozos.”
• Texas Tribune reports that in a last resort decision, doubting the permitting process with the Railroad Commission of Texas, Midland city leaders settled with a company they'd fought to keep from drilling wastewater disposal wells too close to their drinking water. "Virginia Palacios, executive director of Commission Shift, said that regardless of the concessions reached through the settlement agreement, the saltwater disposal wells could continue to pose a risk for Midland."
• “The Texas Permian Basin is being called the biggest greenhouse gas pollution generator on earth. State regulators at the Texas Railroad Commission and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality are being called the most ineffective regulators in the state. Together, critics say they form the most calamitous environmental failure on the planet… the unchecked release of natural gas or methane into the atmosphere.” Watch the full report.
• Approaching the anniversary of Winter Storm Uri, an investigative piece from Bloomberg explores how pipeline giant, Energy Transfer, profited from Texas consumers during the storm in a way described as “authorized monopoly abuse” – and how Railroad Commission officials protected the company.

Relevant news stories on all areas of our work and Railroad Commission activity can be found on our website.
 

P.S. Be sure to follow Commission Shift on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

 

Commission Shift
212 Flores Avenue
Laredo, TX 78040
United States

 

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