SAN ANTONIO — State lawmakers Tuesday slammed the Texas Railroad Commission for proposing a power grid weatherization plan with a loophole that might lead to outages during a severe winter storm.
The rule would allow natural gas companies to leave equipment vulnerable to cold weather. Other energy suppliers, however, must upgrade their technology.
Natural gas companies could, in theory, classify certain equipment as 'non-essential' to electricity production. They'd pay $150 to exempt those tools from weatherization requirements.
It's not yet clear who would ensure companies do not abuse the clause to save money.
"Your rule-making proposal sucks," Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, told commission director Wei Wang. "Your job ought to be at stake on whether you can undo a provision that lets (suppliers) pay a little penalty and then (Texans) freeze their ass off next winter."
Wang accurately told lawmakers the commission's rule proposal mirrors language the legislature unanimously approved during the regular session this summer.
In other words, the loophole is codified in state law. Gov. Greg Abbott said "everything that needed to be done was done to fix the power grid in Texas" when he gave the measure final approval.
"If there's a way to get around being weatherized or winterized and it's in the legislative language, that's on the legislature," University of Texas energy researcher Dr. Joshua Rhodes said.
Rhodes explained that the provision may be well-intentioned, since there are components of the natural gas system that have nothing to do with electrical-production. There is no reason to weatherize orphaned wellheads, for example.
"There could be better messaging from the railroad commission that winterization is coming," Rhodes said. "There's unclarity around natural gas infrastructure: 'Should you be winterized and to what extent?'"
Lawmakers also slammed the commission for the timeline spelled out in the proposal, which also mirrors their own law. Companies are to submit plans for weatherization by the end of 2022, subject to million-dollar fines if the plans are not complete on time.
The Texas Railroad Commission will have to map out the existing natural gas infrastructure by midyear next year before companies know exactly what needs weatherization.
"Don't you think that's a little late, since we sure don't have 7 months before our next winter starts?" Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, said.
There is no deadline in the law for weatherization projects' completion.
"This winter, not as much is going to be weatherized as we'd like to be," Rhodes said. "If we had a storm of the same magnitude, we would probably lose a lot of our natural gas infrastructure again."
Senate lawmakers suggested they'll ask Abbott to allow them to close the loophole during the current special legislative session.