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

[LetMyPeopleVote]

This is a feeble attempt to prepare for the next winter. 700+ Texans died in the big freeze due to the power plants not being weatherized. These power suppliers made billions in the freeze.

Link to tweet

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-gas-companies-extreme-weather/285-7c73d792-72ea-4c3c-9e0e-21e28775d06a

— A year and a half after a severe winter storm nearly collapsed the state’s power grid, Texas oil and gas regulators approved new rules Tuesday that would require natural gas companies to properly prepare their equipment for extreme weather.

The rules will require oil and gas companies to be able to continue operating during a weather emergency, but they do not specify the standards the agency’s inspectors will use to measure readiness. They also require companies to submit annual reports to the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the state’s massive oil and gas sector, outlining what they have done to ensure their facilities won’t fail during weather emergencies.

If companies do not comply with the new rules, they would be subject to a minimum $5,000 fine and a maximum fine of $1 million.

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.

[TexasTowelie]

1. The odds of the Texas Railroad Commission levying a $1 million fine

are nearly zero. The TRC is in the pockets of those that they "regulate."

[elleng]

2. and had been forever, from what I recall reading.

[Skittles]

3. 1 million is chump change for those fuckers

the elec rates here went up, like, 50%

[The Unmitigated Gall]

6. "Lazy" poor people die, huge profits made off of

A failing system on the brink.

Win-win for the pukes.

[Skittles]

8. repukes, they do not care

they fucking don't give a SHIT about WE THE PEOPLE

[yankee87]

4. 1 million is chicken feed

Even if they ever get a million dollar fine, it’s still a drop in the bucket. That is probably a rounding error on their books.

[Farmer-Rick]

7. Exactly what I was thinking.

They aren't ever going to see any fine no matter how many people suffer.

[The Unmitigated Gall]

5. Shithole governor...shithole problems

I wonder where Shithole Senator will head out to this time?

But yes, a tarp should fix it.

[keithbvadu2]

11. Ted Cruz - Tough as Texas... on the road again

Ted Cruz - Tough as Texas... on the road again

[patphil]

9. Huge gas companies get $1 million dollar fines. Wow! That's like me getting a $20. parking ticket.

I think there's a couple "0"'s missing after the "1".

And what is a Railroad Commission doing regulating the energy sector of the economy? Couldn't Texas afford a dedicated Energy Commission?

[keithbvadu2]

10. "California is now unable to perform even basic functions of civilization, like having reliable elec

“California is now unable to perform even basic functions of civilization, like having reliable electricity,” Cruz wrote back then.



https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017641262
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