Mose Buchele
Mose Buchele is the Austin-based broadcast reporter for KUT's NPR partnership StateImpact Texas . He has been on staff at KUT 90.5 since 2009, covering local and state issues. Mose has also worked as a blogger on politics and an education reporter at his hometown paper in Western Massachusetts. He holds masters degrees in Latin American Studies and Journalism from UT Austin.
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The blackouts that hit Texas earlier this year caused billions of dollars in debt for some utilities when natural gas prices skyrocketed. That's led to lawsuits over alleged price gouging.
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In Texas’ deregulated energy market, high prices during times of scarcity are often considered a sign that the market is working. But many utilities say the high price of natural gas during the winter storm was different. They're calling it price gouging. -
Dust blown all the way from Africa’s Saharan Desert is arriving this week in Texas, which happens every year around this time.
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In a letter to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott said he wants commissioners to encourage the construction and maintenance of coal, gas and nuclear plants. He also asked that regulators impose reliability costs on renewable power like wind and solar.
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After the winter storm crisis in February, state lawmakers passed a handful of reforms aimed at preventing another blackout. Many now say they should focus on offering direct relief to ratepayers who were left financially devastated by the storm.
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“It was a very clear, stressful circumstance that we could point to to explain why we were feeling these anxieties," the study's coauthor said. It allowed couples to stop blaming each other for everyday irritations and blame the pandemic instead.
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The Texas electric grid is facing problems during a heat wave this week, fueling frustration that lawmakers have still not helped those who suffered during a devastating blackout back in February.
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Electric vehicle ownership and charging infrastructure is expected to grow significantly before the next legislative session. The lobbying power of the industry — and the number of enthusiastic electric vehicle drivers — will likely grow as well.
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After February's deadly power outages, new legislation would mandate winterizing parts of the state's energy system. But lawmakers took a pass on major market reforms to make the grid more resilient.
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After February's deadly blackout, Texas lawmakers are taking steps to protect energy infrastructure from a cold freeze. But critics say they're not going far enough to prevent another disaster.
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Texas lawmakers are considering bills to bail out companies and institutions unable to pay back energy suppliers that provided electricity and gas at the height of the crisis. But the measures would lock utility ratepayers into slowly paying off that debt over decades — with interest.
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Provisions within Senate Bill 3 touch on everything from regulating some retail electricity plans to establishing an energy emergency alert system. But the most contentious proposals deal with which parts of the state’s power infrastructure will need to “winterize.”
