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.

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.

For one North Texas family, the February winter storm came after a year of pandemic-related struggles and launched them into months of new challenges.

The storm’s effects are still lingering for many in the state. That's especially true for low-income Texans.

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.

Experts praised some reforms as significant but say concessions to Texas’ powerful oil and gas industry still leaves the grid vulnerable.

Using a method known as "excess fatalities," BuzzFeed's data analysis found that the number of people who died in Texas during and after the winter storm was at least three times higher than during ordinary circumstances.

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.

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.”

Time is running out on a slate of other bills lawmakers are considering that stem from February's deadly winter storm.

Inadequate gas supply was a major reason for the crisis, but you wouldn’t know it by listening to many state lawmakers debating bills to address it. As the session winds down, it's unclear if they will ensure gas infrastructure is weatherized to withstand the next big freeze.

The federal agency has more than $161 million in aid for Texans who need help covering storm-related expenses.