So this would be obviously part of
where the natural gas is coming in.
Yeah, correct at the height of last
February's winter storm, the city of Denton's
Power plant was running at full capacity,
burning natural gas to make electricity.
Then officials claim the plants natural gas
supplier cut them off without explanation.
When I was informed by by my folks,
my jaw dropped.
Plant manager Antonio Puente.
When we talked to him in April 2021,
the next thing that happened.
That we didn't anticipate was that many
components of this facility began to freeze.
That right there.
Those are the radiators.
Yes, correct.
But what happened at Dentons Powerplant
is really an issue for all Texans.
It's one of 13 black start power plants.
That means if the states power grid
fails is it almost did last winter?
Black start plants will be critical
to jumpstarting the grid and making
sure millions get their power back on.
How do we ensure security of a fuel source?
A few weeks ago we talked to Puente
again and he still doesn't know
why his power plant lost its gas
supply until we have some alternate
fuel source or some other mechanism
to keep our plant operational,
it will be in the back of my mind.
Can it happen again?
Not knowing what the root cause
was a year ago we reached out to
the plants natural gas supplier
Enterprise Products of Houston.
The company did not respond at that time.
But now, a company spokesman disputes point,
a story.
He says the gas supplier never
cut off the plants natural gas.
He says the enterprise pipeline
maintains sufficient pressure to
supply Denton throughout the event.
In such a, he said, she said scenario.
It's difficult if not impossible,
to know what really happened
between Denton and Enterprise.
You see,
no regulator is in charge of getting answers.
I move,
we approve the examiners recommendations.
What about the Texas Railroad Commission?
Don't they regulate oil and gas in Texas?
They do.
But Commissioners say this type of
situation does not require oversight.
That's because it's a private contractual
matter between a business and its customers,
who officials say should be
planning ahead for disasters.
Thank you,
chairman.
Here's how Commissioner Jim Wright described
it at a November Commission meeting.
Let
me give you an example.
Chick-fil-A is not required
to be open on Sunday.
That is a business decision made
by the owner. If you want to eat
a Chick-fil-A sandwich on Sunday,
you're going to need to buy it in advance.
The same is true for natural gas.
Others disagree and save power plants
can't necessarily protect themselves
solely by private contract. The difference
is as much as I like a Chick-fil-A sandwich.
I would not put it in the category
of providing essential services
for Health and Human needs as
the natural gas industry does.
Former power grid independent monitor
Beth Garza says in many cases,
power plants can't choose
who supplies their gas.
Denton is among them.
They're beholden to a monopoly provider.
Of an essential service to pretend
that there's a contractual relationship
where both parties are on even footing.
In that situation, it's a fallacy.
Nearly half of the state's power
plants run on natural gas, and all
of those power plants are overseen
by what's called a market monitor.
We have to find out a way to make sure
that that natural gas will be provided and
will be provided at a reasonable cost.
Brad Jones, the interim CEO of the Electric
Reliability Council of Texas or ERKUT,
which manages the electricity grid,
wants to create a similar independent market
monitor over natural gas suppliers to power
plants. I see them like the cop on the beat.
If you have the cop on the beat,
everyone feels more secure and comfortable
that that their rights will be protected.
A recent dispute between one of the largest
electricity providers in the US and one
of the largest gas pipeline companies.
The case study records show Dallas
based pipeline company Energy Transfer
threatened to cut off gas to five of
Luminant Energy's natural gas fired
power plants and a fee dispute only
after Luminant filed a complaint with
the Texas Railroad Commission did energy
transfer pull back on its threat,
saying it will continue to provide
daily sales service as usual.
It takes something like an
independent market monitor to be
able to look at this information
without having a stake in the
issue and make a decision.
Who was in the right and
who was in the wrong?
Oil and gas industry officials
argue that they are different than
electrical providers and don't
need similar government oversight
in hauling gas.
We are very highly regulated for
safety and environmental reasons,
but not for market production
reasons and the reason why is because
there are a variety of buyers,
all of which use it for different purposes.
Instead of tougher regulations
for the natural gas industry,
the Railroad Commission asked lawmakers
to require power plants to negotiate
better contracts with gas suppliers.
Jones says in some cases that
doesn't make financial sense.
It
could mean even higher
electricity prices for customers and
lead to the closure of power plants that
typically only operate during extreme
weather conditions when demand for power
threatens to overwhelm available supply.
There must be something that we develop
that makes sure that the electric generation
gets the supplies they need in a cold
weather vent because that is important
to preserve human life in our state,
and we shouldn't take chances
with that in a statement.
Todd Staples,
head of the Texas Oil and Gas Association,
said lack of information and lack
of natural gas is not the problem.
Lack of pre planning and pre purchasing on
the part of power generators is a problem.
Critics say that if the natural gas industry.
Continues to resist oversight
and can't be counted
on to supply a fuel to make electricity
in extreme weather conditions.
It may be time to rely on a new fuel
source if the natural gas system wants
to continue to operate as they have,
and maybe they'll be there when it's cold,
and maybe they won't.
Then I think on the electricity side,
we need to make different choices
about our fuel sources. In
Dallas I'm Tonya Iser.