24 May 2021 | 21:09 UTC — Houston

Texas lawmakers advance eight bills, but differ over gas system weatherization

Highlights

House OKs amended Senate omnibus bill

Differences arise over gas weatherization

Houston — Texas lawmakers have advanced several bills designed to avoid a recurrence of widespread power generation outages which occurred during mid-February storm, but legislators remain divided over how to ensure natural gas facilities are sufficiently weatherized.

One key piece of legislation is Senate Bill 3, an omnibus bill affecting emergency pricing, weatherization requirements and gas supply chain mapping. The state House approved an amended bill on May 24, but it excluded gas-system facilities used for non-power-generating purposes, such as liquefaction. If the Senate agrees with those changes, however, the bill could be submitted for Governor Greg Abbott's signature.

Another issue is House Bill 3648, requiring the designation of certain gas facilities as critical infrastructure during an energy emergency. The Texas House rejected the Texas Senate's amended version of the bill on May 24 and instead appointed conferees to work to resolve differences in the two chambers' versions of the bill.

The main difference is that the Senate version limits liability for electric transmission and distribution system operators who comply with the bill's provision that excludes from rotating outages any gas facilities that supply generators.

ERCOT, PUC membership at issue

Other storm-related bills that advanced over the weekend include bills that affect the qualification and composition of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Board of Directors and the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

House Bill 10 pertains to the appointment of ERCOT board members who are not affiliated with ERCOT market participants, and it is awaiting a position on the full Senate's voting calendar.

Senate Bill 2, which changes the qualification and process of appointing ERCOT board members, has been approved May 23 for a third reading in the Texas House. If it passes, the next step would be submitting the bill for Abbott's signature.

Senate Bill 2154 increases the Public Utility Commission of Texas' membership from three to five. The Texas House approved an amended version of this bill on May 23. If the Senate concurs with the amendment, the bill could also be submitted for Abbott's signature.

House and Senate bills that would allow gas and power utilities to issue bonds to spread out the cost of the mid-February winter storm's excess costs are awaiting scheduling on a full chamber calendar. Thus, the House bill is awaiting a full Senate vote, and the Senate bill is awaiting a full House vote.

Storm and energy bill status in Texas Legislature as of May 24:

Bills advanced
Signed by governor
Bill Number
Summary
Change date
HB 17
No local law to prohibit utility service based on type (e.g., no gas ban on new building)
17-May
For governor's signature
Bill Number
Summary
Change date
HB 16
Bans sale of wholesale indexed power plans to residential customers
13-May
HB 2586
Requires independent audit of ERCOT, posted publicly
12-May
Other moves
Bill Number
Summary
Change type and date
HB 10
Changes qualifications and process of appointing unaffiliated ERCOT board members
Pending on Senate Calendar as of May 22
HB 1520
Securitization of excess gas costs due to storm
Pending on Senate Calendar as of May 22
HB 3648
Requires designation of certain gas facilities as critical during energy emergency
House rejects Senate amendments, appoints conferees May 24
SB 2
Changes qualifications and process of appointing ERCOT board members
Pending third reading in House as of May 23
SB 3
Omnibus (emergency pricing, weatherization requirements, gas supply chain mapping)
Amended bill passed on third reading May 24
SB 415
Facilitates transmission and distribution utilities to own battery storage capacity
Pending on House Calendar for May 25 vote
SB 1580
Securitization of excess electricity costs due to storm
Pending on House Calendar for May 24 vote
SB 2154
Increase Public Utility Commission membership from three to five
Amended bill passed on third reading May 23
Unchanged status since May 21
Bill Number
Summary
Status
HB 11
Requires weatherization of electric system
In Senate committee
HB 12/SB 865
Establishes statewide disaster alert system
HB in Senate committee, SB in House committee
HB 13
Creates Texas Energy Disaster Reliability Council
In Senate committee
HB 14
Creates Texas Electricity Supply Chain Security and Mapping Committee
In Senate committee
HB 1672
Facilitates transmission and distribution utilities to own battery storage capacity
Pending on House Calendar
HBs 2506, 2657, 3178, 4167; SBs 1352, 2076
Requires emergency reserve power generation capacity
HBs in House committee, SBs in Senate committees
HB 3749
Requires Public Utility Commission to conduct weatherization inspections
In House committee
HB 3792
Creates Texas Grid Security Commission to identify and harden critical grid infrastructure
HB in House committee, SB on Senate calendar
HB 3916
Removes restrictions on distributed generation up to 2.5 MW in ERCOT
In Senate Business and Commerce Committee as of May 17
HB 4492
Securitization of excess electricity costs due to storm
In Senate Business and Commerce Committee as of May 20
SB 985
Requires weatherization reports to cover events with 1% probability
In House committee
SB 1252
Requires independent audit of ERCOT, posted publicly
In Senate committee (moot, see HB 2586)
SB 1579
Securitization of gas customer rate relief
In Senate committee
SB 1606
Creates Texas Grid Security Commission to identify and harden critical grid infrastructure
In House State Affairs Committee as of May 13
SB 1757
Securitization of excess electricity costs due to storm
Pending on Senate Calendar (Maybe moot because of SB 1580)
SB 1782
Securitization of electric utilities' system restoration and weatherization costs
In Senate committee
SB 2142
Repricing Feb. 18-19
In House committee
Bill stages: Introduction in one chamber, approved by committee, approved by first chamber, approved by second chamber committee, approved by second chamber, enacted by governor's signature or lack of veto.
Source: Texas Legislature