Mitchell Ferman
Texas Tribune
Houston, TX, United States
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Past articles by Mitchell:
Texans face skyrocketing home energy bills as the state exports more natural gas than ever
The cost of electricity in Texas is tightly tied to the price of natural gas, which has more than doubled since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February. → Read More
Texas’ grid operator told a power plant to delay repairs ahead of a May heat wave. It was among six that crashed.
Climate change and other factors are shortening the window when aging Texas power plants... → Read More
With Roe v. Wade on the line, some Texans look south of the border for abortion drugs
Cheap regulated and unregulated medication is available over the counter at Mexican pharmacies, including abortion-inducing drugs that are strictly regulated in the U.S. → Read More
Abbott eases state inspections at one commercial bridge
The deal provides little relief as trade between the two countries is interrupted across... → Read More
Truckers protest Abbott's new inspections by blocking Texas border
Importers said buyers have already canceled orders. → Read More
In Texas, calls to boost U.S. oil production after Russian invasion run into hard realities
Labor shortages, supply chain issues, hesitant financial backers and a frosty relationship with the Biden administration have limited how much Texas oil and gas companies are ramping up production. → Read More
Texas lawmakers call for U.S. to ban Russian oil imports and increase domestic production
Texas Republicans spent much of Monday demanding nearly unfettered drilling and pipeline usage across North America — policies Biden officials refused to endorse. → Read More
How Texas’ power grid failed in 2021 — and who’s responsible for preventing a repeat.
In the state’s power grid, electricity and natural gas are codependent. Here’s how the winter storm last year broke the system. → Read More
A winter storm is heading to Texas. Here’s what that means for the power grid.
The weather is not expected to be as severe or last as long as last year’s freeze. Texas leaders do no not expect systemwide blackouts, but they have warned that local power outages are possible throughout the state. → Read More
Gov. Greg Abbott intervenes in public messaging to put a positive spin on Texas’ power grid
The governor has promised the lights will stay on this winter. But many of the problems... → Read More
Gov. Greg Abbott intervened to put a positive spin on Texas' power grid
He's been heavily involved in positive public messaging about the grid’s winter readiness, but the data aren't rosy — and experts fear the grid could fail if there's another winter storm. → Read More
Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Biden administration over new COVID-19 vaccination rules for big businesses
The move comes a week after Texas filed a separate lawsuit over new vaccination rules for federal contractors. → Read More
A Houston day care convinced all its workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Now it requires a shot.
While some national companies are requiring employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, mandates have been the exception for businesses in Texas. → Read More
Energy industry showers Texas politicians with cash after weak regulation bills pass
This story is reprinted from The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans—and engages with them—about public policy, politics, government, and statewide issues. The article originally appeared here. → Read More
Gov. Greg Abbott tells electricity regulators to encourage building more power plants, penalize renewable energy
The governor did not include many specifics about how regulators should carry out his requests to improve the state's main power grid. → Read More
Some Texas power plants unexpectedly went offline last week. The grid operator says it still doesn’t know why
Texans were asked to cut back on their electricity use for a week because of “tight” power grid conditions, according to ERCOT officials. They still haven’t said what caused the plant outages. → Read More
Gov. Greg Abbott says power grid better than ever as Texans asked to cut back electricity use
A number of power plants were inexplicably offline at the same time that Texas was experiencing record June demand for electricity. ERCOT officials are still working to determine why. → Read More
How the Texas Legislature could change the state's power grid this session
Lawmakers are considering legislation that would require power plants to weatherize and that would add charges to most Texans’ power bills to cover companies’ financial losses during the February winter storm. → Read More
Texas House goes further than Senate to protect state's main power grid as time to agree on bills wi
Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. After hours of debate Sunday, the Texas House moved to strengthen the state’s main electricity grid in the wake of February’s catastrophic power outages, giving preliminary approval to a proposal that goes further than the Senate’s in preparing for extreme weather. The upper chamber… → Read More
Twitter's lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton tossed by federal judge
Twitter sued the attorney general Ken Paxton following his launch of an investigation... → Read More