Chris Tomlinson: Natural gas companies failed again, showing Texas energy system still vulnerable

Texas experienced a routine cold snap over New Year’s weekend, but it was enough to take up to a quarter of natural gas operations briefly offline, release tons of methane into the atmosphere and send prices higher, reminiscent of the freeze last year that killed 246 people. No one died, nor did the system’s burp cause power outages. But the dip does raise questions about what would happen if another polar vortex dropped into Texas and whether officials have done enough to protect the electric grid. A team of reporters at the Bloomberg news agency first reported how “instruments froze, output plunged and companies spewed a miasma of pollutants into the atmosphere in a bid to keep operations stable.” Texas natural gas suppliers released nearly 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas, according to compulsory filings with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. BloombergNEF data showed natural gas production sharply dropping at a rate unseen since last February.

The dozen or so affected facilities reported also releasing 85 tons of sulfur dioxide and 11 tons of carbon monoxide. All because corporations did not adequately prepare their equipment for temperatures frequently seen in West Texas. “The incidents show that our fossil fuel-dependent energy system continues to be unreliable, polluting, and unprepared for the impacts of the climate crisis,” the Lone Star Sierra Club said in a statement. “Not only did these incidents release pollution that harms public health, they led to a dip in supply that impacted gas and electricity prices for millions of Texans.” The Reuters news agency reported Monday that national natural gas prices rose 2 percent after the cold in Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. “Gas prices have been falling recently with the rise in production but gained on Monday as the freeze-offs disconcerted the market,” John Abeln, senior analyst of natural gas research at data provider Refinitiv, told Reuters. Natural gas production in the lower 48 states dropped by 2.8 billion cubic feet per day during the freeze. Most of that went offline in Texas, Abeln added.