Possibility of creating a new independent natural gas monitor gains traction at Texas Capitol

The idea of creating another level of monitoring over Texas’ natural gas industry appears to be gaining some traction among state lawmakers. At a meeting of the Senate’s Business and Commerce Committee on Wednesday, several senators, both Republicans and Democrats, seemed to show support for the idea. The discussion came as leaders of Texas’ grid operator, the Public Utility Commission and the chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, testified before the committee. Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, indicated that she might file legislation that would create more transparency into the Texas natural gas market. As it stands, pricing and capacity remain something that the Railroad Commission reports on monthly, according to the board’s Chairman Wayne Christian. Christian said power generators and natural gas suppliers have relied upon phone calls to ensure capacity of a resource that saw major problems during the freeze. To get more real-time data, Christian said the Legislature would have to act.

“I haven’t heard of any agency that wants more regulation by the Legislature, but I will take that up,” Campbell said. The idea of a gas monitor or something akin to a “gas desk” originated several weeks ago and has seen the support of the Texas power grid’s operator, ERCOT interim CEO Brad Jones. Whether that would be something similar to the real-time data available for electricity prices at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas remains unclear. On Wednesday, Jones likened the incomplete view of the natural gas market within Texas to looking through a peephole of a door. “We see images, we see shapes, but we don’t see the full scope of things,” Jones said. Christian opened up his testimony apologizing to the committee for comments he made following a bruising hearing in September that saw the Railroad Commission’s executive director grilled over a $150 waiver that would have allowed natural gas production companies to opt out of being designated as critical infrastructure. “I was wrong, I apologize and frankly I think it was inaccurate information that was provided to this committee, which I continue to question,” Christian said.