Although the investigations into what caused the Deepwater Horizon accident are still ongoing, and the presidential commission on the oil spill has only begun its work, Congress has been busy with legislative initiatives that could significantly alter the landscape of energy production in America. Unfortunately these early measures (principally H.R. 3534 and S. 3663) may cause more problems than they solve, especially for Texas.
Misallocation of Funds, Not the Storm, Caused Beryl Power Failures
When Hurricane Beryl approached the Texas coast, families in the storm’s path were rightly worried about gale-force winds and flooding. Power outages are always expected in hurricane season — but nobody anticipated over a million households and businesses losing power, and nobody expected 500,000 to be left high and dry a week or more later. The problem...