AUSTIN, Texas — Railroad Commissioners of Texas approved a weatherization rule Wednesday.
The rule would help implement weather emergency preparation measures and require a facility to contact the RRC if a weather-related stoppage occurs during a weather emergency.
This rule, if finalized, would apply to all critical facilities currently on Texas' Electricity Supply Chain Map and any subsequent versions.
Operators must weatherize their facilities in a manner appropriate to the type of facility, its location and weather data for its area among other factors.
Among these facilities are gas processing plants, underground storage facilities and natural gas wells and oil leases producing casinghead gas.
Any facilities not meeting these standards could see fines of up to $1 million for each day of non-compliance.
After the rule was approved, it will now be open for public comment until August 15. After the cutoff date the comments will be reviewed and commissioners will adopt a final rule.
“Today’s proposed rule strikes an appropriate balance to ensure facilities are prepared for extreme weather events while providing needed flexibility for operators to ensure compliance with Commission standards,” Commissioner Jim Wright said in a press release.
The ruling comes after nearly a year and a half of scrutiny from Texans after the power grid was unable to handle the strain during the February 2021 Winter Storm.
In the year since, ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission have been working to winterize equipment to prevent a repeat of that event.
If you would like to submit a comment to the RRC, you can click or tap here to find out how to do so.
