- This week's TWDB Drought Watch shows improvements in South Texas but degradations along the mid-coast, East Texas, and the Panhandle.
- A new report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission states that the failure to winterize generation and delivery systems is to blame for last February’s blackouts. As power plants are currently preparing their systems for extreme weather, natural gas producers that fuel the power plants are not required to do the same.
- Members of Texas’ congressional delegation are trying to obtain funding to build a barrier protecting the Texas Gulf Coast from catastrophic storm surges. Since the infrastructure bill will not delegate enough funds to complete the project, Texans will push for funding next year through a water resources bill passed by Congress every two years.
- While everyone is excited to see infrastructure upgrades after the infrastructure bill was signed this month, it is often difficult to begin the progress as swiftly as envisioned. Large infrastructure projects are unpredictable, and many recent ambitious efforts have been slowed by rising costs, scheduling issues, and technical problems.
- Vistra, Texas’ largest power generator, has spent $50 million this year to prepare more than a dozen plants for winter. In the event of a large freeze, they are still not sure they can prevent another disaster because their success depends on the state’s ability to maintain a sufficient supply of natural gas.
- The Houston Health Department is now testing the city's wastewater for the Omicron variant, which has not been detected in the most recent samples collected the week of November 22.