As the dog days of August approach and electric bills soar, the Public Utility Commission is reminding consumers of rules in place to protect them from having their power disconnected due to financial difficulties, especially during extreme heat.
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More than 2 million Texans lost power when Hurricane Beryl hit the Texas coast, and Gov. Greg Abbott wants to know why. The Austin American-Statesman reported Abbott has ordered the Public Utility Commission to conduct an immediate study into why the Houston area has again been hit by widespread power outages.
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A year after a new state law ended mandatory water breaks in Texas, a proposed federal rule would protect millions of workers from the risks caused by extreme heat, The Texas Tribune reported.
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With the Fourth of July bringing a possible four- day weekend for lucky Texans, the Texas A&M Forest Service urges outdoor enthusiasts to exercise fire safety outdoors, especially when using fireworks or starting campfires to roast hot dogs and toast marshmallows.
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The chief of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas told state lawmakers recently that the state’s power demand could nearly double in just six years. The reasons: population growth, new requests for grid connections, and a rise in requests from data centers and other heavy users.
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Drought conditions across the state dropped a percentage point in May compared to the previous month, with 26% of the state in some stage of drought, primarily in West and South Texas and parts of the Panhandle.
Massive storms in late April and into May caused flooding and wind damage in East and North Texas but did pull those regions out of drought. Some parts of Central and East Texas received three times their average rainfall in May, according to Mark Wentzel, hydrologist with the Texas Water Development Board.
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Residents in a total of 35 Texas counties now qualify for individual disaster assistance following a series of severe storms and flooding that began in late April, The Dallas Morning News reported.
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House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, narrowly won reelection in a hotly contested runoff race and has vowed to seek his third term as speaker, drawing threats from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to oppose any of his supporters in the 2024 primary.
“ I’ve done it twice, Phelan told The Dallas Morning News. “I’ll do it a third time.” But Patrick was quick to threaten opposition to any representative supporting Phelan’s bid.
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