Texas leaders would have you believe there are two options: a reliable grid or a sustainable grid. In our season finale, we explore how those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. And how — if left alone — the Texas electricity market might make the decision on its own.

The Disconnect is produced at KUT, a community-supported public radio station. You can help make this podcast happen by donating at supportthispodcast.org

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When the 2021 blackout struck, the finger-pointing began. Electric utilities versus pipeline companies. But finding out exactly what happened is one of the most frustrating parts oil and gas regulation in Texas: getting a clear picture of who did what isn’t really possible. But there’s one man who says he can see exactly what happened. Now he just has to prove it in court.

Special thanks to Rachel Adams-Heard, an energy reporter for Bloomberg who appears in this episode.
Her reporting on Texas pipelines was invaluable.

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As the Texas Railroad Commission falls from global oil dominance, the energy crisis of the 1970s strikes and one gas company cuts power to millions. What comes next brings plenty of political intrigue, and sets up a divided system of energy regulation in Texas unlike anywhere else in the country. We talk about what that means for everyday people and energy reliability right up to today.

The full transcript of this episode of The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.

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We tell the story of how the National Guard descended on the East Texas oilfield, the chaos that followed, and how a bar fight in Austin helped establish a new system of energy regulation. Then we talk about World War II, and how the deal struck between Texas regulators and oil companies positioned the US to run the world of energy in the post-war era.

The full transcript of this episode of The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.

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Hear the story of a con man and a group of hardscrabble East Texas farmers who uncovered the biggest oilfield in U.S. history — and how that discovery forced an obscure state agency to confront the destructive forces of unrestrained oil drilling.

The full transcript of this episode of The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.

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One of the main causes of the 2021 blackout in Texas was the failure of natural gas infrastructure. Still, that industry has avoided increased oversight to protect against future failures.

In fact, natural gas remains one of the least regulated parts of our energy system. In this season of The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout, we explore the history of Texas oil and gas regulation, how the industry — with the help of state officials— became largely self-regulating and what that means for energy reliability in Texas.

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In this bonus episode, you’ll hear a panel of experts we brought together to mark two years since the 2021 blackout, where we discuss the future of the Texas grid in the face of climate change and the increasingly extreme weather linked to it.

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Nearly two years after the big blackout in Texas, how big of an issue is the power grid in the 2022 race for governor?

We talk with Julian Aguilar, a reporter for the Texas Newsroom.

The Disconnect Season 2 is a project of The Texas Newsroom, the collaboration among NPR and the public radio stations in the state. It received support from FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative, which is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

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We’ve already learned how Texas (or at least most of it) is an energy island — mostly cut off from grids in other states.

In this episode, we’ll hear about the time when one power company went rogue and threw a transmission line across the Oklahoma border.

This is the story of why they tried and how they failed to build a bridge off the island — and how it shaped the Texas grid today.

The Disconnect Season 2 is a project of The Texas Newsroom, the collaboration among NPR and the public radio stations in the state. It received support from FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative, which is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

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We’ve talked about the supply-side fixes — but what about the demand side?

The Disconnect Season 2 is a project of The Texas Newsroom, the collaboration among NPR and the public radio stations in the state. It received support from FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative, which is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

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