Texas Energy Jobs and Projects Could Start to Flow Again With Renewed Energy Regulation Panel

WASHINGTON — A government-induced clog that's delayed billions of dollars in pipeline projects is about to get cleared.The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this month regained its voting quorum for the first time in half a year, allowing the panel to next month finally act on approval of critical matters that range from natural gas pipelines to liquid natural gas terminals to utility mergers.And for some major Texas energy companies, the renewed flow can't come soon enough.The delay, for instance, has jammed up a $2 billion pipeline being jointly developed in the Midwest by a Texas-based subsidy of Enbridge. One analysis found that some $50 billion in other endeavors across the U.S. have likewise stacked up in the energy regulator's queue.And even among pipeline builders who avoided the worst side effects, the tension was only increasing with each passing month."If it had gone into October, that would've begun to be a problem," said David Conover, a spokesman for Kinder Morgan, a Houston-based pipeline giant.  Continue reading...