State regulators called for an investigation into Atmos Energy for failing to deliver natural gas to North Texans during the recent cold snap.
Governor Greg Abbott shared that he sent two letters to Attorney General Ken Paxton and Christi Craddick, the Railroad Commission of Texas chairman on Wednesday. He asked each of their offices to look into what he called “failures by Atmos to provide adequate residential and commercial gas service.”
In the letter to the attorney general, Abbott wrote, “Prior to and during the recent winter weather system, State of Texas agencies worked around the clock to mobilize resources and assist utilities in any way possible. At no time did Atmos Energy request assistance. Even during coordination calls of the Texas Energy Reliability Council, Atmos Energy did not properly communicate the extent of its failure or request the Council’s help.”
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“It is apparent that Atmos Energy acted irresponsibly and was unprepared for the event,” Abbott wrote.
He urged the Railroad Commission, which regulates the state’s oil and gas industry, to take “concrete action” to ensure the issues are not “repeated the next time that winter weather engulfs our state.”
A spokesperson told NBC 5 the commission launched an investigation on Tuesday, asking Atmos to provide a detailed account of the customers who lost service, explanations of what caused the low pressure and a plan to address the issues.
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In a written statement released late Wednesday, Atmos Energy said it fell short for customers who experienced interruptions in gas service last week. The company provided no information about how many were affected or what caused the problems.
“Though we worked to restore service as quickly and safely as possible, we apologize for that service disruption,” the company said. “We are committed to working with our regulators and key stakeholders to address those issues in order to provide reliable natural gas service to all our customers.”
The problems began after an arctic blast swept into Texas last week and sent temperatures plummeting below freezing.
Some North Texas cities opened warming centers for residents experiencing very low natural gas pressures.
In a news release issued Friday, the city of Grand Prairie said Atmos Energy tankers were injecting gas into the lines, but the network had not yet recovered. According to the Railroad Commission, Atmos reported that gas pressure had returned to normal as of early Friday afternoon.
Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
