May 1, 2016 4:56 PM

Texas Energy Report: Sunset report recommends revealing to public what RRC really does

Report urges better oil and gas accountability, contested cases and gas utility rate cases moved elsewhere

The 125-year-old Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the powerful oil-and-gas industry, might be “steeped in the Texas mystique,” but a name change revealing the agency’s true mission is long overdue, a report released Friday says.

“Transparency demands that the agency’s name reflect its actual mission,” said a Sunset Advisory Commission report for the Railroad Commission, strongly repeating a recommendation that Texas lawmakers rejected in 2001 and 2003. “The agency’s outdated name misleads the public and continues to impede the agency’s efforts to be more transparent.”

Friday’s sunset staff report begins a third attempt in six years to reform an agency critics say pampers the fossil fuel industry while shortchanging public health and safety. As the industry suffers from bankruptcies, layoffs and losses after a plunge in oil prices, it asked that lawmakers keep in mind its precarious financial situation when considering more or higher fees from the oil industry.

Yet environmental advocates were quick to point out the report failed to address stepped up oversight of oil and gas disposal wells, namely scientific concerns that they are likely the cause of a notable increase in earthquakes.

The full story is in Texas Energy Report, where you can find daily coverage of energy issues across the state.

By Polly Ross Hughes