Energy in the New Year

UT’s KBH Energy Center hosts conversation with leading energy policy experts

The challenge of meeting increased energy demand shaped a panel discussion hosted jointly by The University of Texas at Austin’s KBH Energy Center and Bracewell LLP Houston on Feb. 4.

The event, titled “Energy in the New Year,” was moderated by Bracewell partner Scott Segal, co-chair of the firm’s Policy Resolution Group. Former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, founding member of the KBH Energy Center, gave opening remarks, advocating for an approach to energy policy that includes renewable options along with fossil fuels.

“Texas is leading the way with an ‘all of the above’ approach,” she said. “It has always led the country in oil and gas, but today it is also a top generator of wind and solar energy. This is the strategy that will provide true energy security, not only for the U.S. but for our foreign allies.”

Panelists were Dax Sanders, president of Products Pipelines for Kinder Morgan; Jason Ryan, executive vice president for Regulatory Services and Government Affairs at CenterPoint Energy; and Jim Lucier, founding partner of Capital Alpha Partners, where he leads the energy, environmental, and macro strategy practices.

Lucier said an executive order President Donald Trump signed Jan. 20 declaring a National Energy Emergency may be a step in the right direction. “This order is a road map, hopefully clearing away the preconceptions and clearing out obstacles,” he said.

Permitting reform is key to that progress, Sanders said, noting today’s burgeoning natural gas demand requires a substantial increase in pipeline infrastructure. “It becomes difficult to risk capital on building pipelines when there’s uncertainty around permits that may cause delays,” he said. “What we need is reform with clear expectations so we have a clear path and timeline to getting to thumbs-up or down.”

Ryan agreed, noting infrastructure is a major challenge in meeting increased energy demand. CenterPoint forecasts that customer usage of natural gas could increase by another 30 billion cubic feet in its mid-continent footprint by the end of the decade, and power usage in Houston will continue to grow rapidly each year.

“The growth in power usage is driven in part by the growth in population in Houston, but also by the electrification of fleets and at our port,” Ryan said. “We have the largest port in the country in foreign tonnage, and as you plug in those ships, that adds a tremendous amount of usage.”

He said permitting reform would help CenterPoint in the process of expanding its facilities and undergrounding its system to improve resilience.

Such reform may be on the horizon, said Lucier, noting the current administration is moving quickly. But progress will require legislators working together. “We need a true bipartisan coalition and true ‘all of the above’ legislation,” he said.