22 articles
Texas has significantly expanded its review of data-center development since Governor Greg Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in August to audit projects advancing through ERCOT’s interconnection process. That review has now expanded into state permitting and water use, ERCOT began formal project-level information […]
New Mexico oil and gas companies now have two major financial assurance changes, plus a complete regulatory overhaul, to navigate and implement at the same time. Oil Conservation Division (NM OCD): $150K Per Well If Ineligible for $250K Active Well Blanket Bond Discount The Oil Conservation Commission’s (OCC) Case No. 24683 amendments to the Oil […]
Interior Adopts a Ten-Year Framework and Two Years of Operating Rules — The Allocation Question Remains Unresolved Across the Basin Water has become a gating item for development across the American West. On August 21, 2026, the Secretary of the Interior signed a Record of Decision that sets federal operating boundaries for the Colorado River […]
Texas has heightened scrutiny of data centers seeking to connect to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid. For developers, the question is increasingly not just whether a project can connect, but how much grid power it will need. On August 3, Governor Greg Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and […]
The U.S. Supreme Court recently accepted a settlement ending the 13-year Rio Grande dispute involving New Mexico, Texas, and the federal government. The conflict followed a series of droughts and lawsuits over the division of Rio Grande water. In 2013, Texas brought the dispute to the U.S. Supreme Court, alleging that New Mexico’s groundwater pumping […]
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (“PRC”) has advanced extensive revisions to New Mexico’s Community Solar Rule, 17.9.573 NMAC. The amendments would substantially reshape project selection, interconnection review, subscriber protections, low-income participation, consolidated billing, and ongoing compliance obligations for subscriber organizations and qualifying utilities. The revisions follow an extended stakeholder process in PRC Docket No. […]
On June 18, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued tailored show cause orders under Section 206 of the Federal Power Act to each of the six regional grid operators under its jurisdiction (Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO) or Independent System Operators (ISO)). FERC directed them to justify or reform the rules governing how data […]
Texas Operators Should Prepare Now for Mandatory Electronic Filing The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) has announced that, effective September 1, 2026, it will no longer accept hard-copy submissions for several commonly used oil and gas regulatory forms. Operators that currently rely on paper filings should begin transitioning to electronic filing systems now to avoid […]
When it comes to produced water use and reuse, Texas and New Mexico are on the same road but at very different mileposts. Texas is drafting permit mechanics for the land application of treated produced water. New Mexico is still deciding whether to authorize broader off-oilfield reuse at all. Operators, midstream water companies, data center […]
Carbon capture developers facing multi-year federal permitting delays may soon have a faster path forward. New Mexico is proposing state-specific rules that could slash Class VI underground injection well approval times from years to approximately six to eight months—a potential game changer for project economics, investment decisions, and the state’s competitiveness in the growing carbon […]