The Texas Railroad Commission was created to prevent railroad monopolies from forming. Now it has evolved to regulate Texas’s oil and gas industry and other fossil fuels. Texas oil and gas has become unsupportive in the push for renewable energy by the Biden Administration, despite seeking more oil from foreign leaders.

Texas is a leader in the global oil and gas industry, and it’s one of the biggest factors in Texas’ economic rank worldwide. That is why the Texas Railroad Commission is a big deal. The Commission is made up of three members, and Wayne Christian is the only one up for reelection.  

The biggest issue this election season for this position is the power grid, and the need for energy sources in our nation. Texans do not want high gas prices or utility bills, and they do not want a failing power grid. 

When it comes to the issues, Wayne Christian presents research on several areas that fall within Texas oil and gas. He presents studies that show pollution is down or regulated by EPA standards, fracking saves jobs and money, Texas has the largest supply of oil, and 99% of natural gas in Texas is being used. 

Christian is running on keeping federal regulations out of Texas oil and gas and showing the fruitful economic results of having the dominant natural gas and oil industry in the United States. Christian runs on the platform that we cannot be energy independent if we keep implementing policies that do not work for the majority of consumers. He is a big critic of the Green New Deal and attacks made by the Biden administration on the oil and gas industry, 

“We’re under attack from the Biden Administration to stop production of oil and gas in Texas,” says Christian. “As we scan the globe, begging for oil, Texas  has 200 years of energy available for these United States in West Texas alone.”

Christian sites studies that prove environmental harm to underground water is not found, and that CO2 emissions are down. He does not randomly say this but cites research to back up his points.

“I want the history of responsible clean predictable reliable energy to be there for generations to come,” says Christian. “ Flaring reduction has occurred, well capping… monitoring seismicity…and following very carefully ensuring weatherization which we understand the problems that we’re incurring there. Encouraging production to meet the demand and the future of our nation and I think that’s what the Railroad Commission and being chairman is a part of and it’s honored to be leading that charge.”

Again, Christian also highlights, by data, the hundreds of billions of oil barrels to be drilled, and the already hundreds of billions of dollars the oil and gas industry has made Texas. 

Luke Warford, who if elected will be the youngest elected to Texas’ state-wide offices at 33, is running to regulate the oil and gas industry, fix the power grid, and integrate renewable energy for Texans. He attacks the Railroad Commission for failing to weatherize the power grid before Winter Storm Uri, and that it was their job to do so. Warford blames Christian for allowing oil and gas giants to make profits and jack up prices after Winter Storm Uri. 

Warford is running on removing corruption from the Commission, providing greater transparency, and being an opposing voice as the only Democrat if elected. Warford was a chief strategy officer for Texas Democrats, has a degree from the London School of Economics, and has worked in the private sector as a consultant for energy companies. 

Warford wants to make oil and gas “cleaner” and lower Texans’ costs by expanding Texas’ energy market in the areas of renewables, wind, solar, carbon capture, geothermal, and the like. Warford also expressed the need to continually regulate abandoned or orphaned wells that can leak into public drinking water.

Warford wants to create greater transparency within the Railroad Commission, stating that many donors come from the industry Wayne Christian is regulating. Warford accuses the Commissioner Christian of putting donors ahead of the public interest, bringing up one such case where the Commissioner approved a dump site near an aquifer by a company that gave donations.

“My opponent Wayne Christian is a career politician who takes 99% of its campaign contributions from the corporate executives he’s supposed to regulate…Christian ignored years of expert warnings calling on the Texas Railroad Commission to establish and enforce a clear weatherization standard that would have kept Texans safe during last February’s winter storm,” says Warford. “And when disaster struck, he used this storm as an opportunity to let his campaign donors make billions in profits and pass the cost on to Texans across the state; costs that we are all now paying for in the form of higher utility bills.”