Will the lights stay big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas?

The Texas Railroad Commission -- which regulates the state's oil and gas industry, not railroads -- just went through perhaps its highest profile election. Chairman Wayne Christian faced oil and gas lawyer Sarah Stogner who posed tough questions about his enforcement record and the commission's response to the 2021 Texas blackout. Christian won with 65% of the vote, but the campaign raised the profile of the arguments against him. Now he's facing Democrat Luke Warford in the November general election. Senior editor Meghan Gordon spoke with Warford when he was in Washington, DC, recently. We also reached out to the Christian campaign but didn't hear back. Warford argues the commission's poor oversight of the industry deserves blame for the 2021 grid failure and that the regulators have done little since then to ensure that the grid is ready for the next round of extreme weather. He's also campaigning on cutting down on flaring exemptions, which he calls economically wasteful as international demand soars for Texas gas and climate concerns increase. Stick around after the interview for Starr Spencer with the Market Minute, which looks at the current lack of oil and gas investment and questions around meeting long-term demand. This podcast was produced by Meghan Gordon in Washington and Jennifer Pedrick in Houston.