The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - September 1, 2026

Episode Date: September 1, 2026

The Texan’s Daily Rundown brings you a quick recap of the latest stories in Texas politics so you can stay informed with news you can trust.Want more resources? Visit The Texan for complete access to our in-depth articles, newsletters, videos, podcasts, and more.Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to follow us and leave a review!

Howdy folks, today is Tuesday, September 1st, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans reporter Meredith Dyer, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, the Public Utility Commission of Texas approved two high-voltage transmission lines proposed as part of the Permian Basin Reliability Plan last week, clearing the way for a project that's drawn fire from a coalition that now includes the state's chief legal officer. The PUC, the state agency responsible for economic regulation of the state's electric and water utilities, voted unanimously on Friday, August 28, to amend Dallas-based electric company OnCourse certificates of convenience and necessity, a permit that authorizes a company

to provide a public service for two of the five-765 kilowatt transmission lines that make up the drafted Hermion Basin Reliability Plan Network. Oncour's lines are the first of the five to gain approval. On the same day, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, this year's Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, called on state authorities to pause further action on the plan. Paxton wrote, quote, the legislature must be afforded the time to review the plan and its potential impacts so it can then enact additional legislation to provide whatever additional guidance it deems fit. On course two projects would form a single chain of transmission, linking a facility in the Glenrose area to far west Texas. In 2020,

the Texas legislature passed House Bill 5066, which directed the PUC to develop plans to improve electrical grid reliability in underserved areas. The PUC adopted the Permian Basin Reliability Plan in September 2024, finding that electricity demand in the Permian Basin region alone could grow enough to reach a demand peak of 26,000 megawatts by 2038, roughly equivalent to nearly a third of the peak summer demand of the entire Texas grid. In other news, SLB, one of the world's largest offshore drilling and global technology companies, has announced the acquisition of Kelvion, a leading thermal management company in pursuit of data center development. The acquisition is poised to further bolster SLB's energy engineering

and data center competitive prowess. SLB, headquartered in Houston, made the announcement on Monday, stating that the acquisition of Kelvin, quote, expands SLB's role in data center infrastructure, which is one of the world's fastest growing industrial and technology markets, end quote. The deal reflects the company's growing diversification as its focus shifts away from traditional fossil fuels and into the technology sector. Together, SLB and Kelvin are projected to, quote, generate more than $2 billion in data center revenue, end quote, in 2006, a number that companies expect to see grow to $5 billion by 2028. Calvion's heat exchange and thermal management capabilities have positioned the company right at the nexus of,

quote, two powerful long-term growth trends, AI infrastructure and energy system transformation. SLB projects the partnership will aid the company's data center development, its fastest growing end market, which accounts for approximately 55% of the company's current revenue. Last but not least, state lawmakers heard hours of testimony last week about the effectiveness of the Texas public Information Act, and whether it is working as originally intended. While some officials claim the transparency statute is being used as a weapon, some requesters said it is being used as a shield and is lacking adequate enforcement mechanisms. Angelina County Judge Keith Wright claimed during his testimony, however, that the TPI is being, quote, weaponized. He described how

he and his county have received thousands of requests from just one man who used abusive language and demanded more than 800,000 items in one request. Comal County Criminal District Attorney Jennifer Tharp said the volume of requests her office received is up 35% over last year. She noted that small governments have limited personnel to process and comply with the requests within the 10-day window mandated by the TPIA. Thank you for listening. To support the Texan, please be sure to visit the Texan. News to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.