The three-member board oversees Texas’ oil and gas industry. The agency has faced criticism over safety concerns linked to fracking, well blowouts and groundwater protection.

Incumbent Christi Craddick is touting the health of the Texas energy industry and its impact on the economy. Her top opponent says regulation on the commission is too lax.

After losing in a Republican runoff last year, Stogner said she plans to challenge incumbent Chair Christi Craddick as a member of the Forward Party.

McBride Operating LLC and its owner, Joseph McBride, contributed to the political campaigns of the three commissioners on the Texas Railroad Commission now considering his request.

Oil and gas industry groups provided a list of names to the Railroad Commission for appointment to a council formed in response to the February power crisis. All four of the industry's top choices were selected.

When the power went out for Marsha Hendler on Feb. 15, she rushed to her downtown San Antonio office to ride out the winter storm. Thankful to find the electricity and heat still on, she typed out an email to the elected officials who regulate her small, independent oil and gas company.

WASHINGTON – Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner went before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee to testify as a witness for a hearing about the power grid failures that happened during last month’s winter storm. The hearing, called by U.S. Rep Lizzie Fletcher (D-Houston), will take a look at the statewide failures during the storm. Yet politically powerful natural gas companies, along with their regulators, have largely escaped the wrath of Gov. At least 57 people died during the winter storm that plunged large swaths of Texas into subfreezing temperatures and overwhelmed the state’s electricity infrastructure, causing massive power outages. That’s because nearly half of the total power generation capacity for the main state electricity grid was offline as weather conditions caused failures in every type of power source: natural gas, coal, wind and nuclear.

HOUSTON – For more than 15 hours, lawmakers asked tough questions about what caused the state’s power system to fail. The outages left more than a dozen people dead and countless homeowners are trying to fix busted pipes. During the first day of hearings, Texas legislators heard from the chair of the Texas Railroad Commission, Christi Craddick who said ERCOT did not fully understand that cutting power to certain areas of natural gas production was compounding problems, and there needed to be better communication about priorities during outages. RELATED: Texas legislature holds hearings over statewide blackoutsCraddick’s testimony countered ERCOT CEO Bill Magness’ reports that freezing temperatures and precipitation are what unexpectedly knocked dozens of power plants offline, and natural gas was hit harder than most. With a tense day one in the books, day two of hearings will pick back up Friday at 9 a.m.SENATE HEARING:HOUSE HEARING:

In a livestreamed Tuesday meeting, Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton and the board's chair, Christi Craddick, sparred over questions about the fate of the agency's executive director.