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Aitkin County sheriffs arrest “water protectors” during a protest at the construction site of the line 3 oil pipeline near Palisade, Minn., on Jan. 9, 2021. (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)US NEWS

Texas Power Crisis Puts Keystone XL Cancelation in Perspective

BY TERRI WU February 18, 2021 Updated: February 18, 2021biggersmallerPrint

Rolling blackouts in Texas have put the importance of oil pipelines into perspective, according to business executives.

Ryan Palazzo, a former chief operating officer of a pipeline construction company and a resident of Houston, Texas, received text messages on Feb. 15 about rolling blackouts to protect the electricity grid which was strained by record low temperatures. Millions have been affected since.

“It’s not because there’s not enough natural gas. It’s because of the switch to renewables. They’re not able to, in the short term, keep the grid stable. It’s unfortunate, but energy is essential to everything that we do,” said Palazzo, who was laid off in November, right after the election.

Following the cancellation of the Atlantic Coast natural gas pipeline in July 2020, the owner of his company had a strong sense that the Keystone XL(KXL) project would be canceled as well and decided to downsize, according to Palazzo.

Biden’s executive order revoking the KXL permit was “obviously targeting a certain industry without real basis,” he said. “In fact, a political rather than a logical move, contrary to life here in America.”

Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) data show that Texas has consistently increased electricity generation by wind farms, from 3 percent of total electricity capacity in 2007 to 25 percent in January 2021. 2020 was the first year that renewable sources generated more electricity than coal in Texas.

In a statement calling for energy conservation on Feb. 14, the Public Utility Commission of Texas quoted Commissioner Arthur D’Andrea, “This record cold is not only compelling customers to increase their power usage to stay warm; it’s also icing wind turbines and straining our natural-gas powered resources.”

There is no magic or silver bullet when it comes to energy, said Palazzo. Renewable energy, in particular wind and solar, is intermittent. A solar power plant uses 100 times of land as a traditional power plant, while a wind power plant takes up to 1,000 times.  They also need rare earth metal components, which take a significant amount of mining. “The [pipeline] spills are very, very, very rare. I think the public has just not been educated and honestly, haven’t taken the time to learn the facts about the renewables and what we do in the oil and gas.”

In addition to KXL, pipelines line 5 and line 3 also face protests and lawsuits. Canadian company Enbridge operates both. Line 5 passes the Straits of Mackinac, connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Environmental organizations are urging the Biden administration to cancel line 3, arguing that it is another KXL. Both KXL and line 3 are oil sand pipelines.

“Line 5 in Michigan doesn’t just deliver products from Canada to Canada through Michigan. Also, 65 [percent] of the propane in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan comes from line 5. Texas is having a cold wave. Imagine what it feels like in Michigan today. So, it’s a very serious issue,” said Maryscott Greenwood, CEO of the Canadian American Business Council, at a forum organized by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute on Feb. 16.

No Benefits in Sight

The current time is challenging for Josh Williams, a pipeliner with 20 years in the industry. Union pipeliners have to keep working hours at a certain level to qualify for the benefits package, including health insurance and retirement 401(k) accounts. “I lost my insurance six months ago,” he told The Epoch Times.

He said that his local union 798 has a first-in and first-out job coordination system. Williams shared a union document showing that as of Feb. 12, 2021, 1,768 welders, 257 journeymen, and 1,990 helpers are “on the wheel,” meaning this many people are currently out of a job and looking for one. If a person is 1,001 on the list, he will need to wait for the first 1,000 to get jobs before it’s his turn. Therefore, fulfilling the working hours to regain the union health, dental insurance, and pension credit looks bleak.

Some jobs require pipeliners to foot the travel cost to the job site before they start earning an income. Williams said that he also knew friends who had to choose between getting their kids a nice Christmas versus spending the money to travel to a job. Some decided to stay home to get their kids a nice Christmas; some chose to sacrifice Christmas to get to another job.

Union Representation Questioned

Josh Williams is disappointed at the United Association (UA), the parent labor union of which his local 798 is an affiliate. He said that UA endorsed candidate Joe Biden during the election and sent members letters urging them to vote for Biden. “You can’t vote for somebody that’s going to shut your work down. You just can’t do that. Nobody in their right minds will do that.”

For some, the reality didn’t set in until the first week of the Biden administration, according to Williams. He said that some were confused by mixed messages on the Keystone XL pipeline and fracking during the election and thought President Biden was supposed to back unions because unions donate a lot of money to his campaign.

On Feb. 16, Gary Doer, former Canadian ambassador to the United States, said at a forum organized by the Ottawa-based Macdonald-Laurier Institute that Biden committed to canceling KXL trying to secure the nomination during the primary. In response to a question by The Epoch Times, he added, “I do think it’s unfortunate that the building trade delegates in the Democratic Party weren’t able to have as much power at the time in May of last year than the environmental lobbyists, particularly with the threat of [Sen. Bernie] Sanders still staying in the race.” He said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should focus on protecting line 5 and line 3 now.

Williams said that they started a local political action committee (PAC) to get signatures to petition governors and organizations. He said that the local PAC worked but not as much as it should have.

On Feb. 8, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed an executive order citing “the federal overreach and dismissal of Oklahoma’s constitutional ability to properly determine how to best develop its own natural resources.”

As a resident of Poteau, Oklahoma, Williams welcomed his governor’s action: “The governor’s executive order pretty much told the administration: you stay out of Oklahoma’s gas and oil industry business. It supports thousands and thousands of families just in Oklahoma.”

Way of Life Attacked

“He [Biden] was attacking our profession, our industry, our lives, everything,” Williams told The Epoch Times.

“The big thing for me is the camaraderie, the family atmosphere, the brothers. It’s a brotherhood; it’s a sisterhood. The big thing on every job is when you’re away from your family, your immediate family, this is our family away from home. You build a lot of relationships; you get to meet new people. When I go to these jobs and projects, I try to find these guys’ names and become friends with them. And we all have the same interests at heart, every one of us.” Not having this is taking away his way of life, said Williams.

Palazzo has started with another pipeline construction company. Over the years he was with the previous company until November, he had overseen 3,500 miles of various pipelines, including oil from coast to coast. He often visited job sites. He said the pipeliners had a demanding job, often working 60 hours a week. Yet, they found time to help local charities. “A lot of times, they don’t even ask the corporate. They would take care of it themselves.”

He recalled that in Ohio when the COVID just hit, pipeliners organized food drives for the elderly. They donated N95 masks to local medical facilities. They made real burgers for the local first responders and medical personnel to stop by and pick up, all on the pipeliners’ own initiative. “The goal is always when you go in and do a project, you want to be a good neighbor, you respect the community and try to make it a better place while you are there.”