Austin American-Statesman
Listen: ERCOT talks briefly about winter storm preparedness in Texas
During a February 9 meeting, ERCOT operators spent less than a minute discussing the approaching winter weather and whether the Texas power grid could handle it.
ERCOT
AUSTIN, Texas – According to a post on the Public Utility Commission’s website, five members of the board of directors of the entity that operates the state’s power grid have resigned.
Chairman Sally Talberg, Vice Chairman Peter Cramton and members Terry Bulger, Raymond Hepper and Vanessa Anesetti-Parra will leave the Electric Reliability Council of Texas or ERCOT. None of them live in Texas.
ERCOT has come under fire for tackling widespread power outages that left millions of Texans without power and water as the state faced freezing temperatures, snow and ice. The storm was part of an icy blast through the Deep South that resulted in more than 80 deaths, about half of them in Texas.
In a joint resignation letter, Talberg, Cramton, Bulger and Hepper acknowledged “the pain and suffering of Texans over the past week” and cited objections to their residency as a motivating factor for their resignation.
Anesetti-Parra did not sign the joint letter, but a message from ERCOT to the Public Utility Commission stated her intention to step down as a board member.
Winter storm blackouts also plagued Texas in 2011. Recommendations made thereafter did not remain in effect.
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“Our hearts go out to all Texans who have been deprived of electricity, heat and water during cold temperatures and are still facing the tragic consequences of this emergency,” the letter reads. “We have noted recent concerns about out-of-state leadership at ERCOT. To give state leaders a free rein with future direction and to eliminate distractions, we are resigning from the board.”
Craig Ivey, about to fill a vacant position on the board, said in a separate letter that he was withdrawing his candidacy “so as not to become a distraction” from his stay out of state.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who accused state lawmakers of making changes to ERCOT after the outage, said he welcomed the resignation.
“When Texans urgently needed electricity, ERCOT failed to do its job and Texans continued to shiver in their homes without power,” Abbott said in a statement. “ERCOT leaders assured Texas power infrastructure was prepared for the winter storm, but those assurances turned out to be devastatingly false.”
A month ago, operators at ERCOT gave a positive assessment of the readiness of Texas power plants for winter storms, according to the Austin American-Statesman, part of the USA TODAY Network.
When the fierce storm hit the state, large generation units failed, and operators at ERCOT ordered a series of continuous power outages to protect the power grid from catastrophic outages.
Instead of rolling blackouts, more than 4 million people were without electricity for days.
State officials criticized ERCOT amid the power outage and the state lawmakers have scheduled legislative hearings on Thursday and Friday to discuss the outages.
“We look forward to partnering with Texas Legislature, and we thank the outgoing board members for their service,” said ERCOT.
Talberg, who lives in Michigan, and Cramton, who lives in California, were chosen to serve as chairman and vice-chairman on February 9 at a board meeting where power grid operator leaders spent just 40 seconds discussing the upcoming storm.
Bulger lives in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and Hepper lives in Maine. Anesetti-Parra lives in Toronto.
There are a total of 16 members on the board of ERCOT, which appoints officers who manage the day-to-day operations of the grid operator.
Huge lines form across Texas for water distribution in the wake of a storm
While people across Texas are faced with the potential of further waterline outages and power outages with ice starting to thaw, locations set up for bottled water distribution see extremely long lines.
Accuweather, Accuweather
Contributions: The Associated Press
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