Power directors quit after Texas freeze
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, was anything but reliable when Texas was frozen over last week. The southern US state’s power grid overseen by the operator became so unreliable that 4 million people were left without power amid freezing cold for days. The winter storm and power outage left at least 30 dead in the state.
As public anger and the questions mounted, five out-of-state ERCOT board members resigned on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, ERCOT Chief Executive Bill Magness said that the grid was minutes away from a complete failure overnight on Feb 15. He outlined the magnitude of last week’s crisis during a presentation to the power operator’s board of directors in which he gave a timeline of what went wrong.
In a jointly signed letter to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, ERCOT board chair Sally Talberg and three other board members said: “We have noted recent concerns about out-of-state board leadership at ERCOT. To allow state leaders a free hand with future direction and to eliminate distractions, we are resigning from the board effective after our urgent board teleconference meeting adjourns on Wednesday.”
Aside from Talberg, the others who signed the letter were vicechair Peter Cramton, finance and audit committee chair Terry Bulger, and human resources and governance committee chairman Raymond Hepper.
The letter also acknowledged what Texans had gone through in the past week: “Our hearts go out to all Texans who have had to go without electricity, heat, and water during frigid temperatures and continue to face the tragic consequences of this emergency.”
The power company received notice from board member and market segment director Vanessa Anesetti-Parra that she was resigning, effective from Wednesday.
In a separate letter, Craig Ivey, who was set to fill a vacant position on the board, withdrew his candidacy “to avoid becoming a distraction” over his out-of-state residency.
Massive outage
The 16-member board of the company appoints officers who manage the Texas power grid’s day-to-day operations. It came under fire after the state’s massive power outage.
According to the Austin American-Statesman newspaper, Talberg, who lives in Michigan, and Cramton, who lives in California, were elected as chair and vicechair on Feb 9 during a board meeting.
Bulger and Hepper live in Illinois and Maine, respectively; Anesetti-Parra lives in Toronto.
US Congressman Colin Allred, a Democrat representing the Dallas area, in an interview with Inside Texas Politics on Sunday said he was told by Curt Morgan, CEO of Vistra Corp, that their team began to sound the alarm on Feb 9, when the freezing weather was forecast.
“They alerted ERCOT immediately, as well as the Texas Railroad Commission and other state government officials,” Allred said. “By their account, no one seemed to react with the haste.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, said he welcomed the resignations.
But Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner wasn’t satisfied by the resignation of the five out-of-state ERCOT board members.
“Having out-of-state board members resign will not change the failed oversight by the Public Utility Commission or the lack of common-sense policy by the Texas legislature,” Turner said in a statement.