Investigate ERCOT

Echoes of Enron?

Regarding “What went wrong with the Texas power grid?” (Feb. 15): Here in the self-styled “Energy Capital of the World,” it is obvious now in the face of unprecedented cold weather the Texas energy system was inadequate, and ERCOT, the Energy Reliability Council of Texas, should be renamed EUCOT — “...Unreliability Council .... ” It appears from reports some of the supply problems are being attributed to frozen wind turbines (although producing more than expected), a nuclear plant going offline, some shut-in natural gas production and natural gas first directed for heat, then power.

There is a remarkable opportunity for investigation, including investigative journalism for exact causes of insufficient power generation capacity — and the decisions underlying power prioritization and blackouts — especially in view of the significant advance notice. All parties involved should have their records and emails examined, and if they cannot provide such records, they should not be paid. It reminds me a little bit of the Fat Boy and Death Star scams from the Enron days, although the details are different and there was undeniably an unusual weather event here. With political and climate drivers to continue to increase our dependence on reliable electricity as we move away from fossil fuels, it is critical we understand and incentivize responsible rather that opportunistic behavior.

Mark Chapin, Kate