County launches probe of outages
ERCOT, PUC named in lawsuit calling for answers after storm
The Harris County Attorney’s Office on Tuesday announced it has launched a civil investigation into last week’s power outages and asked Commissioners Court for authority to take legal action on the county’s behalf.
As part of the investigation, County Attorney Christian Menefee said his office would look into the circumstances leading up to the winter storm and ensuing mass power failures, including decision-making by the Public Utility Commission, the agency that regulates Texas’ electric and water utilities, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state’s power grid.
“Members of our community died in this disaster, and millions of Texans languished without power and water while suffering billions in property damage,” Menefee said. “Harris County residents deserve to know what happened, who made which decisions, and whether this could have been avoided or mitigated.”
Menefee has asked Harris County Commissioners Court for permission to file legal briefs or “other appropriate litigation” in cases involving the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, and other entities involved in last week’s power out
ages.
Lawsuits and investigations already have begun to pile up in the wake of the winter storm that killed dozens of Texans and left millions without power or running water for days.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, as part of his office’s own investigation into the power outages, last week requested communication records between ERCOT, the Public Utility Commission and electric companies, including CenterPoint Energy, the electricity provider for the Houston area.
A family from Conroe sued ERCOT and Entergy Texas, an energy company, for $100 million Saturday, alleging the suspected hypothermia death of their 11-year-old son would not have happened if ERCOT and Entergy had prepared the energy grid for the storm or warned residents of the outages.
Fears Nachawati, a Dallas law firm, filed a lawsuit last week against ERCOT and utility company American Electric Power over property damage and business interruptions caused by the power outages.
For now, ERCOT has sovereign immunity that protects it from lawsuits due to its status as a government entity, even though it is a private nonprofit corporation.
The Texas Supreme Court is expected to rule this year on a case that could strip ERCOT’s legal protections, which are not extended to any other grid manager in the country.
ERCOT’s chair, vice chair and three other board members — none of whom live in Texas — announced their resignations Tuesday.
Menefee acknowledged the other investigations and said he is willing to work with state agencies on their separate inquires.
“But, Harris County government must protect its residents,” Menefee said. “My office’s investigation will focus on what went wrong with getting power to residents and facilities in this county, and the impact of those failures.”