Congressional probe targets ERCOT.

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats are launching an investigation into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ failures during the winter storms, which members of the House Oversight Committee say they fear will happen again.

A subcommittee of the House’s main investigative arm is now targeting the state’s power grid manager, which has drawn intense scrutiny after historic winter storms wiped out power to much of Texas, disrupting water supplies and leaving dozens dead. Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered a state investigation into ERCOT; seven of its 15 board members resigned last week.

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who chairs the House Oversight Subcommittee on the Environment, on Wednesday wrote a letter demanding answers from Bill Magness, president and CEO of ERCOT. “We received the letter and will be providing responses,” a spokesman for ERCOT said Wednesday.

The congressional inquiry focuses on ERCOT’S lack of preparation for extreme weather, which Khanna writes will only become more common with climate change.

It notes that ERCOT has not acted upon past warnings from federal officials and consultants that Texas needed to weatherize its facilities to protect against the cold.

“This is not the first or even second time in recent history that an extreme winter weather event has caused electricity blackouts in Texas,” Khanna wrote. “Extreme winter weather events in Texas have occurred repeatedly over decades and ERCOT has been unprepared for them.”

“The Subcommittee is concerned that the loss of electric reliability, and the resulting human suffering, deaths, and economic costs, will happen again unless ERCOT and the State of Texas confront the predicted increase in extreme weather events with adequate preparation and appropriate infrastructure,” Khanna wrote.

The panel specifically requests documents relating to ERCOT’S decisions on where and when to implement rolling blackouts, ERCOT’S communications with Abbott and other state leaders, as well as documents detailing its actions following a 2011 report urging Texas to prepare for future extreme weather.