House And Senate Hearings Investigating ERCOT Power Outages Set To Get Underway In Austin
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) — Today state lawmakers will begin their investigation into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the massive power failure that left millions of Texans in the dark and without heat.
Governor Greg Abbott is promising to take action to prevent future power grid failures. In a five-minute address to the state on February 24 he blamed ERCOT for not acting quicker to stabilize the grid and prevent generators from being knocked offline.
"Before the storm hit, ERCOT repeatedly assured the state and the public that ERCOT was prepared," Abbott claimed. "Those assurances turned out to be false."
Abbott says the legislative session in Texas won't end until the problems are fixed and that he's made it a legislative priority tom mandate and fund the winterization of the Texas power infrastructure to protect the grid from future weather events.
ERCOT manages 90% of the state's power grid and oversees the flow of power to more than 25 million Texans.
In the House, the State Affairs Committee and the Business and Commerce Committee will hear testimony. In the Senate, the Finance Committee and the Business and Commerce Committee will examine if weather preparedness, or lack there of, led to ERCOT calling for the power outages.
During a three-hour emergency board meeting on Wednesday, ERCOT CEO Bill Magness said nearly half of the state's power supply went down at the height of the winter storm due to the extreme weather impacts.
The hearings will be held simultaneously at the Texas Capitol beginning at 9:00 a.m. on February 25 and lawmakers are expected to hear testimony from officials with ERCOT, the Railroad Commission, and the Public Utility Commission.
