“There's nothing that I can do, if the gas companies cannot get pressurized gas to us.”. Mercado said that message was delivered after it should have and that some downtown customers had to be forced to power down. “We need to recognize the interdependencies and we need to come up with a protocol between gas and power,” he said. She paused for a couple beats, and then he ended his questioning. Under an electricity system the Legislature shifted to two decades ago, power companies aren’t required to produce enough electricity to get the state through crises like the one last week. I want the public to know who screwed up.”. ERCOT CEO explains the power grid's "danger zone" at start of Texas' winter ... ERCOT leadership gave an exact amount of time that the Texas power … ERCOT is the first independent system operator (ISO) in the United States and one of nine ISOs in North America. Late Tuesday, Magness told Hunter ERCOT didn't accurately project how bad the situation was going to be. Gutierrez of NRG agreed the state isn't prepared. “You should change us.”. “We cannot afford to not have a system that is more resilient and reliable than the one we just saw," Gutierrez said. Sometimes, like in 2011, Texas imports some power from Mexico during a … “Y’all made us,” Magness said. by Reese Oxner, Mitchell Ferman and Julián Aguilar A Texas Tribune and ProPublica investigation found that over the last decade, lawmakers and regulators, including the Public Utility Commission and the industry-friendly Texas Railroad Commission, have repeatedly ignored, dismissed or watered down efforts to address weaknesses in the state’s sprawling electric grid. “Why are people not talking to each other? Instead of half-hour increments, many Texans were left without power for hours or even days. Perhaps it goes without saying — but producing quality journalism isn't cheap. MORE: Five ERCOT board members who live outside of Texas resign in week after power outage, winter storm Advertisement Earlier this week, the … He said that even if all equipment was winterized, it wouldn’t have prevented gas interruptions. “They did do it when they were demanded to do it and we talked to the mayor and got his help.”. State Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, said hundreds of Texans have contacted his office since the storm, including Gary Bledsoe, the president of the Texas chapter of the NAACP. Morgan told lawmakers that the state’s energy systems cannot operate much below 10 degrees. ERCOT is naive about how much power Texas ... As temperatures began to plummet across Texas on Sunday, Feb. 14, ERCOT ... Phil Wilson is the general manager of the Lower Colorado River Authority. ”Let's be honest, they're not built for the winter,” he said. Magness answered that he made $803,000, which came from Texans paying their electric bills. “The entire energy sector failed Texans, we know we can do better,” NRG Energy CEO Mauricio Gutierrez said. Seven members of Ercot’s board have resigned in the aftermath.Key Highlights:The head of a trade group representing power retailers called for retroactively adjusting the … Ögelman: The power grid for Texas is an interconnected network that moves electricity from producers such as power plants to consumers. “And we must do better to make sure that this never happens again.”. Brad Jones, former head of New York’s power grid, is the leading candidate to replace Magness as ERCOT’s CEO, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the board’s thinking. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who earlier this week called for the heads of ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission to resign, also welcomed the move. Anchía asked Walker if she thought Texans deserved an apology from PUC. The board would begin an immediate search for a new CEO. ERCOT was appointed to facilitate the power flows and exchanges between emerging utilities and became the country’s first independent system operator, otherwise known as an ISO in 1996. After widespread outages, he placed the blame firmly on ERCOT and made reforming the operator an emergency item for the Legislature. “There's this very carefully curated discussion of blame by the governor that always speaks to ERCOT ... and never mentioned the Public Utility Commission,” Anchía said. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Disclosure: CenterPoint Energy, NRG Energy and Rice University have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. “Of course you saw the pictures and the optics were horrible,” he said. Other regions have capacity markets, where power generators can make money by keeping power plants available when needed. The winter storm caused widespread blackouts across Texas, a state unaccustomed to extreme cold, knocking out power to more than 4 million people at its peak. Later, in the House, Anchía quizzed Walker surrounding the PUC’s authority over ERCOT, concluding that the commission did have decision-making ability over the operator. “Texas has always liked the idea that you get paid if you run,” Curt Morgan, CEO of Irving-based Vistra Corp., one of the larger power companies in the ERCOT market, told House members. Texas lawmakers on Thursday criticized and questioned the state's energy grid operator over this month's devastating power outages. He asked Walker if the governor had asked for hers. Magness worked at ERCOT for more than a decade and became its CEO and president in 2016 after working as its general counsel, the Texas Tribune newspaper reported. Feb. 25, 2021 “ERCOT was pathetic. However we can absolutely look through it and I would entertain the opportunity to make it better for the future.”. WITH Texas dealing with extreme winter weather and frozen wind turbines millions of people have been left without power. which was not prepared for the winter weather, likely to be very difficult and costly, energy experts said, who left the state with her husband during the outages, poorer areas and neighborhoods of color were harder hit. The PUC was non-existent,” said state Rep. Sam Harless, R-Spring, calling “across-the-board” communication from both state officials and energy providers inadequate. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on members to help keep our stories free and our events open to the public. Texans demanded an amount of electricity normally not seen in the winter months. After the outages began, Abbott asked state lawmakers to mandate the winterization of generators and power plants, a proposal previously floated but not implemented by state leaders in the aftermath of another winter storm in 2011. Most of what they got during simultaneous public hearings in the Texas Senate and House was finger pointing. “The way that the circuits were rolling back on, it was first one out — whoever had been out the longest — was going to be the next one in. The Texas Railroad Commission is in charge of regulating natural gas. Toward the end of the House committees' joint hearing, state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, at times seemed to struggle to contain her frustration as testimony stretched past the 15-hour mark. The head of the PUC, DeAnn T. Walker, appeared before lawmakers on Thursday after Magness testified for roughly five hours. Seven of ERCOT’s 15 directors have resigned in the last week and the head of the state’s Public Utility Commission, which supervised ERCOT, resigned on Monday. The committees were expected to continue the hearings Friday. “This is the largest train wreck in the history of deregulated electricity,” said state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe. “I don’t have the answer that you’re asking [for] today, I need to really dig into the details and put that together,” he said. “I understand downtown Houston staying up, but shouldn’t we have had some sort of communication process in place, to tell them ‘Hey we can’t cut you off but at least turn the stuff down?’”. One way the state could have communicated the emergency better was through something similar to an amber alert, recommended state Sen. Angela Paxton, who left the state with her husband during the outages. It had nothing to do with neighborhood or streets or race or color. Lawmakers grilled public regulators and energy grid officials about how power outages happened and why Texans weren't given more warnings about the danger. Anchía said the PUC was empowered to winterize with legislation passed in 2011, after frigid temperatures caused equipment failures and blackouts. The legislature now can begin “fixing what went wrong,” Patrick said. “Were neighborhoods that are densely populated by African Americans or people of color more likely to have sustained power outages?” he asked Kenny Mercado, executive vice president, electric utility for CenterPoint Energy. Harless asked CenterPoint executive Mercado why Houston’s downtown was “lit up like Las Vegas” when the city’s residents were in the dark. "No further questions.”. The Senate Committee on Business & Commerce meeting and a joint hearing of the House’s State Affairs and Energy Resources committees lasted more than 12 hours. And they didn't.”. Maybe two days late,” he said. The PUC oversees ERCOT and the railroad commission regulates the oil and gas industry. “I want to hear who’s at fault. Abbott blames Texas’ power crisis on ERCOT, calls for investigation. “Who’s at fault?” Hunter, the Corpus Christi Republican, asked the executives. Texas House leaders on Monday unveiled a series of bills addressing the statewide power crisis that left more than 4 million Texans without electricity last … In the House’s joint hearing, representatives spent the first four hours grilling the CEOs of Vistra Corp and NRG, two of the largest energy providers in the state. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas operates the electric grid and manages the deregulated market for 75 percent of the state. State Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas, accused Abbott of ignoring the role that the PUC played in the crisis. Reynolds said Bledsoe had concerns that poorer areas and neighborhoods of color were harder hit than more affluent areas and that people of color were possibly without resources longer than more affluent Texans once power was reconnected. “Some of the blame belongs right here in this building,” State Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, said Thursday. “Yeah, I would argue it was probably at least a day late, in my opinion. Officials of the commission that regulates ERCOT are appointed by the governor. “I don’t disagree with you, sir,” Walker said. Building energy infrastructure to perform in winter conditions is easier and cheaper, they said. Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT… Morgan instructed his employees to buy gas at any price, but they couldn’t get it at the pressures necessary. ERCOT is funded by a transaction fee on power companies that use the grid. Last week, the state average temperature dropped as low as 11.8 degrees and was even lower across large swaths of the state, according to the National Weather Service. “We have to answer to our people, and they deserve to know what's going on. After the winter storm power outages, Texas should focus on the opportunity to reform ERCOT to maintain our competitive edge. “I am dumbfounded by it. And I don’t want tonight to be the last thing we say about this.”. His departure followed fierce criticism by state lawmakers of the handling of the crisis by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which has led one large electricity provider to seek bankruptcy and put several others near to it. Several house representatives called for private companies to create better crisis communication plans for both customers and lawmakers. ERCOT last week ordered rotating power outages, but experts said many of Texas’ power generators failed because they are not properly equipped to handle cold weather. Vistra Corp. CEO Curt Morgan acknowledged that his company could have performed better, but said the biggest problem they faced was disruptions in the state’s natural gas supply system, which was not prepared for the winter weather. She deflected much of the responsibility for the power outages to ERCOT, downplaying the PUC's authority over the operator. “(This step) offers the opportunity for new leadership that can more efficiently prepare and direct our state’s resources when dangerous weather strikes,” he added. But retroactively equipping power plants to withstand cold temperatures is likely to be very difficult and costly, energy experts said. Texas lawmakers investigating this month’s devastating power outages during a massive winter storm grilled power-grid officials Thursday and questioned whether state regulators did enough. Last week, about 4 million people across Texas went without power for days as temperatures dropped below freezing, placing unprecedented demand on the power grid that led to generator failures. Earlier in the day, state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, asked whether lawmakers should reexamine ERCOT’s governance structure. AUSTIN, Texas (KTRK) -- Hearings continued Friday in the Texas House and Senate committees on Texas' power grid and the actions of ERCOT … Does that mean ERCOT is still not connected to any other grids? ERCOT last week ordered rotating power outages, but experts said many of Texas’ power generators failed because they are not properly equipped to handle cold weather. After 11 p.m. Thursday, following more than 14 hours of testimony, state Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, asked ERCOT CEO Bill Magness how much he earns, and where that money comes from. Texas Power Grid Operator ERCOT May Have Overcharged $16 Billion During ... ERCOT has faced severe backlash over its management of the Texas power grid … Texas' power grid operator ousted chief executive Bill Magness on Wednesday, as the fallout continues from a deadly blackout last month that left residents without heat, power … Next-day power for Tuesday at the ERCOT North hub jumped to a record of $1,489.75 per megawatt hour (MWh), while some 5-minute power prices … And Abbott requested that lawmakers provide power companies with funding to make the necessary changes. Show us with your support. "And we gave you power, we gave you rule-making authority to take care of it.". “The PUC bears responsibility here as well.”. The power grid was not prepared for that level of demand or equipment failure due to freezing temperatures. As Texas reels from a deadly snowstorm, ERCOT, the state's power grid operator that serves over 26 million Texans, is aiming to avoid a complete blackout by cutting down the power supply to consumers. Do you value our journalism? “If the Legislature fails to mandate weatherization of pipelines or power plants, there are limits to how far the regulatory agencies can go to step beyond where the Legislature has given them direction,” Alison Silverstein, an Austin-based energy consultant who has advised state and federal agencies, said Wednesday on a virtual conference with other energy experts. Updated: Feb. 26, 2021. Why do we have this set up to where the PUC and ERCOT and the Railroad Commission and the Legislature and whoever else needs to be involved here, why are we not talking to each other?” she said. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas avoided taking full responsibility for the outages that left millions without power in subfreezing temperatures and disrupted water service for large swaths of the state. And then there is the Texas grid, which serves one state. ERCOT officials, energy executives, utility company bosses and a meteorologist were among those questioned about the outages before committees in both chambers of the Texas Legislature. As the agency announced that the power outages would continue till … The executives pointed to a number of problems — some internal but many external — that contributed to widespread outages and energy shortages in the state. Anchía questioned the PUC's Walker about why the public regulatory agency didn’t sound alarms sooner to warn the public that people could be stuck without power far beyond what rolling blackouts call for. Electrical workers repair a power line in Austin last week. Commission Chair Christi Craddick told lawmakers that even though ERCOT is in charge of the grid, she had not communicated directly with the organization during the storm. Watch live, get live analysis as Texas lawmakers question ERCOT, energy regulators about power outages Madlin Mekelburg Bob Sechler Asher Price Austin American-Statesman Planned “rotating outages” instead became sustained blackouts as ERCOT struggled to manage the grid. State Rep. Abel Herrero, D-Robstown, the vice chair of the energy resources committee, noted that Abbott had welcomed resignations from ERCOT members. Greg Abbott outlined five focus points for the days ahead, including investigating ERCOT. Find a complete list of them here. Q: How would you describe ERCOT’s mission and role in competitive energy markets? “ERCOT’s decision to oust CEO Bill Magness signals accountability for the disaster that swept through our state two weeks ago,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement on Twitter. Jolie McCullough contributed to this report. In fact, they are incentivized to ramp up generation only when dwindling power supplies have driven up prices. The executives agreed: The entire energy system in Texas saw widespread problems that ultimately led to supply failing to meet demand. The mid-February storm temporarily knocked out up to half the state’s generating plants, triggering outages that killed dozens and pushed power prices to 10 times the normal rate. Some of her colleagues agreed. ERCOT manages approximately 550 energy units across Texas, which powers 90% of the state. “The Governor called on ERCOT … Greg Abbott was mostly silent publicly ahead of the winter storm, and his office did not warn Texans that many of them would be without electricity and water for days during subfreezing temperatures. Gov. ERCOT said in a statement cited by multiple media organizations that its board had directed that Magness be given a 60 days’ termination notice. Walker answered no. Craddick, chair of the commission the oversees the natural gas industry, told lawmakers that wellheads, the component at the earth’s surface of an oil or gas well, can only be winterized with electricity. He asked if the commission ever submitted a report as was it was authorized to in the bill. “The fact that you’re hesitating is astonishing," he said. Magness was grilled for hours last week for leaving power prices at up to 450 times the usual rate after the threat to the state’s grid had ended. UPDATE: March 4, 2021: The Electric Reliability Council of Texas' (ERCOT) Board of Directors voted on Wednesday to oust CEO Bill Magness, following continued fallout from the power … Bill Magness, the CEO of Texas' electric grid operator ERCOT, was fired from his post following the deadly power outages. “I was a big proponent of this market, and my faith has been shaken,” Morgan said. Gov. Leaders of ERCOT and the PUC came under pressure from Gov. One U.S. power grid covers the eastern states, another the western states. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT) is an American organization that operates Texas's electrical grid, the Texas Interconnection, which supplies power to more than 25 million Texas customers and represents 90 percent of the state's electric load. In 2019, Magness’ salary was $876,334 according to the organization’s 2019 tax report to the IRS. ERCOT provides update on restoration of power - 2/19/21. ERCOT cannot get power from the country ... ERCOT doesn’t really have any authority or anything to ... we want to find ways to get back in a situation where people are at full power in Texas. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is giving latest details on power outages and the work being done to restore power. ERCOT matches the supply of electricity with consumer demand and ensures the grid remains stable so Texans can be sure their lights and air conditioning stay on 24/7. “It seems to me, comprehensive," Anchía said. (Reuters) - Texas’ power grid operator ousted chief executive Bill Magness on Wednesday, as the fallout continues from a deadly blackout last month that left residents without heat, power or water for days. “We told you to report to us if you thought we were unprepared because we had promised our constituents, ‘This was not going to happen again,’ and we told PUC to take care of it," he said. Morgan, the Vistra CEO, said he’s lost confidence the state’s electrical grid could keep up with future demands, like greater numbers of electric vehicles on Texas roads. Greg Abbott and Texas legislators for the failure of the power system. At a time when newsroom resources and revenue across the country are declining, The Texas Tribune remains committed to sustaining our mission: creating a more engaged and informed Texas with every story we cover, every event we convene and every newsletter we send. Mercado said he didn’t immediately have demographic information but said reconnections had nothing to do with ethnicity or race. “There’s blame out there for everybody.”. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Ann Maria Shibu in Bengaluru; Editing by Gary McWilliams and Richard Pullin. Texas’ power grid was “seconds and minutes” away from a catastrophic failure that could have left Texans in the dark for months, officials with the entity that operates the grid said Thursday. ERCOT said last week that the grid almost suffered a catastrophic failure that could have caused uncontrolled blackouts leaving residents without power for months. “There is the perception that there was some equitable issues, so could you give your perspective from CenterPoint’s standpoint in the Houston and Fort Bend areas?”.