ERCOT Admits Wind, Solar Power Alone Can’t Keep Texans Warm During Record-Breaking Arctic Blast
For the millions of Texans who ERCOT stranded in 2021, demands to reduce electricity usage look like another potential power grid collapse.For the millions of Texans who ERCOT stranded in 2021, demands to reduce electricity usage look like another potential power grid collapse.With Heat Waves Straining The Power Grid, Texas Must Fix Its Subsidy Problem
Who pays for the extra backup power to support the explosive growth of wind and solar on the Texas grid? Right now, no one.CEO of Texas power grid operator ERCOT fired, turns down $800,000 severance pay
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas fired its CEO, Bill Magness, on Wednesday, and a spokesperson says the ousted leader will not accept the roughly $800,000 severance pay due to him as part of his contract.
What are the details?
The Texas Tribune reported that ERCOT's board of directors terminated Magness "without cause," and his office claims he "will not seek or accept" the year's salary — upwards of $800,000 — he would have been owed. According to the outlet, "Magness worked at ERCOT for more than a decade and became its CEO and president in 2016 after working as its general counsel."
ERCOT has been under intense scrutiny for imposing extended power outages that left millions of Texans suffered days without electricity or water amid a brutal winter storm last month. Dozens of deaths have been linked to the crisis, and plumbing problems still plague countless residents.
Texas lawmakers have raged over the disaster, demanding answers for why ERCOT was not better prepared. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) both called publicly for the nonprofit's leaders to step down over the fiasco.
Last week, four of ERCOT's five out-of-state board members did resign amid public outrage over the revelation that one third of the board did not live in Texas to experience or even witness the suffering of the state's residents.
Their departure occurred the day before the non-profit's leaders were scheduled to testify before Texas state lawmakers. During a hearing before the Senate Business and Commerce Committee, Magness suggested natural gas supply issues were the root of the problem for the failure of the power grid.
Magness said that he feels "a great deal of responsibility and remorse about the event," but added, "I believe the operators on our team did everything they could have."
When pressed about whether he would have done anything differently if given the opportunity, the CEO replied, "As I sit here now, I don't believe I would. I wouldn't step in front of them and question their judgment and their experience."
The Daily Mail noted that the announcement of Magness' termination "came hours after the [U.S.] House Oversight and Reform Committee launched an investigation into the failures that led to the outages."
Anything else?
Earlier this week, the chairwoman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, DeAnn Walker, resigned after the lieutenant governor called on her to do so. PUC is the regulatory body responsible for the oversight of ERCOT. Walker has also blamed ERCOT for the state's widespread power outages.
ERCOT CEO says he wouldn't do anything differently in Texas power outages, but feels 'remorse'
The CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas told state lawmakers Thursday that while he feels "remorse" over the widespread power outages linked to dozens of deaths during winter storms last week, he would not have done anything differently in the crisis.
What are the details?
Texans are demanding answers as to why ERCOT, the entity that manages Texas' power grid, implemented extended blackouts for millions of citizens in the energy-rich state despite having advanced warning of dangerously low temperatures and snow storms.
Bill Magness, president and CEO of the non-profit, was grilled with questions during a Texas State Senate Business and Commerce Committee hearing, and asked to explain his actions.
According to NBC News, Magness blamed natural gas supply issues as the cause of the problems, telling committee Chair John Whitmire (D), "It's our job to keep the grid balanced, and if I'm looking at it, the problem was at the sites of the various generation."
"I'd just say, I feel a great deal of responsibility and remorse about the event," the CEO said, "but I believe the operators on our team did everything they could have."
Whitmire pressed, "But you wouldn't have changed anything in terms of your play calling during those critical hours?"
"As I sit here now, I don't believe I would," Magness replied. "I wouldn't step in front of them and question their judgment and their experience."
He added that if it emerges that neglect occurred, it would be "on me."
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Magness explained during an ERCOT board meeting Wednesday that while his organization manages the power grid, it does not "operate or have authority over electric generators." The CEO has repeatedly said that if ERCOT had not conducted outages, a longer-term blackout across the state would have occurred.
ERCOT has faced intense public scrutiny over the devastating power grid failures that left much of Texas without power and water, resulting in what is estimated to be at least 30 deaths — including that of an 11-year-old boy who is believed to have succumbed to hypothermia after days without power in his family's mobile home.
The day before Magness' hearing before the Senate committee, four out-of-state ERCOT board members resigned amid backlash after it was revealed that one third of the board of directors did not live in Texas and therefore did not experience the impact of the outages.
Anything else?
Prior to Mangess testimony Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) delivered his own immediate plan for action in the aftermath of the power failures, including investigating providers about costs, adding more power to the grid, and overhauling ERCOT, KENS-TV reported.
Gov. Abbott says ERCOT should be overhauled as executives testify before the Texas House www.youtube.com
Four out-of-state members of Texas' ERCOT board resign amid backlash
Four out-of-state board members of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state's power grid, have announced their resignations amid backlash over last week's widespread outages and criticism that several leaders of ERCOT do not even reside in the Lone Star State.
What are the details?
Last week, Texas state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed outrage over the revelation that five of the fifteen people serving on ERCOT's board do not live in the state, and therefore did not experience the power failures that left millions of Texans without heat or water.
In a letter to the Public Utility Commission of Texas on Tuesday, ERCOT announced that four of their board members — including Chairwoman Sally Talberg and Vice Chairman Peter Cramton — will be stepping down following an ERCOT board meeting Wednesday morning.
According to the Texas Tribune, Talberg lives in Michigan and Cramton lives in Germany. The other two departing members, finance and audit chair Terry Bulger and human resources and governance committee chair Raymond Hepper, also live out of state.
ERCOT said last week it has pulled board members' biographical information from its website, allegedly due to harassment of members.
The resignations are set to occur the day before ERCOT officials are expected to testify before Texas lawmakers during hearings slated for Thursday regarding last week's power failures, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Texans are demanding answers from ERCOT, which manages roughly 90% of the state's electric load, after much of the state was left without power last week — some portions for days at a time — after a brutal winter storm hit the region. At least 30 citizens have reportedly died in connection to the outages, and sky-high electric bills have followed for residents with variable payment plans.
Axios reported that when the storm hit, ERCOT "began conducting power outages to balance the demand and supply of the grid."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) called for ERCOT's leaders to resign last week, saying they failed to prepare despite advanced notice of the storm, and then failed to communicate to the public about what was occurring during the outages.
"This was a total failure by ERCOT," Abbott told KTRK-TV, explaining, "This is something I declared in advance... this is something that our team had been talking to them about in advance, knowing, in advance, the ultra-cold we were going to be dealing with."
"There seemed to be a lack of preparation, and making sure we did have access to back-up power in the event that the power generators were incapable of generating power, but all that aside .... they should be providing greater transparency," Abbott continued.
"They are a public entity," he added. "They deserve to tell you, as well as government leaders, exactly what is going and what is not going on and they are not stepping up and providing that level of transparency."
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