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5 ERCOT Board Members Resign

None of them actually live in Texas
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 24, 2021 1:37 AM CST
5 ERCOT Board Members Resign
In this Feb. 15, 2021, file photo, Dan Bryant and his wife Anna huddle by the fire with their sons and dog, with power out and temperatures dropping inside their home after a winter storm brought snow and freezing temperatures to North Texas in Garland, Texas.   (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News via AP, File)

In the wake of the disastrous days of Texas power outages, five members of the board of the state's Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) are reportedly stepping down Wednesday. A sixth person withdrew his application to the board. None of them actually live in Texas, the Texas Tribune reports. ERCOT, which is in charge of the electricity grid that covers most of the state, has come under fire for the devastating outages, which lasted days for millions of residents, and the disclosure that some board members aren't even state residents added fuel to the fire. Gov. Greg Abbott said he welcomes the resignations and will investigate ERCOT.

"The lack of preparedness and transparency at ERCOT is unacceptable. We will ensure that the disastrous events of last week are never repeated," he says in a statement. ERCOT has been sued over the outages, but ABC 13 reports the organization is arguing in court that it has sovereign immunity, a legal principle protecting certain entities from lawsuits because such suits could disrupt "key government services" if money is drained for litigation. Lower courts have upheld that immunity, but the issue is currently before the Texas Supreme Court. Meanwhile, a state senator asked Texans to complete a survey about their experience during the storm Tuesday, ahead of the board's Wednesday meeting, CBS Austin reports. (More Texas stories.)

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