Anesetti-Parra did not sign the joint letter, but a notice sent from ERCOT to the Public Utility Commission noted her intention to resign from the board. But two of the three appointees selected to pick ERCOT's next board of directors are also major donors to the state leaders who appointed them. [4] Relatively few electric customers lost power in those regions. Petroleum Coke: 742 MWh; She has also served in an advisory capacity to commissioners at the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Michigan Public Service Commission, addressing retail and wholesale market issues, facility siting, ratemaking, and other regulatory issues. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT) Board of Directors (board) selects ERCOT's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), sets overall goals, and guides our direction. Talberg was elected as the chairwoman of ERCOT as a newcomer less than two weeks before the widespread power outages. Its not an issue with the turbines outright. Experts, but not people affected by the failure. Under the new law, the Texas governor now appoints five members of the ERCOT board of directors with the input and approval of the State Senate. . ga('ads.send', { https://t.co/TQCMuP5YGd, Dr. Melissa C. Lott (@mclott) February 10, 2021. While his decision was lauded by many, a few others backfired the blame towards him, for deregulating and privatizing ERCOT, and thereby hampering its operational efficiency. The political appointees replace what are now called unaffiliated members, who mostly served as outside expert voices. Prepare your CV in anticipation of a meeting or interview. AUSTIN - After the 2021 Texas winter storm that knocked out power to millions of Texans for several days, state lawmakers made changes to the oversight of the state electricity grid. The board chairwoman and vice . You had the independent voice there to check market participants, Wood said. window.adsContainer = {"positionAfterTitle":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle5_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position2":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_After_Title_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position3":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Below_Next_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position4":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position5":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle1_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position6":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle2_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position7":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle3_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position8":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle4_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position9":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle5_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position10":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle6_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position11":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle7_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position12":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle8_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position13":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle9_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position14":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle10_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position15":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle11_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position16":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle12_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"positionTop":{"code":"Article_Desktop_970x250_Header_Rel","isOrganicUserAd":false,"max_width":970,"max_height":250},"positionBottom":{"code":"Article_Desktop_Sidebar_Bottom_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":300,"max_height":600},"positionBottomRight":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_After_Title_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":336,"max_height":280}} [66], The Wall Street Journal, "Texas Power Grid Operator Fires CEO," March 4, 2021, Last edited on 24 February 2023, at 20:02, North American Electric Reliability Corporation, deregulation of the Texas electricity market, February 2011, a major winter storm impacted Texas, February 1317, 2021 North American winter storm, Deregulation of the Texas electricity market, "Electric Reliability Council Of Texas Inc 10 10 90 - Nonprofit Explorer", "Pablo Vegas, a utility executive in Ohio, named ERCOT's new CEO", "The Texas Freeze: Why the Power Grid Failed", "Electric Power Monthly - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)". He will serve on the Governance and Nominating Committee. They have erupted in virtual protests and outrage against ERCOT all over the Internet. ERCOT Board Selection Committee ; Ethics Commission, Texas Facilities . The board of directors, installed by a group of three people who are appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker, and a contracted search firm have presented CEO candidates to . } The members of a non-profit board focus on the organisation's high-level strategy, oversight, and accountability. gads_event = event; Magness was already . In addition, Vanessa Anesetti-Parra, the market segment director for the independent retail electric provider market segment, will also resign her position as a board member. According to an ERCOT report, the major sources of generating capacity in Texas are natural gas (51%), wind (24.8%), coal (13.4%), nuclear (4.9%), solar (3.8%), and hydroelectric or biomass-fired units (1.9%). They havent had electricity for two days and it just started to snow again. the chair lives in Michigan and the vice chair is an economics prof in Cologne Germany. window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { The board oversees major functions of ERCOT: open access to the transmission grid on nondiscriminatory terms, system reliability and adequacy, and . $125,039,513. Renewable Sources Excluding Hydroelectric and Solar: 38,812 MWh; During Februarys deadly winter storm, Gov. by Erin Douglas and Mitchell Ferman The story was updated to reflect a fifth member of the board, Vanessa Anesetti-Parra, who is not an unaffiliated director, is also resigning. He graduated from Villanova University with a degree in accounting. Years later, millions lost power. A candidate for another position on the board has withdrawn his application. State Sen. Carol Alvarado of Houston released a letter urging the Public Utility Commission of Texas to approve only residents of Texas to fill ERCOT board vacancies. ga('ads.send', { CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill., March 01, 2023 -- ( BUSINESS WIRE )--AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE: ATR), a global leader in . It wasn't ready for the extreme cold", "LMP Contour Map: Real-Time Market - Locational Marginal Pricing", "Real-Time Settlement Point Prices Display for February 16, 2021", "The Texas grid got crushed because its operators didn't see the need to prepare for cold weather", "Real-Time Settlement Point Prices Display for February 10, 2021", "Surging Texas Power Prices Promise Both Doom and Riches", "Letter from Griddy about the storm and prices", "ERCOT asks Austin Energy to shed more power, could mean outages for emergency services", "48 hours without power a 'nightmare' as residents demand answers", "A Full List of All The Record Cold Texas Temperatures", "Governor Abbott Declares ERCOT Reform An Emergency Item", "Report on Outages and Curtailments during the Southwest Cold Weather Event of February 1-5, 2011 - Causes and Recommendations", "Texas Was Warned a Decade Ago Its Grid Was Unready for Cold", "Texas counties with fewer power outages are not part of state grid", "Lawsuits against ERCOT allege warnings about Texas grid issues 'consciously ignored', "Texas power grid operator ERCOT sued over blackouts", "Regulatory Coverage: ERCOT Discloses Short-Pay Balance of $2.5B; Organization to Release Weekly Short-Pay Report Starting March 8", "Winter storm in Texas: At least 10 deaths linked to statewide disaster; Austin outages may last another day or more", "Texas' death toll from February storm, outages surpasses 100", "Nearly 200 People Died In February's Winter Storm, Double The State's Initial Estimate", "The Texas Winter Storm And Power Outages Killed Hundreds More People Than The State Says", "Family of 11-year-old boy who died in unheated Texas mobile home sues power companies for over $100 million", "ERCOT is in charge of Texas' power, but one-third of its board lives out of state", "ERCOT Removes Names of Board Members from Site Following Death Threats Over Texas Outages", "ERCOT Will Restore Board of Directors' Names to Website After Death Threats Prompted Their Removal", "ERCOT officials spent 40 seconds on winter storm preparedness at Feb. 9 meeting", "ERCOT board meeting last week included joke about cowboy boots, less than 40 seconds of storm talk", "Listen to ERCOT leaders spend 40 seconds on preparedness before Texas winter storm", "ERCOT leaders spent less than a minute discussing winter storm preparedness at Feb. 9 meeting", "ERCOT board members who live outside of Texas are resigning in the aftermath of the power outage, winter storm", "4 ERCOT board members to resign amid backlash over Texas storm", "5 ERCOT board members who live outside of Texas resign in aftermath of power outage, winter storm", Assessing climate sensitivity of peak electricity load for resilient power systems planning and operation: A study applied to the Texas region, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Electric_Reliability_Council_of_Texas&oldid=1141382984. [46] By late March, the total number of deaths surpassed 110. PUC appoints ex-ERCOT director to monitor power market in Texas. 0:00. On Tuesday, he shared ERCOTs tweet. document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ Gov. We would like to congratulate Sally and Peter on their new roles on the ERCOT Board, and look forward to working with them on addressing the challenges of an evolving grid in the years to come, said ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness. ERCOT has a 16-member board of directors. She called on ERCOT management to provide a chronology of key events and critical actions as well as data and explanations in response to the following questions, she wrote. In the case of non-profit or private entities, it is optional to have a board of directors. PDF Version. This caused lawsuits about whether federal regulation then applied, however the judgement was that this was not sufficient. Instead of rolling blackouts,more than 4 million people were left without electricity for days. Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, said he will file legislation requiring the officers and directors of ERCOT to live in Texas, referencing Talberg living in Michigan. Lawmakers are working on a bevy of bills in response. Friday morning, ERCOT announced the removal of the emergency conditions. The Board of Directors appoints ERCOT's officers to direct and manage ERCOT's day-to-day operations, accompanied by a team of executives and managers responsible for critical components of ERCOT's operations areas. pg.acq.push(function() { [56] This revelation drew considerable anger from the public as well as elected representatives, and the board members' names and photographs were temporarily removed from the ERCOT website due to death threats. eventAction: 'render' The questions included asking for information on what preparations were in place, how notice was given and what caused the sustained power loss. Other: 1,160 MWh. "Mark brings more than 30 years of experience leading global supply chains and complex . In a joint resignation letter, Talberg, Cramton, Bulger and Hepper acknowledged "the pain and suffering of Texans during this past week" and cited objections to their residency as a motivating factor for their resignations. Solar: 5,381 MWh; "ERCOT leadership made assurances that Texas power infrastructure was prepared for the winter storm, but those assurances proved to be devastatingly false.. The PUC has primary jurisdiction over activities conducted by ERCOT. Erin Douglas, Kate McGee and Jolie McCullough, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 20:02. SONGS: Singer, songwriter makes new song inspired by FOX 26 news report about goats at Target, Man charged in shooting death of Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso ordered held without bond, Mother who drowned her 2 children, hid bodies under a neighbor's home given 40-year prison sentence, CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Robbery suspects ambush victim at Houston apartment building gate, victim shot, Watch: Fishermen spot sharks in huge feeding frenzy off Louisiana coast, Mother arrested after 4-year-old found outside alone, 1-year-old found laying in soiled linen, GOIN' CRUSIN'? Below is a list of the boards appointed by the governor. When the intense storm hit the state, major generation units failed,and operators at ERCOT ordered a series of rolling blackouts intended to protect the electric grid from catastrophic failure. A board of directors is a group of officials who the shareholders of a firm elect. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), ga('ads.send', { He has advised numerous governments and has been on the ERCOT board since 2015. [20] The 1999 deregulation was aimed at counteracting a shortage of generation capacity in the state. pic.twitter.com/jG0yPQPtz1. Senate Bill 2, which has cleared the upper chamber, would give the governor five ERCOT board member appointments. Another provision of both chambers legislation requires all board members to reside in Texas, which would prevent experts like Cramton from sitting on the ERCOT board in the future. The governor would appoint . Breaking down the state's power sources from gas to wind. [45], On February 16, 2021, it was reported that at least 10 deaths were linked to the 2021 ERCOT grid power outages. Organizations Filed Purposes: WE SERVE THE PUBLIC BY ENSURING A RELIABLE GRID, EFFICIENT ELECTRICITY MARKETS, OPEN ACCESS AND RETAIL CHOICE. [47] A comprehensive review of news reports, death certificates, and lawsuit filings from every county in Texas led a team of journalists in Houston to set the death toll at 194,[48] while a later review of excess deaths by journalists at BuzzFeed estimated the full indirect mortalities to be between 426 and 978. BILLERICA, Mass. The Form 990 (2018) lists 16 board members; 15 of whom have voting rights; 12 (75%) of whom are male while 4 (25%) are female. However, the Texas grid is not subject to regulation under the Federal Power Act, being an intrastate grid for the purposes of that law. Cramton, the former ERCOT board member, is also an economics professor at the University of Cologne in Germany and an expert in electricity market design. AUSTIN The selection committee appointed to fill the board of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas on Monday announced its first two selections an oil company executive and Winter storm blackouts plagued Texas in 2011, too. ga('ads.send', { Would love your thoughts, please comment. $225,554,307. "We are ordering an investigation into ERCOT and immediate transparency by ERCOT," he tweeted. The Republican governor released an official statement on Twitter about the same. April 3, 2020 Updated: April 3, 2020 2:55 p.m. Facebook Twitter Email. Another resident blamed inefficient planning as the reason for the present crisis. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Talberg, who lives in Michigan, and Cramton, who lives in California,were elected to their posts as board chair and vice chair, respectively, on Feb. 9during a board meeting where leaders at the electric grid operator spent just 40 seconds discussing the upcoming storm. Its getting buried in a snowstorm which for Texas is just crazy! A massive blackout in Texas shined a spotlight on a policy: ERCOT officers and directors are not required to live in Texas, and Chairwoman Sally Talberg lives in Michigan. Ivey, whose appointment was approved by ERCOT's members but was pending final approval from the PUC, is retired from more than three decades of experience in the utilities industry. Bulger worked in the banking sector for 35 years, including various positions with ABN AMRO Bank in Canada, Europe and the U.S., and lives in Wheaton, Illinois. A Cypress woman says first, the Big Freeze left her home a disaster. We want what is best for ERCOT and for Texas.". Another user agreed with Abbott's decision terming ERCOT's unreliable actions as 'unacceptable'. Talberg has sat on various state, regional and national boards and committees involving electricity, natural gas, oil, infrastructure and telecommunications issues. Ms. Talberg also has experience with environmental and safety compliance and enforcement for drinking water and wastewater facilities. That entity already has political appointees: All three board members are appointed by the governor. ERCOT officials have said it may be days before power is restored, The Dallas Morning News reported. These members were respectively appointed by the Governor, Lieutenant The governor would appoint three of those people, while the lieutenant governor and speaker of the House would each appoint one. She has ties to Texas outside of her work with ERCOT. Recommendations made afterward went unenforced. hitType: 'event', Ivey also cited not wanting to become a distraction from the more important response to the crisis in his letter. State officials criticized ERCOT amid the blackouts and state lawmakers scheduled legislative hearings for Thursday and Friday to discuss the outages. Cobos was also previously appointed by Gov. Dr. Melissa C. Lott, a senior research scholar at The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA, announced the election of Talberg and Cramton on Twitter. Leach has been vocal on Twitter about his criticisms of ERCOT. eventAction: 'click_ads' Anesetti-Parra lives in Toronto. pg.acq.push(function() { Did Texas energy regulators fail to mandate winter protections? EAST AURORA, N.Y., March 02, 2023 -- ( BUSINESS WIRE )-- Astronics Corporation (Nasdaq: ATRO), a leading supplier of advanced technologies and products to the global aerospace and defense . We appreciate it! She was elected as chair of the board only days before the power outage. Who are ERCOT's board of directors? -- (BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 27, 2023-- Entegris, Inc. ( NASDAQ: ENTG ), a leading supplier of advanced materials and process solutions for the semiconductor and other high-technology industries, today announced the appointment of James (Jim) Anderson to its board of directors. media-tech companies with hubs around the world. These people would be political types without electricity expertise, he told The Texas Tribune. The five members, who do not live in Texas, include even the chairwoman and the vice-chairman reported Austin American Statesman. Board of Directors - B of D: A board of directors (B of D) is a group of individuals, elected to represent stockholders . She began serving as an unaffiliated director on the board January 1, 2021. Sixel. }); The current chair is Sally A. Talberg, a Michigan resident who took over the position one week ago. After the Valentines Day storm and failure of our electric system, many Texans were alarmed to learn that many members of ERCOTs board were not residents of Texas and were not experiencing many of the same hardships as many of our fellow Texans were suffering at that time, Schwertner said. hitType: 'event', Cramton has focused his research on electricity and financial markets. Caitlin Smith, an energy adviser in Austin and an ERCOT expert, raised concerns about political appointees who arent subject matter experts having access to critical information. He has more than 25 years of . }); Leach said he has begun drafting legislation to prohibit non-Texans from serving on the ERCOT Board. Board of Directors. The board of directors, installed by a group of three people who are appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker, and a contracted search firm have presented CEO candidates to . At least 13 people have died in weather-related incidents in the Houston area, according to the Houston Chronicle. Ms. Talberg lives in Michigan with her husband and two daughters. Net Assets. Do you value our journalism? Fifteen members serve on the ERCOT board, including the five unaffiliated director positions. When asking for an appointment, say something like: "If you have any room on the board, I'd like to serve as one of the directors. Feb. 23, 2021 } Lexi Chuchill and Kiah Collier contributed to this report. [43][44] On March 8, 2021, ERCOT began releasing a weekly market notice that includes entities that have paid previously identified short-pay amounts and provides an updated estimate of the aggregate outstanding short-pay amount. She served until December 31, 2020, the day she became the ERCOT chairman, according to the MPSC. Unaffiliated members cannot have ties to businesses ERCOT oversees. Appointed Positions. Further, many legislators were frustrated by the lack of accountability on the board, especially regarding the members of the board that would be unaffiliated members.. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Five board members of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas the entity that manages and operates the electricity grid that covers much of Texas will resign on Wednesday, according to a notice to the Public Utility Commission. Do you value our journalism? [6] ERCOT works with the Texas Reliability Entity (TRE),[7] one of eight regional entities within the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) that coordinate to improve reliability of the bulk power grid. The board of directors voted to terminate CEO Bill Magness on March 3. . }); 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. The ERCOT board of directors elected her as the chair on February 9, 2021, an ERCOT press release said. [54], The ERCOT board appoints ERCOT's officers to direct and manage ERCOT's day-to-day operations, accompanied by a team of executives and managers responsible for critical components of ERCOT's operation. Some are chosen by ERCOTs own nominating committee. A deadly winter storm in February lead to widespread power outages across Texas. According to political spending tracker Transparency USA, two of the three appointees are major donors to the Texas officials who appointed them. One of the selection committees first two selections to serve on the ERCOT board, the new ERCOT board chairman is also a major donor to the Texas officials who appointed the selection committee. [52], The ERCOT organization is governed by a board of directors made up of independent members, consumers and representatives from each of ERCOT's electric market segments. "We needed to step in and make sure that we were not going to end up with Texas in a blackout, which could keep folks without power not just some people without power but everyone in our region without power for much, much longer than we believe this event is going to last, as long and as difficult as this event is right now, he said in a statement, reported Dallas News. The legislation abolished the former system, in which power was both generated and consumed locally. The Texas House has already approved House Bill 10, which would remove independent outside voices on the ERCOT board and replace them with five political appointees. The ERCOT Board Selection Committee members are Arch "Beaver" Aplin, G. Brint Ryan, and Bill Jones. He is a retiree from ISO New England which operates the electrical system in six states. S.B. [50], ERCOT is governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and the Texas Legislature. also stepped down from her role leading the governor-appointed agency that oversees ERCOT as she faced mounting pressure . ERCOT Board Appoints New CEO. }); Talberg thanked the board at the time for their support and the staff for their orientation. [5] ERCOT is the first independent system operator (ISO) in the United States. She served as chairman from January 4, 2016 until July 27, 2020. When Texans were in desperate need of electricity, ERCOT failed to do its job and Texans were left shivering in their homes without power," Abbott said in a statement. Abbott to the Board of Directors of the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation. In a non-profit organisation, a board of directors is the governing body. Some are chosen by ERCOT's own nominating committee. Completely ridiculous and unacceptable that current ERCOT Board Chair lives in Michigan! he wrote on Twitter. Obviously the downside is theyre political appointees looking after the political interests of those that appoint them.. [27] At 1:25a.m. on February 15, ERCOT began requesting blackouts from service providers. if(document.querySelector("#adunit")){ 2023 FOX Television Stations, Woman still waiting on repairs a year after the Texas Winter Storm, ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING: Man shot in apparent accidental shooting in Houston, police investigating, CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Houston homeowner speaks out after being victim of terrifying attempted carjacking, Tom Sizemore, 'Saving Private Ryan' Actor, Dies at 61 after suffering brain aneurysm, G.O.A.T. Updated: 5 PM Central. Experts, but not people affected by the failure. Carnival Cruise Line adding 4th ship to Galveston, offering longer cruises, Here's how to get tickets, passes for Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo 2023, Full Interview with Rodeo Headliner, Parker McCollum. The employees or managers oversee the day-to-day . Three current members of the ERCOT board, including two appointed by Governor Greg Abbott, have contributed thousands to Abbott's campaign. She is the vice president of regulatory and compliance at Just Energy. None of them lives in Texas. [49] An 11-year-old boy, Cristian Pavon, who died of suspected hypothermia was among the deaths caused by ERCOT's grid system. On May 4, 1976, Central Southwest Holdings attempted to force the issue, with an event that was later called the "Midnight Connection", where it connected the grid to Oklahoma for a few hours. Texas has consistently refused to weatherize their energy infrastructure because it doesnt get cold here. document.querySelector("#adunit").addEventListener('click',function(){ ERCOT CEO Bill Magness has revealed that they are unsure how long the power outages will last. Talberg said in a statement at the time she was excited about the new role. It said, Weather, more generation outages last night bring load shed to 18,500 MW. Places with much colder climates than Texas use wind turbines with no issues. In Abilene we have no water, no power and elderly neighbors who are suffering. ERCOT, a nonprofit, is governed by a board of directors, but overseen by the Public Utility Commission. The United States Energy Information Administration Electric Power Monthly published the following detailed report regarding Texas's Net Generation by Energy Source: Total (All Sectors), 2010-December 2020, (Thousand Megawatthours), Table 1.1, for the Month of December 2020:[10] ERCOT has reduced staff available to receive, distribute, and manage incoming postal mail, deliveries, and faxes on a daily basis. Please . Just an FYI, five members of the ERCOT board of directors live out of state. Hydroelectric Pumped Storage: -368; As a result, ERCOT requests submission of all signed Applications for the 2023 Membership Year by email to membership@ercot.com and all Annual Member Dues shall be submitted by wire transfer. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. rgratcliffe (@rgratcliffe) February 16, 2021 The other board members currently represent regions across the state that make up the ERCOT grid as well as nonvoting members such as the chair of the Public Utility Commission, which oversees ERCOT. Given ERCOTs charge by the Texas Legislature for resource adequacy and reliability, this crisis warrants the boards full and prompt attention, beginning with an understanding of the key events and known causes to date.. Praying for everyone there. To allow state leaders a free hand with future direction and to eliminate distractions, we are resigning from the board, Talberg, Cramton, Bulger and Hepper wrote in the resignation letter. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function(event) { The ERCOT Board Selection Committee consists of Arch "Beaver" Aplin, G. Brint Ryan and Bill Jones. [38], On February 16, Governor Greg Abbott declared that ERCOT reform would be an emergency priority for the state legislature, and there would be an investigation of the power outage to determine long-term solutions.