ERCOT Board Members Resign After Millions in Texas Left without Power

Four board members of The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) have resigned on Tuesday. This comes a week after power outages happened across the state, leaving millions without heating in their homes as a severe winter storm battered the area. It also comes as Texas officials slammed some of the said board members for not living in the state at all.

The council’s chairwoman, Sally Talberg, along with Peter Cramton, Terry Bulger, and Raymond Hepper filed their resignation on Tuesday. All four reside outside of Texas, with Talberg’s profile on the ERCOT website saying she lives in Michigan. Meanwhile, Bulger’s website profile said he lives in Chicago.

The four released a joint letter announcing their resignation. It was addressed to other members of the council and the Public Utility Commission. The said letter was released on the Public Utility Commission’s website.

In the letter, the four board members acknowledged how much pain and suffering Texans experienced last week. They also mentioned that their resignations will be effective after their urgent board meetings on Wednesday adjourn. They also added that before they step down, they have started to review last week's power crisis.

ERCOT Board Members' Resignations Were Necessary

Meanwhile, a candidate for a position on the ERCOT board, who was out of state, withdrew his application. He said he did not want to distract state officials from responding to the outages that happened last week.

Additionally, state Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) said that the board member’s resignations were a necessary step. The legislator previously revealed that he plans to file a bill that would require ERCOT board members to live in Texas.

Leach released a statement, saying that because the ERCOT Board makes “crucial decisions for over 28 million” people in the state, they need to be made up of “capable and qualified” people. He said these people should live in the state and know the state. He also said that people whom Texans can trust to make decisions for on their behalf should make up the board.

Officials from ERCOT have been called on to testify to lawmakers on Thursday for hearings regarding the power outages last week.

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