Senator Springer tackles ERCOT reform

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is a member-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation that operates the electric grid and manages the deregulated market for 75 percent of the state, according to their website www.ercot.com. ERCOT—governed by a board of directors and regulated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature—manages the flow of electric power to more than 26 million Texas customers -- representing about 90 percent of the state’s electric load.

ERCOT has been under public scrutiny in the wake of the recent winter storm that caused a long blackout period that affected more than 4 million Texans. With the massive amount of criticism from the court of public opinion, the CEO, Bill Magness, was fired following its crisis management debacle. Texas State Senator Drew Springer (SD30) took corrective measures one step further by filing Senate Bill 743 that requires the ERCOT board members to reside in Texas.

“When millions of Texans lost power last week, all eyes were on ERCOT to get answers and have our lights and heat turned back on,” said Senator Springer. “When I learned that five out of the 15 board members did not live in Texas and were not experiencing the freezing conditions like the rest of us, my constituents and fellow Texans demanded that change. It is unacceptable that Texans went days without heat for their homes and no running water due to the mismanagement at ERCOT. I filed SB 743 as one of the first steps for the Texas Legislature to consider as we work toward overhauling ERCOT. As we look ahead to recovering and rebuilding from the many damages and hardships Texans endured, holding ERCOT accountable for their actions is a top priority to prevent a catastrophe like this from happening again,” Springer said.