GOV. ABBOTT SIGNS LEGISLATION TO REFORM ERCOT, WEATHERIZE POWER GRID

  

Governor Greg Abbott signed a pair of bills Tuesday in response to the winter storm in February that left millions of residents across the state without power.

The new laws come after legislators deemed the reform of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) as a priority this legislative session.  ERCOT, which maintains and operates the state’s electrical grid, has been criticized for not being prepared to handle a weather event of this scale.

Senate Bill 2 reduces the number of seats on the ERCOT board of directors from 16 to 11.  It also makes the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the house responsible for appointing a committee to select ERCOT board members.

Senate Bill 3 requires electricity providers operating on the ERCOT grid to weatherize equipment, while also creating a power outage alert system.  Providers who do not meet the new weatherization requirements could face fines of up to $1 million per violation.

Abbott said the passage of these two bills creates greater accountability in the system, but some energy experts are concerned that not enough was done to ensure the prevention of future catastrophes.  Some critics argue that more consideration should have been given to the future of climate change, while others say reforms do not provide direct financial relief for consumers.