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Texas lawmakers are calling for investigations into the state’s power grid manager and are demanding resignations from some of its top leadership.
As of Wednesday morning approximately 2.7 million households in Texas have woken up without electricity with little answers as to when the lights and the heat can be turned back on.
“Millions of people without power during this arctic blast is life-threatening and unacceptable,” Texas and state senate head Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a statement. “We must get to the bottom of this to be sure we are better prepared even if an unprecedented weather event happens again.”
Texas and much of the United States are facing record-low temperatures with the winter storm that rolled through earlier this week.
The severe weather initially left an estimated 4 million homes without power by Tuesday morning, according to the Texas Tribune, killing at least 10.
What Happened to the Texas Power Grid?
The cold front that swept across Texas brought with it two to nine inches of snow and ice, according to The Houston Chronicle.
Unlike other states, Texas power operates its own power grid managed by nonprofit Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which provides about 90 percent of Texas’ power, Vox reports.
Most of that power comes from natural gas. When the winter storm rolled through, natural gas pipelines were clogged by ice or disabled by losing power, and demand spiked at the same time. Because the Texas grid isn’t linked to a national one, it was unable to import extra power, according to the Washington Post.
Critics, including certain Texas leaders, claim ERCOT wasn’t prepared despite knowing the storm was coming and hasn’t invested enough in weather-proofing infrastructure.
The surge in demand sent wholesale energy prices skyrocketing, triggering ERCOT’s computers to cut off customers to avoid paying the higher prices, according to The Washington Post.
Neither ERCOT nor any of Texas energy providers are facing litigation over the massive outage but Top Class Actions is tracking the story for developments.
Energy Price Spike
On Monday Texas regulators held an emergency meeting to allow ERCOT to change its pricing to reflect the increased demand, KVEO reports.
“Energy prices should reflect scarcity of the supply. If customer load is being shed, scarcity is at its maximum, and the market price for the energy needed to serve that load should also be at its highest,” the regulators said in the order.
KVUEreports there are caps in place to ensure customers aren’t gouged with an exuberant electric bill, but regulators in other parts of the United States have faced legal actions relating to prices.
Utility Lawsuits in the Past
The issue of unregulated, independent electric companies was the subject of a class action lawsuit filed last week in Maryland. The lead plaintiff argued Major Energy Electric Services gouges her with expensive bills and it only happened after the market was deregulated.
Currently, an Ohio utility faces a class action lawsuit from customers alleging a bribery scheme. A judge denied FirstEnergy’s motion to have that complaint dismissed last week. Consumers in that case allege FirstEnergy paid out $1 million dollars to an organization run by an Ohio lawmaker.
Other class action lawsuits have reached settlements.
Xcel Energy, a Colorado natural gas company, agreed to pay out $2.5 million in a complaint alleging the manipulation of gas prices last month.
Consumers claimed the company was publishing false data and practicing so-called “wash trades.”
Also in January, more than 40,000 Australians were represented in a class action targeting two government owned electric utility companies. The lawsuit was filed after Queensland customers saw 90 percent increases in their bills in the last five years.
Southern California Edison faces charges of negligence in the massive wildfire that consumed much of the state starting in 2017. The numerous lawsuits are estimated to cost the utility approximately $6.2 billion in losses.
Southern California Edison has already paid out an estimated $128 million in settlements stemming from the wildfires and mudslides already, according to VC Star.
Are you living in Texas without power? What do you think of ERCOT’s role in the power outages? Let us know in the comments below.
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87 thoughts onWill Texas Grid Manager ERCOT Face Class Actions Over Power Outages?
I live in Tomball,Texas 77377 I was without power for 5 straight days.I am a 86 Year old widow and had to leave my home or freeze to death.it has been 5 months and I still am out of my home.I have insurance for now and will surely get cancelled after this.the Insurancr does not pay to get my house back like it was,just to make it livable.Shame on Ercot nothing will ever make this horrible nightmare go away .I hope you all have nightmares for the rest of your life’.I hope you all take a good look at your bank accounts.WAS it worth it?Think of the people in their early graves. ,this is all on you.!!!!
During Winter Storm Uri we were without power for 36 hours. This resulted in a pipe freezing and bursting in the wall. Our insurance company is replacing the hardwood floors. However, there are 2 cracked tiles in one room and 1 cracked tile in another. The insurance company wants to replace only the cracked tiles. Having unmatched tiles in the middle of a 350 sq foot area will look terrible. Horrified to think our beautiful home could possible have a lower resale value because insurance companies apparently are not required to return a damaged home to its original condition. Shame on ERCOT, shame on the lack of regulation on insurance companies (other states have enacted regulations that require insurance companies to match flooring, siding and roofs) and shame on our State of Texas officials for not looking out for us. It has now been 2 months, since our damage, and we are still in a hotel.
We lost power for 36 hours! Our entire home runs on electricity! it was awful. The roads were bad so we couldn’t travel anywhere. I have 3 children at home all under 11! I am so DISAPPOINTED in ERCOT.
One cannot exaggerate how many of my Dallas neighbors have suffered these past few days with loss of power and homes damaged from frozen pipes busting. We got lucky and only suffered one broken water pipe. I hope our irresponsible state politicians including Governor Abbott and the PUC/ERCOT get their asses sued or removed from government for all of their negligence. By not winterizing, recommended since 2011, we now suffer the consequences of their inaction. Governor Abbott was even brazen enough to initially shift the blame to Biden’s “green deal”. Our state needs responsible leaders, not ones whose first instinct is to shift blame and point fingers.
I lost power for 3 days and GARLAND POWER AND LIGHT specifically chose my area per Mr Gooch at GP&L. temperatures were below 30 in my house, I lost over 6K in saltwater fish and all my food. I stress every time I think of the power shutting down do I need to move to another area near a Place where power CANNOT be shut down since my neighborhood is a GP&L target?