Texas power grid operator ERCOT fires CEO after deadly blackouts
FILE PHOTO: Winter weather caused electricity blackouts in Houston
Kanishka Singh and Ann Maria Shibu
Wed, March 3, 2021,
(Reuters) - Texas' power grid operator ousted chief executive Bill Magness on Wednesday, as the fallout continues from a deadly blackout last month that left residents without heat, power or water for days.
His departure followed fierce criticism by state lawmakers of the handling of the crisis by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which has led one large electricity provider to seek bankruptcy and put several others near to it.
The mid-February storm temporarily knocked out up to half the state's generating plants, triggering outages that killed dozens and pushed power prices to 10 times the normal rate.
"ERCOT's decision to oust CEO Bill Magness signals accountability for the disaster that swept through our state two weeks ago," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement on Twitter.
"(This step) offers the opportunity for new leadership that can more efficiently prepare and direct our state's resources when dangerous weather strikes," he added.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who earlier this week called for the heads of ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission to resign, also welcomed the move.
The legislature now can begin "fixing what went wrong," Patrick said.
ERCOT said in a statement cited by multiple media organizations that its board had directed that Magness be given a 60 days' termination notice. The board would begin an immediate search for a new CEO.
Magness worked at ERCOT for more than a decade and became its CEO and president in 2016 after working as its general counsel, the Texas Tribune newspaper reported.
Brad Jones, former head of New York's power grid, is the leading candidate to replace Magness as ERCOT's CEO, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the board's thinking.
Magness was grilled for hours last week for leaving power prices at up to 450 times the usual rate after the threat to the state's grid had ended.
Seven of ERCOT's 15 directors have resigned in the last week and the head of the state's Public Utility Commission, which supervised ERCOT, resigned on Monday.
The winter storm caused widespread blackouts across Texas, a state unaccustomed to extreme cold, knocking out power to more than 4 million people at its peak.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Ann Maria Shibu in Bengaluru; Editing by Gary McWilliams and Richard Pullin)
Texas begins naming electricity firms overdue on winter crisis bills
Gary McWilliams
Wed, March 3, 2021
HOUSTON, March 3 (Reuters) - Eight energy companies have failed to pay nearly $1 billion for power and services during February's deadly power blackout in Texas, the state's grid operator said this week, and the costs are likely to fall on consumers.
A winter-storm surge in demand saddled the companies that sell, transmit and generate electricity in the state with about $47 billion in costs as fuel prices soared. Texas consumers will see higher prices as the unpaid fees are passed along to remaining providers.
Power grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) last week said grid users it did not identify had failed to pay $2.46 billion due. ERCOT identified eight companies that had failed to pay a total $930,000 this week, including Brazos Electric Power Cooperative.
Brazos Electric sought protection from creditors this week, citing $2.1 billion in storm-related charges from ERCOT. A Brazos spokesman did not reply to requests for comment.
ERCOT did not say if the eight were included in the larger figure. The total outstanding will be released at a legislative hearing Thursday, a spokeswoman said.
As part of its duties, ERCOT acts as a clearinghouse, collecting for power delivered to utilities and paying the companies that provide the electrons. When bills go unpaid, the costs are reallocated to all grid users.
"Our primary focus through the storm and going forward is protecting customers from price increases and bill shock," said Vinnie Campo, general manager of Bulb US. "The market is in need of fixing and fast," criticizing storm price increases as a "windfall" for generators.
Campo supports a proposal before the state's Public Utility Commission to roll back some $2 billion in service fees. Bulb was cited by ERCOT as $30,800 short on grid payments. However, the amount has been paid, a spokeswoman said.
ERCOT's disclosure of those firms behind on paying bills "is perfectly fair game," said Patrick Woodson, chief executive of retail power marketer ATG Clean Energy whose company is not on the list. ATG took significant financial hits but is current with ERCOT.
"I hope they will apply the same standards to identifying the market participants who made massive profits during this disaster," he said.
(Reporting by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Gary McWilliams
Wed, March 3, 2021
HOUSTON, March 3 (Reuters) - Eight energy companies have failed to pay nearly $1 billion for power and services during February's deadly power blackout in Texas, the state's grid operator said this week, and the costs are likely to fall on consumers.
A winter-storm surge in demand saddled the companies that sell, transmit and generate electricity in the state with about $47 billion in costs as fuel prices soared. Texas consumers will see higher prices as the unpaid fees are passed along to remaining providers.
Power grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) last week said grid users it did not identify had failed to pay $2.46 billion due. ERCOT identified eight companies that had failed to pay a total $930,000 this week, including Brazos Electric Power Cooperative.
Brazos Electric sought protection from creditors this week, citing $2.1 billion in storm-related charges from ERCOT. A Brazos spokesman did not reply to requests for comment.
ERCOT did not say if the eight were included in the larger figure. The total outstanding will be released at a legislative hearing Thursday, a spokeswoman said.
As part of its duties, ERCOT acts as a clearinghouse, collecting for power delivered to utilities and paying the companies that provide the electrons. When bills go unpaid, the costs are reallocated to all grid users.
"Our primary focus through the storm and going forward is protecting customers from price increases and bill shock," said Vinnie Campo, general manager of Bulb US. "The market is in need of fixing and fast," criticizing storm price increases as a "windfall" for generators.
Campo supports a proposal before the state's Public Utility Commission to roll back some $2 billion in service fees. Bulb was cited by ERCOT as $30,800 short on grid payments. However, the amount has been paid, a spokeswoman said.
ERCOT's disclosure of those firms behind on paying bills "is perfectly fair game," said Patrick Woodson, chief executive of retail power marketer ATG Clean Energy whose company is not on the list. ATG took significant financial hits but is current with ERCOT.
"I hope they will apply the same standards to identifying the market participants who made massive profits during this disaster," he said.
(Reporting by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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