5 ERCOT board members resign, according to report

[Elderberry]

Houston Chronicle by Marcy de Luna 2/23/2021

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/5-ERCOT-board-members-resign-15973390.php

Several board members of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the manager of the state's power grid, have resigned.

Sally Talberg, chair of the state's power grid operator, Vice Chair Peter Cramton, and board members Raymond Hepper, Terry Bulger, Vanessa Anesetti-Parra, according to Bloomberg.

The announcement comes a week after the catastrophic energy crisis caused by last week's winter storm.

[Elderberry]

ERCOT board members resign after being criticized for living outside of Texas

Dallas Morning News by James Barragán 2/23/2021

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2021/02/23/ercot-board-members-resign-after-being-criticized-for-living-outside-of-texas/

Four board members of the state’s power grid operator, including chairwoman Sally Talberg, resigned Tuesday, a week after power outages left millions across Texas shivering in their homes during severe winter storms and state officials criticized some board members for not living in the state.

Along with Talberg, the three other current board members who resigned are: Peter Cramton, an unaffiliated director; Terry Bulger, an unaffiliated director; and Raymond Hepper, an unaffiliated director.

All four are believed to live out of state. Talberg’s bio on the ERCOT website said she lives in Michigan. Bulger’s bio said he lives in a suburb of Chicago.

The four board members resigned together in a joint letter addressed to other ERCOT members and the Public Utility Commission, which oversees ERCOT. The letter was posted on the Public Utility Commission’s website.

ERCOT officials are expected to testify in front of lawmakers on Thursday during hearings about last week’s power failures.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

So they resigned rather than face the music over the debacle of last week.

This really exposes Abbott as a first class fool for supporting them in the first place, then claiming "they reassured me we will have not problems in the grid this winter".

He is to blame in selecting incompetent people and believing they were trustworthy.

He needs to go.

[sneakypete]

Let me see if I understand this,ok?

These people are being forced to retire because they didn't predict the freak,once in a century,weather circumstances Texas is experiencing this year?

WTF? Are they supported to be seers,who can predict the future?

[Bigun]

Let me see if I understand this,ok?

These people are being forced to retire because they didn't predict the freak,once in a century,weather circumstances Texas is experiencing this year?

WTF? Are they supported to be seers,who can predict the future?

E(energy) R(reliability) C(Commission) O(f) T(exas)

They are supposed to ensure that Texas has a reliable power grid and they totally failed to do that.  They should ALL resign!

[berdie]

Let me see if I understand this,ok?

These people are being forced to retire because they didn't predict the freak,once in a century,weather circumstances Texas is experiencing this year?

WTF? Are they supported to be seers,who can predict the future?

I agree with you @sneakypete . Sometimes things happen...because they just do. I say this as someone who has/is dealing with this. This is so far out of the norm it's unbelievable. The whole state being down is what makes it so crazy. Ya really couldn't flee to a safer place because of road conditions.
Heck...my vehicle doors were frozen shut... Hopefully this will bring attention to the weaknesses in the system and can be repaired. If that doesn't happen...then I'll be livid.

As far as the ERCOT execs being "forced" to resign...I don't see that will help them when heads start to roll.  I do think the ERCOT execs should live in Texas. These folks evidently do not. I don't blame Abbott either.  Having been in mgt, you kinda have to rely on those that do the jobs.

We can't rage at the iceberg after the ship has sunk. Just FIX the problem and quit wasting time assigning blame. jmho

[Idiot]

So they resigned rather than face the music over the debacle of last week.

This really exposes Abbott as a first class fool for supporting them in the first place, then claiming "they reassured me we will have not problems in the grid this winter".

He is to blame in selecting incompetent people and believing they were trustworthy.

He needs to go.

[sneakypete]

E(energy) R(reliability) C(Commission) O(f) T(exas)

They are supposed to ensure that Texas has a reliable power grid and they totally failed to do that.  They should ALL resign!

@Bigun

Just exactly HOW were they supposed to know,when it caught the National Weather Service by surprise?

Remember,these people are NOT Climatologists. They are regular people,chosen to sit on the board as regular people,not as scientists.

[sneakypete]

I agree with you @sneakypete . Sometimes things happen...because they just do. I say this as someone who has/is dealing with this. This is so far out of the norm it's unbelievable. The whole state being down is what makes it so crazy. Ya really couldn't flee to a safer place because of road conditions.
Heck...my vehicle doors were frozen shut... Hopefully this will bring attention to the weaknesses in the system and can be repaired. If that doesn't happen...then I'll be livid.

As far as the ERCOT execs being "forced" to resign...I don't see that will help them when heads start to roll.  I do think the ERCOT execs should live in Texas. These folks evidently do not. I don't blame Abbott either.  Having been in mgt, you kinda have to rely on those that do the jobs.

We can't rage at the iceberg after the ship has sunk. Just FIX the problem and quit wasting time assigning blame. jmho

@berdie

*I* don't "think" they should live in Texas to sit on a board about the climate in Texas,it should have been a freaking REQUIREMENT since Day One.

[Bigun]

@Bigun

Just exactly HOW were they supposed to know,when it caught the National Weather Service by surprise?

Remember,these people are NOT Climatologists. They are regular people,chosen to sit on the board as regular people,not as scientists.

The National Weather Service was talking about the possibility of such an event for at least a full month that I personally know about and WARNING about it for at least 14 days @sneakypete so your argument doesn't hold water. 

They were NOT paying any attention and ASSUMED that everything would be fine.  They were flat wrong about that!

[sneakypete]

The National Weather Service was talking about the possibility of such an event for at least a full month that I personally know about and WARNING about it for at least 14 days @sneakypete so your argument doesn't hold water. 

They were NOT paying any attention and ASSUMED that everything would be fine.  They were flat wrong about that!

@Bigun

I was not aware of that.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

I agree with you @sneakypete . Sometimes things happen...because they just do. I say this as someone who has/is dealing with this. This is so far out of the norm it's unbelievable. The whole state being down is what makes it so crazy. Ya really couldn't flee to a safer place because of road conditions.
Heck...my vehicle doors were frozen shut... Hopefully this will bring attention to the weaknesses in the system and can be repaired. If that doesn't happen...then I'll be livid.

As far as the ERCOT execs being "forced" to resign...I don't see that will help them when heads start to roll.  I do think the ERCOT execs should live in Texas. These folks evidently do not. I don't blame Abbott either.  Having been in mgt, you kinda have to rely on those that do the jobs.

We can't rage at the iceberg after the ship has sunk. Just FIX the problem and quit wasting time assigning blame. jmho

My times in Management made me responsible for the people I selected.

Abbott personally selected the three members of the PUC.  Two are lawyers who were his Asst General Counsels.  The third is an Anthropology graduate whose resume was as an aide to two Senators and is a Greenie.  All are pure patronage positions.  Do you believe any are qualified to discern the complex operational issues surrounding replacing reliable coal powered generation with the unreliable renewable power generation?

They are the overseers of Ercot. 

Abbott is incompetent in his selection of those responsible for grid reliability.

Abbott is fresh off his State of the State in which he deprioritized anything related to the power grid reliability out of his speech. 

In my world of management, one is responsible and is accountable for personnel selection.  Apparently, in your management world, you are like Abbott when he says "But they told me it would be reliable."

[IsailedawayfromFR]

@Bigun

Just exactly HOW were they supposed to know,when it caught the National Weather Service by surprise?

Remember,these people are NOT Climatologists. They are regular people,chosen to sit on the board as regular people,not as scientists.

They are supposed to know something about which they are responsible for, aren't they?

Two members of the PUC which oversee Ercot are lawyers and one has a degree in Anthropology.

Are you satisfied those are qualifications to be responsible for managing a complex power grid?

[IsailedawayfromFR]

@berdie

*I* don't "think" they should live in Texas to sit on a board about the climate in Texas,it should have been a freaking REQUIREMENT since Day One.

Which is one more reason whoever approved them being there should be fired.

Not living in the state you are managing the power grid means you do not know enough about what you are managing or just don't freaking care what happens cause it does not affect you.

[sneakypete]

They are supposed to know something about which they are responsible for, aren't they?

I doubt it. They are political appointees. Since when have political appointees had to know anything about anything to get appointed to a job?

Two members of the PUC which oversee Ercot are lawyers and one has a degree in Anthropology.

What is that supposed to mean? Does the job requirement state that members should be climatologists?

Probably not,although I STRONGLY agree that should be THE base requirement over all other requirements.

Are you satisfied those are qualifications to be responsible for managing a complex power grid?

Absolutely not,but I didn't write the requirements.

What should be done,is going after the politicians that established the qualifications and make THEM responsible by booting their asses out of office for incompetence.

[thackney]

I agree with you @sneakypete . Sometimes things happen...because they just do. I say this as someone who has/is dealing with this. This is so far out of the norm it's unbelievable. The whole state being down is what makes it so crazy. Ya really couldn't flee to a safer place because of road conditions.
Heck...my vehicle doors were frozen shut... Hopefully this will bring attention to the weaknesses in the system and can be repaired. If that doesn't happen...then I'll be livid.

As far as the ERCOT execs being "forced" to resign...I don't see that will help them when heads start to roll.  I do think the ERCOT execs should live in Texas. These folks evidently do not. I don't blame Abbott either.  Having been in mgt, you kinda have to rely on those that do the jobs.

We can't rage at the iceberg after the ship has sunk. Just FIX the problem and quit wasting time assigning blame. jmho

We would do SOOOO much better to focus on the causes (essential equipment at all levels, in different technologies) not being able to handle the severe cold.

Assigning people to blame, instead of focusing on what needs fixed, and who pays for that is the real problem.  And focusing on blame rather than the problem, means we will be doing this again because we did not get it fixed, just like last time.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

We would do SOOOO much better to focus on the causes (essential equipment at all levels, in different technologies) not being able to handle the severe cold.

Assigning people to blame, instead of focusing on what needs fixed, and who pays for that is the real problem.  And focusing on blame rather than the problem, means we will be doing this again because we did not get it fixed, just like last time.

You are speaking in the corporate world in which we are both familiar and spent careers in.

This is a political matter totally.

If one assigns patronage positions to incompetent people in the political world, one must be accountable.

That is the way it worls.

Anthropology graduates should never be responsible for handling our power supply.

You would never see that in the company you work for, and it should not be seen in government either.

[thackney]

This is a political matter totally.

The people that think that way are dooming us to repeat the problem.

[HoustonSam]

You are speaking in the corporate world in which we are both familiar and spent careers in.

This is a political matter totally.

If one assigns patronage positions to incompetent people in the political world, one must be accountable.

That is the way it worls.

Anthropology graduates should never be responsible for handling our power supply.

You would never see that in the company you work for, and it should not be seen in government either.

Are we talking about the ERCOT board or the Public Utilities Commission?

I'll certainly agree that members of the PUC should have some competence about public utilities, and an anthropology degree alone would not confer that competence; in fact I don't know of *any* degree program that would confer that competence.  In fairness I don't know what experience that person might have gained after finishing their anthropology degree; actual work experience counts for more than formal education, and I say that as someone who possesses as much formal education as one can acquire.  Our recent experience with appropriately-degreed experts like Dr. Fauci should put to rest any belief that having the "correct" education makes one effective in managing public policy.

The argument made on this thread about the ERCOT board is that those members should live in TX or else they are incompetent to consider the TX grid and apathetic about what happens within it.  I find that argument ill-reasoned.  The bio summaries I've seen on some of the now-resigned ERCOT board members indicate they have significant experience in understanding and managing widespread power infrastructure, and living outside TX makes them more neutral in considering the competing interests of TX consumers, TX transmission companies, and TX generators.

I was initially taken aback, and irritated, that ERCOT board members would live out of state.  But on further thought that doesn't bother me.  The position that they must live here to be effective falls into the standard liberal fallacy of confusing empathy with effectiveness.  As a now-dead research manager I used to work with sometimes reminded us, "We don't have all the smart people."

Perhaps a careful and dispassionate analysis of all the facts will indicate that heads should roll over last week's power failures.  But so far the only blame I can assign is with ERCOT and private company leadership for failures in communication, and with the TX State Legislature/PUC for not requiring by statute or administrative law effective winterization for weather that happens once in a generation.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

The people that think that way are dooming us to repeat the problem.

so it is your belief that the private sector controls the grid, not the PUC or Ercot?

Why would you assume that?  It is not reality.


I repeat:  This is not a problem that an engineer put in the wrong system.  It is a problem that political entities decided to put in the wrong systems and did not plan prudently.

[sneakypete]

We would do SOOOO much better to focus on the causes (essential equipment at all levels, in different technologies) not being able to handle the severe cold.

Assigning people to blame, instead of focusing on what needs fixed, and who pays for that is the real problem.  And focusing on blame rather than the problem, means we will be doing this again because we did not get it fixed, just like last time.

@thackney

And THERE it is.

[sneakypete]

The argument made on this thread about the ERCOT board is that those members should live in TX or else they are incompetent to consider the TX grid and apathetic about what happens within it.  I find that argument ill-reasoned.

@HoustonSam

How about the reasoning that states they should live in Texas so that if they don't take their positions seriously,they have to suffer with everyone else?

[HoustonSam]

@HoustonSam

How about the reasoning that states they should live in Texas so that if they don't take their positions seriously,they have to suffer with everyone else?

We always have emotional affinity for people who have "skin in the game" with us.  But that doesn't necessarily make them the best problem solvers; I don't insist that my physician suffer the same malady as I in order to treat me for it, or that my plumber must himself have burst pipes in order to repair mine.

If it is demonstrated that the PUC and ERCOT Board members were actually malfeasant, or even misfeasant, in their duties, I'll agree that there should be accountability and remedy.  But simply living out of state is not evidence for those contentions.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Are we talking about the ERCOT board or the Public Utilities Commission?

I'll certainly agree that members of the PUC should have some competence about public utilities, and an anthropology degree alone would not confer that competence; in fact I don't know of *any* degree program that would confer that competence.  In fairness I don't know what experience that person might have gained after finishing their anthropology degree; actual work experience counts for more than formal education, and I say that as someone who possesses as much formal education as one can acquire.  Our recent experience with appropriately-degreed experts like Dr. Fauci should put to rest any belief that having the "correct" education makes one effective in managing public policy.

The argument made on this thread about the ERCOT board is that those members should live in TX or else they are incompetent to consider the TX grid and apathetic about what happens within it.  I find that argument ill-reasoned.  The bio summaries I've seen on some of the now-resigned ERCOT board members indicate they have significant experience in understanding and managing widespread power infrastructure, and living outside TX makes them more neutral in considering the competing interests of TX consumers, TX transmission companies, and TX generators.

I was initially taken aback, and irritated, that ERCOT board members would live out of state.  But on further thought that doesn't bother me.  The position that they must live here to be effective falls into the standard liberal fallacy of confusing empathy with effectiveness.  As a now-dead research manager I used to work with sometimes reminded us, "We don't have all the smart people."

Perhaps a careful and dispassionate analysis of all the facts will indicate that heads should roll over last week's power failures.  But so far the only blame I can assign is with ERCOT and private company leadership for failures in communication, and with the TX State Legislature/PUC for not requiring by statute or administrative law effective winterization for weather that happens once in a generation.

The PUC controls Ercot.

Ercot is an acronym for Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

The emphasis is on Electric Reliability.  Did we achieve that by the way the PUC and Ercot handled the design and operation of the Texas grid last week?

Are you seriously suggesting otherwise?

Damn right we need accountability.  My mother almost died in a nursing home that lost power and heat last week due to negligence by the authorities in the composition of the electric grid we use.

This is not the fault of an engineer which designed the system.

It is the fault of political decisions made that did not recognize consequences of those decisions.

[HoustonSam]

The PUC controls Ercot.

Ercot is an acronym for Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

The emphasis is on Electric Reliability.  Did we achieve that by the way the PUC and Ercot handled the design and operation of the Texas grid last week?

Are you seriously suggesting otherwise?

Damn right we need accountability.  My mother almost died in a nursing home that lost power and heat last week due to negligence by the authorities in the composition of the electric grid we use.

This is not the fault of an engineer which designed the system.

It is the fault of political decisions made that did not recognize consequences of those decisions.

Very sorry to hear of your mother's experience @IsailedawayfromFR, and I hope she is resting comfortably now.

No, the grid certainly was not reliable last week and I agree that the fundamental failure is in political decisions, but it's not clear to me that those decision failures were by the PUC or by ERCOT.  The grid failed because it is not winterized, it's not winterized because there is no regulatory requirement that it be winterized, and there is no regulatory requirement because TX rarely sees the temperatures we experienced last week.

It is not my understanding that ERCOT has the authority to order generators, transmission companies, and pipeline operators to winterize.  Perhaps I'm wrong, but I haven't seen it reported anywhere that ERCOT is accountable for regulating the physical maintenance of the grid.  ERCOT is accountable to monitor the balance between generation capacity and power demand, and they did that.

Does the PUC have the authority to order winterization?  I don't know, perhaps they do.  But the organization that unquestionably DOES have that authority is the TX State Legislature.   When the law is inadequate, it's the job of law makers, not executives, to make the law adequate, either by direct legislation or by delegating authority for administrative law to an appropriate agency.  I don't want appointees to commissions and boards asserting the right to make law and I'm pretty sure you don't either.

So yes, it's fundamentally a political issue, but the undergraduate majors of the PUC members and the home mailing addresses of the ERCOT board are irrelevant distractions.  PUC and ERCOT can only operate within the authority they have been given by the legislature and I haven't seen it documented anywhere that either of them have been given the authority to order winterization of grid assets.