The board overseeing ERCOT held an urgent meeting Wednesday morning to discuss the winter storm that paralyzed most of Texas last week. They apologized for the devastation caused by the power outages and pledged to gather the facts to help lawmakers determine how to prevent it from happening again.
ERCOT CEO Bill Magness faced questions from his own board about why these power outages were so severe and why the agency was unable to predict such a devastating outcome before the storm arrived.
“I mean, we’ve seen something here that, you know, goes beyond any extreme scenario,” Magness said.
In an online presentation to the ERCC board, Magness showed slides that revealed an up-to-date analysis showing nearly half of the power-generating units, 48.6%, in the off state at the height of the interruptions.
All this was caused by a weather system that he described as larger than the agency’s forecasts ever predicted, questioning the forecasting models used to predict the winter weather and the state’s energy needs.
“This is the kind of thing that, you know, moves goalposts, number one, so we need to know we could see it in another February 2021 event when we look at the extremes,” he said. Magness.
ERCC weather data show that the Dallas / Fort Worth area was more or less than 140 hours during the freeze. That’s 40 hours more than the 2011 winter storm, which caused power outages.
This time, energy demand reached a record high, while all types of power plants (and even natural gas supply lines to some plants) stopped in the cold forcing ERCOT to order outages to prevent a col. · Much worse lapse of the whole power system.
A graph presented at the meeting shows that Texas was less than five minutes from a blackout that could have paralyzed the power system for weeks or months.
Magness expressed frustration at the meeting for the time it took to recover some power plants. Shared graphics today showed for days that many could not start again, and this turned this into such a devastating crisis with lives lost and homes damaged.
A board member today criticized Magness for saying he had not done enough to warn the board of the possibility of a crisis before the storm came.
“I feel like a board member, very frustrated that this doesn’t happen,” said Jacqueline A. Sargent, a board member. “And I just wanted to make that statement.”
As first reported by NBC 5 Investigates, ERCOT audio recordings show that Magness spent less than a minute discussing the impending storm at the last board meeting just five days before the storm arrived.
He apologized today.
“Without a doubt, I could have done a better job emphasizing what was coming and having this communication with the board also in more depth. So I understand your frustration, ”Magness said.
Thursday will address more questions from lawmakers in both the House and Senate. The start of what some, including Dallas State Senator Nathan Johnson, describe as the start of a fact-finding mission.
“It’s certainly possible that ERCOT has made decisions or hasn’t made decisions that it should have, and I have some information on that. But until I have complete information, I’m not sentencing. There are many other players in this process, both private and public, ”Johnson said.
A fifth member of the ERCC board has today resigned from joining four others who announced their resignations yesterday saying they wanted to avoid controversy over living in other states.