A Texas House of Representatives’ bill advanced out of committee that requires board members of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to live in Texas was among six priority bills that responded to the winter storm power outages.
House Bill 10, which would also create an added ERCOT “board position to represent consumer interests,” is one of six priority bills advanced out of committee in response to February’s winter storm power outages, State Rep. Brooks Landgraf (R-Odessa) said on his Facebook page. Following the winter storm, Texans found that ERCOT’s board of directors included some members who didn’t live in its borders, a press release said.
“The goal: Make sure Texans never have to endure that mess again,” Landgraf said on his Facebook page.
Over 26 million Texas customers receive electric power that ERCOT manages, ERCOT’s Facebook page said.
“As the independent system operator for the region, ERCOT schedules power on an electric grid that connects more than 46,500 miles of transmission lines and 650+ generation units,” the Facebook page said.
A membership-based, nonprofit corporation, ERCOT has a board of directors that in part oversees ERCOT operations, and has members comprised of people who aren’t affiliated with the power industry, industry market representatives and consumers, ERCOT’s website said.
The bills voted out of committee “is a good development,” Landgraf said on Facebook.
Other bills voted out of committee, said Landgraf’s Facebook page, were House Bill 11, requiring “electric transmission and generation facilities to be weatherized, and for utilities to reconnect service as soon as possible and prevent slow reconnections for low-income, rural and small communities."
“House Bill 13, would establish a council of representatives from ERCOT, the PUC (Public Utility Commission of Texas), Railroad Commission and Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) to coordinate and identify challenges with fuel supplies, repairs, energy operations and service interruptions during times of disaster," the Facebook page said.
House Bill 16 “would ban variable rate plans that resulted in exorbitant bills for residential consumers” and House Bill 17 “would ensure residential and commercial consumers have a choice in their source of energy," the page reported.