Thread by @wesrap

ERCOT board chair Sally Talberg: "Please be aware that there's a tremendous interest in getting answers to what happened..." regarding last week's outages during winter weather. #txlege #txwx

"I want to acknowledge the pain and suffering of Texans during this tragedy that continued for many, even after the power was restored last week," ERCOT board chair Talberg says. #txlege #txwx

ERCOT board chair Sally Talberg says more than 4 million Texans lost power during/after the winter storm.

That's higher than the estimates given by ERCOT leadership last week-- which were in the 2-3 million range.

#txlege #txwx

With at least half-a-dozen members resigning at the end of today's meeting (board chair & vice chair included), chair Sally Talberg says: "We're here today because we felt it was important to be part of the process to begin to evaluate what happened..." #txlege #txwx

Worth noting this "urgent meeting"-- which was announced a week ago-- is being hosted by teleconference, so members are joining with audio only.
This also comes a day before lawmakers will start a series of hearings to address the power outages & near grid collapse. #txlege #txwx

Board member Vanessa Anesetti-Parra: "This event has had an immediate impact on consumers, as well as a devastating financial impact on the retail energy community..." #txlege #txwx

More from Vanessa Anesetti-Parra: I "wanted to share my empathy for all affected in the weather events from last week." Board chair asks if anyone else wants to make remarks. No one responds. #txlege #txwx

ERCOT CEO Bill Magness starting his presentation: "power is essential to civilization..."
"We regret this event took the time it did to resolve..."
Says he wants to provide explanation, not excuses
Live stream: events.swagit.com/ercot/
Slides: ercot.com/content/wcm/ke…
#txlege #txwx

"A lot of people became aware of ERCOT for the first time, unfortunately, last week, when we had to order the rotating, and then controlled, we call them, outages, over the course of the week," ERCOT CEO. #txlege #txwx

ERCOT CEO outlining the council's structure. PUC has complete authority over ERCOT's finances. Legislature also has oversight. #txlege #txwx

ERCOT CEO explains what it does and does NOT do:
#txlege #txwx

Here's the breakdown of different energy sources under the ERCOT umbrella:
#txlege #txwx

ERCOT CEO lists pre-storm preps and pre-storm communications relating to this winter weather event. #txlege #txwx

ERCOT CEO reiterates @GovAbbott & @JohnCornyn assistance to get emissions standards temporarily waived by @ENERGY to help with energy generation during the weather emergency:
#txlege #txwx

https://twitter.com/wesrap/status/1362812748552265739?s=20

ERCOT CEO says @TDEM played "invaluable role" at State Operations Center to help coordinate resources. #txlege #txwx

ERCOT overview of the winter weather event: It's unusual when a storm covers the landmass of ERCOT w/ subfreezing temps & wind chills. "Approximately 48.6% of generation was forced out at the highest point due to the impacts of various extreme weather conditions."
#txlege #txwx

Austin Energy GM: "The issue with ERCOT's concerns with regard to this event should have been more broadly communicated at our February 9 board meeting" & addressed more specifically.
ERCOT CEO: "I certainly could have done a better job emphasizing what was coming"
#txlege #txwx

ERCOT timeline as the storm blew in: New Winter Peak set early morning hours of Feb 15. More electricity was used on the system on a winter's day than ever before, at new winter peak Feb 15. #txlege #txwx

Morning of Feb 15, as seen by ERCOT:
#txlege #txwx

Note: ERCOT says more gen units would have tripped if dipped below 59.4 for 9 mins or more. We were below 59.4 Hz for 4 mins 23 secs.
"We could not go lower, or we would have risked a blackout of the entire system," ERCOT CEO says, explaining ordering more outages #txlege #txwx

Had the grid ended up in a "black start" situation (grid collapse and starting over), ERCOT CEO says it could take "weeks" to restore power to the 26 million Texans on the ERCOT grid. #txlege #txwx

Generation capacity through the winter storm, per ERCOT: "We saw a lot of fuel issues out on the system"
#txlege #txwx

Generation breakdown by fuel type during the winter storm, per ERCOT:
#txlege #txwx

Weatherization-- ERCOT spot checks power plants & holds workshops, but has no authority to REQUIRE weatherization. #txlege #txwx

Comparing this 2021 event to the 2011 winter weather where rolling outages happened... it was colder during this storm than that one. #txlege #txwx

Power comparison of 2021 winter event vs 2011 winter event. #txlege #txwx

This is an ERCOT breakdown of load shed during the winter weather organized by transmission owner. Note Oncor & CenterPoint shouldered bulk of outages (also serve large TX populations). #txlege #txwx

I have to hop off to get ready for an interview. Follow @maggie_glynn1 for any updates from here. I'll circle back when I can