Power infrastructure winterization made a legislative priority by Governor

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott gave an update Wednesday regarding the response to the severe weather conditions two weeks ago and the power outages caused by that weather. Among other concerns, Gov. Abbott said he has made it a legislative priority to mandate and fund the winterization of the state’s power infrastructure.

Gov. Abbott spoke Wednesday from the State Emergency Operations Center in Austin and said many in the state were upset by the state’s response and he said those residents deserve answers for why the system failed when they needed essential services.

“The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, known as ERCOT, manages the flow of power in Texas. Before the storm hit, ERCOT repeatedly assured the state and the public that ERCOT was prepared. Those assurances turned out to be false,” Gov. Abbott said Wednesday. “We now know that power generators of all sources were not prepared for this severe winter weather. We have also learned that ERCOT operators should have acted quicker to stabilize the grid and to prevent power generators from being knocked offline.”

Gov. Abbott said he made it a legislative priority to respond to the storm and is currently working with the Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Speaker of the House Dade Phelan and with the legislature on solutions.

For the rest of the story, see the Feb. 27 edition of The Graham Leader.