In the two and a half years since the deadly winter power failures of 2021, Governor Greg Abbott has repeatedly promised that everything is copacetic regarding Texas’ shaky power grid. He’s even gone so far as to micromanage how often the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s beleaguered independent grid operator, issues public updates on grid conditions.
Last week, the ERCOT board abruptly assembled behind closed doors to unanimously vote to hire electric utility executive Pablo Vegas as the new CEO, putting him in charge of a grid that has been under immense strain during record-setting summer heat. ERCOT, which is a nonprofit corporation, is not subject to the state’s open meeting laws. As the, Foster said the “urgent” decision was made because their choice had apparently leaked to the media, putting their agreement with Vegas at risk.