Texas Governor Calls For Investigation Into Group That Manages State Power Grid

People carry groceries from a local gas station on Monday in Austin, Texas. The winter storm has brought historic cold weather to the state, causing traffic delays and millions of customers without power.

Montinique Monroe / Getty Images

With Texans facing their second day of rotating intentional power outages, Gov. Greg Abbott declared reform of the group that manages the state’s power grid to be an emergency item for the legislature to take on during its current session. An investigation is needed to prevent more such outages, Abbott said.

“The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has been anything but reliable over the past 48 hours,” Abbott said. “Far too many Texans are without power and heat for their homes as our state faces freezing temperatures and severe winter weather. This is unacceptable.”

The governor said he wants to “get a full picture of what caused this problem and find long-term solutions.”