The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the private corporation responsibility for overseeing the function of the state’s power distribution grid, is coming under fire for its failure, causing more than four million Texans to be without electricity during a winter storm that’s plummeted temperatures into the single digits.
As the Associated Press reports, Texas’s politicians have been spinning as the state enters its second day of millions without power. Republican Governor Greg Abbott, after earlier on Tuesday highlighting ERCOT’s efforts to restore electricity to households, pivoted to calling for a special investigation into ERCOT’s operations and response.
Other state politicians are feeling the heat, even as their constituents have none. Former governor and Former US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry has been ridiculed for suggesting a non-existent form of energy production should be deployed throughout the state. Perry also said the problem stems from windmills freezing in the uncharacteristic cold–a theory echoed by recent high school graduate Republican Colorado Congressman Lauren Boebert–but the problem stems not from power generation but power delivery.
Federal representatives including Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw and Republican Senator Ted Cruz are now the subjects of mocking on social media for their statements ridiculing rolling blackouts in California as that state dealt with a record heat wave over the summer.
“Alexa, show me what happens when you let Democrats control energy policy,” Crenshaw tweeted on September 8, 2020, replying to a post by the mayor of Los Angeles who was urging people to cut back on energy use in the middle of the day.
While typically mockable, Cruz’s tweets pleading for federal aid for his state was answered by thousands of people pointing out Cruz and the state’s other senator, Republican John Cornyn, attempted to block federal aid to northeast states hit by hurricanes.
In the midst of the presidential campaign, Cruz also took to Twitter to say California lacked “basic functions of civilization.”
California is now unable to perform even basic functions of civilization, like having reliable electricity.
Biden/Harris/AOC want to make CA’s failed energy policy the standard nationwide.
Hope you don’t like air conditioning! https://t.co/UkKBq9HkoK
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 19, 2020
ERCOT is a non-profit private corporation run by three commissioners appointed by the governor. It’s board is comprised of representatives from state power companies, as well as some consumers and retail providers.