A Corpus Christi resident filed a lawsuit against the Texas Electric Reliability Board (ERCOT) on Friday, claiming that the power grid operator should be held accountable after failing to adequately prepare for the winter conditions that have left residents powerless recently. do not have.
ERCOT and the American Electric Power Company, which operates the state’s generators, were named as defendants. Plaintiff Donald McCarley claims the entities were aware of the potential risk a winter weather event poses to power grids, but did not increase capacity or try to weather their infrastructure.
“This cold weather event and its effects on the Texas energy grid were unprecedented, unexpected or unforeseen,” the lawsuit said, noting that similar conditions in 1989 and 2011 led to an uninterrupted consequence.
Representatives of ERCOT did not immediately return a request for comment.
Millions of Texas residents have lost power after freezing temperatures endangered the Texas power grid. McCarley’s lawsuit argues that the demand for energy amid the freezing point was much less than that which exists during a typical summer.
ERCOT oversees 90% of the state’s electricity production.
The law firm Fears Nachawati in Dallas is representing McCarley in the case. McCarley is claiming unspecified damages.
“It was an emergency only because of the failure to plan and learn previous lessons,” Fears Nachawati lawyer Patrick Luff said in a statement.
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Earlier Friday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation to determine how ERCOT is responding to the crisis, as well as emergency preparedness procedures.
“I’m using the full range of my constitutional powers to investigate ERCOT and other agencies that have dealt badly with this week’s extreme winter weather. While the Texans have rallied to get their communities through this disaster, they are largely in the dark. “We will get to the bottom of this power outage and I will work tirelessly for justice for the Texans,” Paxton said in a statement.