- A watchdog for Texas’ power network operator said it was paying too much because millions had become powerless.
- The Texas Electric Reliability Board is not federally regulated.
- According to the report, power prices were set at $ 9,000 per megawatt per hour, the highest possible price.
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Potomac Economics, an independent market monitor for the Texas Public Utility Commission, said the state’s power network operator was overpaying residents as the state was hit by the freeze and failures in the power network in late February.
According to the submission, the levy totaled $ 16 billion. The report recommended that the Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT) take measures to reverse the charges.
In its report, the monitor determined that prices were kept 33 hours longer than needed by several snowstorms.
“Therefore, the [independent market monitor] recommends that the Commission recommend ERCOT to correct the real-time prices from 0:00 18 February 2021 to 09:00 19 February 2021 in order to remove the inappropriate price intervention that took place during the period, “the report reads, adding that ERCOT prices should recover retroactively to normal.
Bloomberg reported that the Texas Public Utility Commission, which regulates ERCOT, would discuss the monitor’s report at a meeting on Friday.
ERCOT, which is largely privatized and under its own regulatory system, allows wholesale prices to be determined by supply and demand.
The report indicated that during the storm in February, the Public Utility Commission instructed the power grid operator to set power prices at $ 9,000 per megawatt per hour, which is the highest possible price that operators in the state of Texas may change.
In the weeks following the freezing and power outages, ERCOT, the public utility commission and state leaders were embroiled in a crisis as state legislators called for new energy leadership and responses.
The chairman of the commission for public utilities resigned and yesterday Bill Magness, former CEO of ERCOT, was fired by the board of directors of the power network.
Seven of fifteen ERCOT board members have resigned since the freeze, with five resigning after it was revealed they were not living in Texas.
The outages last from February 10 to 17, as natural gas and power operators are characterized by arctic temperatures and sloppy power grid infrastructure, which would not withstand the winter weather.
Millions of Texans were left powerless, and with water damage, and at least 80 Texans died due to cold temperatures and related causes.