ERCOT CEO Bill Magness will be replaced after the Texas power outages

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The board that oversees the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the independent nonprofit entity that operates and manages the power grid that covers much of Texas, dismissed ERCOT CEO Bill Magness on Wednesday night.

The board’s decision to vote for a “60-day notice of termination” came after they met in a private executive session for more than three hours. The council barely discussed his decision when he returned to the public session.

The decision is the most recent of several recently announced exits from the ERCOT board, which also included Magness. Seven board members resigned after public criticism that many board members did not reside in Texas.

The absence of Magness will leave the ERCOT board of 16 people with a mix of vacancies and temporary members. Both ERCOT and the Texas Public Service Commission, the regulator that oversees it, have been criticized in recent weeks for failures to prepare and respond to the winter storm that left millions in the dark for days and claimed the lives of dozens.

On Monday, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick resigned from Magness and the president of PUC. DeAnn Walker, former president of PUC, resigned the same day. She was harshly criticized by lawmakers after pointing the blame for the Texas power cuts to ERCOT, an agency her agency oversees. Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday named Walker’s replacement.

Magness, who endured more than five hours of interrogation by state senators on Thursday, was criticized for the organization’s preparations for a winter storm. ERCOT underestimated the maximum amount of energy that would be required by homes, businesses and industry during a strong winter storm in its autumn projections, and overestimated the amount of power generation that would be available to the grid during that storm.

When large amounts of energy began to shut down in the early hours of February 15, far beyond what was expected, ERCOT network operators were forced to order utilities to initiate controlled outages to prevent the collapse of the entire system. system. Lawmakers complained that the network manager did not do enough to alert state leaders or the public about the coming disaster.

In his testimony last week, Magness defended ERCOT’s treatment of interruptions, telling lawmakers that if ERCOT operators had not acted as they did, “the suffering we saw last week would be exacerbated” and the Texans would likely run out of energy for weeks. Magness also defended ERCOT as an entity that accomplishes what state legislators and PUC direct.

“The commission approves the policy, we have implemented it,” said Magness.

Magness told lawmakers that he earns $ 803,000 a year, that he said he comes from Texans who pay their electricity bills.

Magness did not speak about the council’s decision, only that he abstained from voting because he involved himself. Magness also said that he was not present at any relevant discussions at the private executive session.

Walker, who testified after Magness during hearings with lawmakers, said she disagreed with her characterization of how much oversight PUC had of ERCOT, and said the commission “has not received legal authority from the legislature to demand winter climate” concern after the crisis of energy was precipitated by power plants shutting down. Many power generators are not built to withstand the extreme cold temperatures in Texas.

Magness worked at ERCOT for more than a decade and became its CEO and president in 2016 after working as its general advisor. Previously, he held executive management positions in the public and private services sectors. A lawyer, he has also previously worked as a legal advisor on state and federal regulatory issues.