AUSTIN, Texas — Governor Abbott shoulder some of the responsibility of the big freeze fiasco while at the same time blasting ERCOT for it’s performance.
The governor wasting not mincing words at the State Emergency Operations Center blasting ERCOT for a crisis he said should never have happened in the first place. He says he’s already issued waivers and executive orders to ensure a situation like this never happens again.
After meeting with the heads of various state and federal agencies, Governor Abbott gave the good news that there were no power outages due to a lack of generating power although at the time, 325,000 Texans were still in the dark.
As the state continue to grapple with the crisis, the governor announced a 5 part plan to get the state back on track including making sure everyone has power, water, and the aid they need with the help of the National Guard.
He also announced he’s requested a major disaster declaration for the state from President Joe Biden to get the finances needed to get the state back on track.
As the only local news crew in Austin, we asked the Governor about how he plans on handling ERCOT and it’s performance.
“That starts with reforming the agency in charge of electric reliability in Texas which is ERCOT,” he said. “What happened this week is absolutely unacceptable and can never be replicated again.
I’m taking responsibility for the current status of ERCOT. Again, I find what has happened unacceptable.” Later adding, “I’m taking responsibility for the current status of ERCOT. Again, I find what has happened unacceptable.”
The governor also said he had a conversation with the CEO of ERCOT just five days before the storm arrived and he says he assured him they were ready, winterized properly, and had enough power to meet peak demand. In response to that at this afternoon’s press conference, the governor said ERCOT failed.
This is Thursday's conference.
