AUSTIN, Texas — Four board members of the state’s power grid operator, including chairwoman Sally Talberg, resigned Tuesday, a week after power outages left millions across Texas shivering in their homes during severe winter storms and state officials criticized some board members for not living in the state.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, which manages the flow of electricity to more than 26 million Texas customers, has taken the brunt of the criticism from state officials, including Gov. Greg Abbott. Along with Talberg, the three other current board members who resigned are Peter Cramton, an unaffiliated director; Terry Bulger, an unaffiliated director; and Raymond Hepper, an unaffiliated director.
All four are believed to live out of state. Talberg’s bio on the ERCOT website said she lives in Michigan. Bulger’s bio said he lives in a suburb of Chicago.
The four board members resigned together in a joint letter addressed to other ERCOT members and the Public Utility Commission, which oversees ERCOT.
The letter was posted on the Public Utility Commission’s website.
Also on Tuesday, an out-of-state candidate for a vacant position on the ERCOT board withdrew his application, saying he wanted to “avoid becoming a distraction” as state officials try to respond to last week’s outages.
ERCOT officials are expected to testify in front of lawmakers on Thursday during hearings about last week’s power failures.
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