HOUSTON — Many might be surprised to know that none of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas board members who are resigning actually live in Texas.
RELATED: 5 ERCOT board members who live outside of Texas resign in aftermath of power outage, winter storm
On Tuesday, five board members will step down. According to the filing, here's who will resign following Wednesday's ERCOT board meeting:
- Board Chairman Sally Talberg
- Board Vice Chairman Peter Crampton
- Finance and Audit Committee Chairman Terry Bulger
- Human Resources Governance Committee Chairman Raymond Hepper
- Market Segment Director Vanessa Anesetti-Parra
All five members who are resigning live out of state, records show.
Energy expert Ed Hirs is confused just like most of us who are learning about the structure of ERCOT.
“Why do you get someone from Michigan? Why do you get someone from Maryland? None of this makes any sense to me,” he said.
Talberg and Crampton had been in their leadership roles for less than 10 days before the winter storm hit.
According to their resignation letter, their residencies have become a concern and they want to eliminate distractions.
Hirs sees it as "passing the buck."
"‘I’m going to leave the mess for you guys to clean up because, well, it’s your state and it’s no big deal. Yeah, I’ve been collecting a check.' This is just nonsense,” Hirs said.
Hirs believes the board members should be held accountable for what happened or didn't happen leading up to and during the storm.
His primary concern?
“The question: What did the board know, and when did they know it?” Hirs said.
On the Friday before the storm, an ERCOT spokesperson said they were prepared for the storm. She said ERCOT was monitoring power generators to make sure they were winterizing and she said ERCOT was not planning blackouts.
KHOU tried to get in touch with several of the resigning board members and got responses from two of them. Both said they had no comment.