Texas oower grid Chair, four directors quit in wake of blackouts

The chair of Texas’s power grid operator and four other board members have resigned in the wake of the energy crisis that crippled the state’s electrical system.

Electric Reliability Council of Texas Chair Sally Talberg resigned along with Vice-Chair Peter Cramton and board members Raymond Hepper, Terry Bulger and Vanessa Anesetti-Parra, according to a filing.

The departures are the first high-profile resignations in the wake of last week’s blackouts that left millions of homes without heat and light and dozens of people dead during an historic cold snap. Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week called for board members and other leaders of the grid operator, known as Ercot, to step down. Some board members had received death threats as public outrage over the crisis mounted.

In their resignation letter, four members cited recent concerns raised about out-of-state board leadership at the grid operator. "To allow state leaders a free hand with future direction and to eliminate distractions, we are resigning from the board effective after our urgent board teleconference meeting adjourns on Wednesday, February 24, 2021,” they said.

"We look forward to working with the Texas Legislature, and we thank the outgoing Board Members for their service,” Ercot spokesperson Leslie Sopko said in a statement.

Craig Ivey also submitted a letter to withdraw his petition for approval as an unaffiliated director, citing concerns stakeholders recently expressed of having out-of-state directors.

Cramton declined to comment. Talberg, Hepper, and Bulger didn’t immediately respond to requests for a comment.