The heads of ERCOT’s board of directors don’t even live in Texas

© Steve Gonzales, Staff Photographer Velma Williams wears multiple items of clothing to stay warm during a power outage in Third Ward Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Houston.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is getting a lot of attention as millions of Texans remain without power while the state faces extreme cold.

Meanwhile, ERCOT’s recently elected chair and vice chair for the board of directors aren’t feeling the chill like we are.

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Writer R.G. Ratcliffe pointed out that some of those in charge at ERCOT don’t live in the state.

ERCOT manages the flow of electric power in Texas and is responsible for ensuring the one independent power grid in the country is up and running as it should. And in a historic and life-threatening cold snap, it’s still unknown when millions will get the heat back on in their homes.

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ERCOT Chair Sally Talberg lives in Michigan and served on the Michigan Public Service Commission until 2020, according to her ERCOT biography. She was elected to the board earlier this month.

Vice Chair Peter Cramton is a professor at the University of Cologne in Germany and the University of Maryland. According to his LinkedIn page, he lives in Del Mar, California. Cramton has served on the board since 2015.

ERCOT, which manages the flow of electric power in Texas, initiated rolling blackouts early Monday morning. However, the blackouts quickly became serious as millions of Texans lost power for hours in frigid temperatures. As of Tuesday morning, more than 1.37 million people were still without power in Houston, according to the Houston Chronicle.