Texas Senate Hears Blackout Testimony — Energy | The Texas Tribune

First on the hot seat in what may be day-long hearing held jointly in the Senate chamber by the Business & Commerce and Natural Resources committees were the state's bigwig utility regulators: Barry Smitherman, chairman of the Public Utility Commission; Trip Doggett, chief executive of the Texas grid operator (ERCOT); and Michael Williams of the Railroad Commission. They tried to explain why 82 power-generating units — roughly one-eighth of the state's fleet — failed on Feb. 2 during extremely cold weather, and what could be done to prevent similar occurrences in the future.