(Reuters) - Texas state lawmakers on Thursday dug into the causes and cast blame for deadly power blackouts that left millions shivering in the dark as frigid temperatures caught its grid operator and utilities ill-prepared for skyrocketing power demand. "My faith has been shaken" in the state's power market, Morgan said. Up to 48% of the state's power generation was offline at times last week and at least 32 people died, including an 11-year-old boy of hypothermia in an unheated mobile home. Utilities were ordered to cut power to prevent a larger catastrophe, Bill Magness, CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state's grid operator, said. But Abbott "hand picks" members of the Public Utilities Commission that oversees ERCOT, Representative Rafael Anchia said.

Source: The Star February 25, 2021 17:19 UTC