It’s been one heck of a year for Texas energy grids. Six months ago only a very select group of industry insiders and policy nerds had ever heard of The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Now, they’re a national household name and the Lone Star State’s public enemy number one. ERCOT first gained its notoriety in February of this year when a severe cold snap led to devastating failures across Texan power grids. Lack of energy across huge swaths of the state in combination with the dangerously low temperatures and storm conditions tragically led to critical shortages of water, food, and heat, ultimately culminating in the death of 111 people at the very least, and that’s just in Texas. While there were several competing narratives circulating to explain the catastrophic failure in its immediate aftermath, the clear culprit was ERCOT and the unusual and unique organization and orchestration […]