Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. Files for Bankruptcy
Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (Brazos) recently filed bankruptcy in federal court in Houston, citing a disputed $1.8 billion bill from the state’s grid operator, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Brazos is one of dozens of electricity providers in Texas facing enormous charges stemming from severe cold snap last month. Unusually frigid temperatures knocked out nearly half of the state’s power plants in mid-February, leaving 4.3 million people without heat or light for days and bursting water pipes that damaged homes and businesses. Brazos and others that committed to provide power to the grid, and could not during the winter storm, were required to buy replacement power at high rates and cover other firms’ unpaid fees. The attorney general of Texas has launched an investigation into the blackout, calling for ERCOT and others to provide documents on the outages, pricing and emergency, saying they mismanaged the crisis.
