Once the ice that recently blanketed Texas began to thaw, investigations began into who is at fault for the failure of the power grid that serves much of the state. Meanwhile, Texans hope those probes include some measures to prevent future failures in addition to the fingerpointing.

The death toll from the winter storm will not be clear for up to 90 days, but more than 40 deaths in the Houston area alone have been attributed to the winter storm and power failure. Medical Examiners in Dallas and other areas of the state are still working to determine the cause of death for dozens that died during the storm.

State officials, especially Gov. Greg Abbott, have largely targeted ERCOT for a lack of preparation, inadequate warnings and its handling of rolling blackouts. Seven members of ERCOT’s board of directors have resigned in the aftermath of the massive outage.

Vistra Corp. CEO Curtis Morgan told lawmakers the generation plants his company operates were classified as a “low-priority” user and shut down during the rolling blackouts.

“You-know-what hit the fan, and everybody’s going, ‘You’re turning off my power plant?”’ Morgan told lawmakers.

Some of the generation failures resulted from frozen equipment at natural gas wells, but some companies have announced publicly they were knocked offline when electricity was redirected.

Legislators also have the Public Utility Commission (PUC) in their crosshairs for the failure to notify residents that the power failure would extend for days, not the one- or two-hour periods they were told to prepare for.

“ERCOT was pathetic; the PUC was non-existent,” said Rep. Sam Harless of Spring.

The three commissioners of the PUC are appointed by the Texas Governor and, as of 2019, were paid an annual salary of $159,782.

ERCOT directors include three board members who are not affiliated with the electric market. Other board members are represented from each of ERCOT’s electric market segments.

Several lawsuits have been filed against ERCOT seeking damages for wrongful death and other damages Texans suffered during the storm. However, the plaintiffs in those actions may be denied relief since a court decision in 2018 found that ERCOT is entitled to “sovereign immunity” protection.

The Texas Supreme Court is currently reviewing that ruling and could decide that ERCOT is a private entity.

Other investigations into the grid failure are underway by Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee and Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza.

Menefee’s probe will examine whether devastating outcomes could have been prevented or mitigated as well as who made which decisions. The actions of the PUC, ERCOT board members and energy providers will be examined, Menefee said in a recent statement.

Garza told the Austin American-Statesmen and KVUE that his office will determine whether criminal charges should be filed against any person or entity.

State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, called on Garza’s office to decide whether acts or omissions of state officials violated the law.

Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Monday against retail electric provider Griddy LLC after it debited customers’ bank accounts several thousand dollars a day during the winter storm.

Legislators intervened last week and transferred Griddy customers to other providers and blocked utility customers’ ability to disconnect Texans for nonpayment.

The State of Texas has long prided itself on the lack of business regulations. Critics of that stance now point to that non-regulation as a key factor that enabled electric providers to ignore recommendations to winterize facilities after a deep freeze left much of the state without power in 2011.