TX Supreme Court Rules on Suing ERCOT

Can ERCOT be sued? It’s a question many have asked since the February Freeze in Texas challenged the state’s election grid and left millions without power during the historic cold temperatures.

A ruling this past week might provide guidance.

The Texas Supreme Court doesn't believe it has the power to decide if Texas' electric grid operator can be sued. Justices ruled 5-4 Friday morning the Texas Constitution bars them from issuing advisory opinions. Dissenting judges say they're not sure why the majority believes it's barred from issuing an opinion.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas was sued in 2016 by Panda Power Funds over claims it misled the company into building several power plants. ERCOT said it had sovereign immunity from lawsuits while Panda disagreed. A second lawsuit involving the parties is also pending in the court of appeals.

ERCOT faces multiple lawsuits over last month's weeklong power outages following two winter storms.

photo: Getty Images


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