Renee Ellmers: Texas taught us the importance of improving North Carolina’s power grid Renee Ellmers During the devastating winter storms in Texas and subsequent power outages earlier this year, many Americans learned what exactly the electrical grid is and why maintenance, improvements and modernization is so critical. Millions of Texans were left without electricity for weeks in freezing cold temperatures and dozens of people lost their lives. Texas turned into a national tragedy but it was likely avoidable. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is responsible for delivering power to the majority of Texans, but it operates without the oversight that a public utility would typically face. It was created as part of the effort in the 1990s by many, including Enron, to deregulate the state’s electrical grid.