Thursday, February 18, 2021 Background Over Presidents’ Day weekend 2021, an unprecedented cold weather event hit the Midwest and South central United States. The storm led to major disruptions to infrastructure throughout the region, including icy road conditions, frozen pipes, and an estimated 3 million Texans still without power. [1] This is the result of a confluence of circumstances, including but not limited to frigid temperatures freezing generation and transmission equipment, shortages in natural gas supply and energy demand greatly exceeding supply, and Texas’ practice of operating separately from the rest of the bulk electric system. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (“ERCOT”), Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (“SPP”), and Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (“MISO”) are implementing rolling blackouts throughout the affected regions in an attempt to ensure no area is without power for too long. Nonetheless, the blackouts in some areas have endured for hours—even days in some parts of Texas—as temperatures remain below freezing.