ERCOT Releases Updated List of Failed Generators

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state grid, has released an updated list of power plants that went down during the statewide rolling blackouts on Feb. 2. The list is still partial and includes only plant units belonging to companies that agreed to publicly disclose information on the shutdowns.

Current rules bar ERCOT from publicly releasing information about plants that failed until 60 days after the fact. The grid operator has said that the rule is intended to protect companies from competitors, which could benefit from knowledge of their rivals' troubles.

After a flood of inquiries in the wake of the the blackouts, however, ERCOT asked plant owners to waive confidentiality and provide “written consent to reveal the name of the unit, the owner, the county location, and the fuel type.”

Dottie Roark, a spokeswoman for ERCOT, said that the grid operator has had "an overwhelmingly positive response to our requests." Forced outages occurred for 82 generation units between midnight and 1 p.m. on Feb. 2. However, the list released today also included units that failed during a broader time frame, of Feb. 1-4. Roark could not yet say what percentage of affected companies had signed waivers and released information.

Calpine, a Houston-based power company, lost the most units — 22 — spread across several counties.