Governor Greg Abbott gave a statewide address from the State Operations Center on February 24, 2021 on severe weather across the state last week and the state’s response.

This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics discussed. It is not a verbatim transcript of the discussions but is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.

Governor Greg Abbott

  • Speaking from the state emergency operations center
  • Tragic does not begin to describe events of the last week, too many were shivering in homes with no heat, power, or water
  • Thanks Texans who stepped up to help those in need
  • State is using every possible resource to fix this problem
  • Citizens have a right to be angry, essential services broke when they were needed the most
  • Texans deserve answers and will get those answers
  • ERCOT controls the flow of power, ERCOT repeatedly assured the state and public that they were prepared
  • Power generators of all sources were not prepared for winter weather; ERCOT operators should’ve acted sooner to stabilize the grid
  • Task now is to take lessons learned from past week and the anger we all feel and channel it into immediate action
  • Responding to the storm is an emergency item this session, working with House and Senate
  • Outrageous for Texans to be saddled with skyrocketing power bills, investigating spikes
  • Texans will not have power cut off for unpaid bills until the legislature can act
  • ERCOT must be overhauled, 5 board members have already resigned, but more must be done
  • State legislature begins comprehensive investigations of ERCOT tomorrow, already working with legislature on reforms to add more power to the grid
  • AG has launched a formal investigation into ERCOT
  • Power generation from all sources buckled under the freezing weather, including gas, coal, nuclear, wind, and solar
  • Each failed to fully produce due to inadequate safeguards, winterization and funding is an emergency item this session to protect from future events
  • No words can fix what happened or ease pain, legislative session will not end until we fix these problems and ensure tragic events of last week do not occur again