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Texas power grid's CEO fired following February's mass blackout event

Bill Magness ERCOT
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Eric Gay/AP
Bill Magness, President and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), testifies as the Committees on State Affairs and Energy Resources holds a joint public hearing to consider the factors that led to statewide electrical blackouts, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, in Austin, Texas. The hearings were the first in Texas since a blackout that was one of the worst in U.S. history, leaving more than 4 million customers without power and heat in subfreezing temperatures. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Bill Magness ERCOT
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THE BOARD OF THE ELECTRIC RELIABILITY COUNCIL OF TEXAS FIRED CEO BILL MAGNESS ON WEDNESDAY. — AUSTIN, Texas — Texas’ power grid manager has been fired following February’s deadly blackouts that left millions of people without electricity and heat for days.

The board of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas fired CEO Bill Magness on Wednesday. He was given a two-month termination notice during ERCOT's board meeting on Wednesday night.

Magness is the highest-ranking official to lose his job in the wake of one of the worst power outages in U.S. history. DeAnn Walker, the chairwoman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, resigned her post on Monday.

More than 4 million customers in Texas lost electricity as the state’s power grid buckled in subfreezing weather.

The winter storm and ensuing blackout have been blamed for at least 40 deaths, but the exact toll likely won’t be known for months.

Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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