FERC Denies Complaint of Michael Mabee

On May 26, 2021, in Docket No. EL21-54-000, FERC issued an order denying the complaint filed by Michael Mabee related to the weather-related power outages in Texas occurring in February 2021. The complaint, filed on March 1, 2021, claimed that the recent cold weather event in Texas that led to power outages demonstrated that either: (1) “[t]he mandatory [R]eliability [S]tandards were not followed”; or (2) “[t]he mandatory [R]eliability [S]tandards were ineffective.” The Complaint requested the Commission (i) issue a public notice of the Complaint; (ii) direct NERC and Texas RE to conduct an investigation into whether Reliability Standards were followed by all entities registered with Texas RE who had involvement in the power outages; and (iii) if NERC and Texas RE determined violations did not contribute to the power outages, then FERC require NERC to revise the Reliability Standards to prevent such power outages resulting from cold weather events. FERC has issued this order denying the complaint for failure to provide evidence to support the assertion that Reliability Standard violations contributed the cold weather event or that Reliability Standards were deficient in preventing the cold weather event. FERC also stated that is believes steps are being taken by FERC and NERC to assess and understand the February 2021 cold weather event and mitigate the impacts of future events.

To view FERC’s order, click here.