Strayhorn calls for oversight of ERCOT (TEXAS)

The Dallas Morning News ^ | Strayhorn calls for oversight of ERCOT | SUDEEP REDDY and PETE SLOVER

[Dubya]

The state's electricity grid operator remains "at high risk of future financial malfeasance" unless major changes are made, the Texas comptroller said Monday.

In a letter to lawmakers, Carole Keeton Strayhorn called for the creation of a fraud task force to oversee the use of contractors and other expenditures at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. ERCOT oversees the flow of electricity through most of the state and directs a $27 billion deregulated power market.

Though ERCOT has been implementing new policies, Mrs. Strayhorn said her office's recent review found irregularities in contracts and reimbursements for companies doing millions of dollars of business with ERCOT.

"The risks at ERCOT and its importance to the daily lives of millions of Texans are too great for us to rely only on the hope of reform," said Mrs. Strayhorn, who is considering a run for governor next year.

ERCOT chief executive Tom Schrader said that ERCOT welcomed the comptroller's input, but the findings referred to a number of past practices that are no longer in place today.

Thirty House members, largely Democrats, requested the review in February in response to a scandal that led to criminal indictments of former ERCOT officials.

The officials were charged with bilking the nonprofit of more than $2 million.

[Dubya]

Agency says disputed practices already have been changed