Senate to hear testimony on February power outages
The Texas Senate Committee on Business and Commerce will convene in a joint hearing with the Senate Committee on Natural Resources at 8:30 a.m. on February 15, 2011, in the Senate Chamber. The purpose of the hearing is to receive updates on the power outages of February 2nd through 4th and to discuss the status, preparedness, and responsiveness of current operating procedures. Invited and public testimony to be taken.
The hearing will begin with invited testimony divided up into 4 panels of witnesses. The panel makeup is as follows:
Panel 1
- Barry Smitherman, Chairman, Public Utility Commission of Texas
- Trip Doggett, President and CEO, Electric Reliability Council of Texas
- Michael Williams, Commissioner, Railroad Commission of Texas
- Bryan Shaw, Chairman, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
- Sheri Givens, Public Counsel, Office of Public Utility Counsel
Panel 2
- David Campbell, Chief Executive Office, Luminant
- Ned Ross, Director, Government Affairs, Direct Energy
- John Ragan, Regional President, NRG
Panel 3
- Brenda J. Pulis, Senior Vice President of Operations, Oncor
- Wade Smith, President and Chief Operating Officer, AEP Texas
- Larry Weis, General Manager, Austin Energy
Panel 4
- Dick Erskine, President, Atmos Pipeline Company
- Scott Doyle, Division Vice President, Texas Operations, Centerpoint Energy
- Steve Turk, Vice President of Operations, Southern Division, Chesapeake Energy
Following the invited testimony, the committees will take testimony from the public. You may submit written testimony, please submit 24 copies with your name on each copy to the Committee staff at the hearing, and please provide an electronic copy at your earliest opportunity. If you would like to speak during public testimony, please limit oral remarks to three minutes. Only those providing oral testimony will be listed as witnesses on the record, but you can still submit written testimony even if you are unable to speak at the hearing.
Live Video will be available on the Senate website
| Senate Business and Commerce Committee Members | |
| Committee Clerk:
Chair: |
Kimberly Selinger |
| Vice Chair: | Sen. Chris Harris |
| Members: | Sen. Kevin Eltife |
| Sen. Craig Estes | |
| Sen. Mike Jackson | |
| Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. | |
| Sen. Leticia Van de Putte | |
| Sen. Kirk Watson | |
| Sen. John Whitmire | |
| Senate Natural Resources Committee Members | |
| Chair: | Sen. Troy Fraser |
| Vice Chair: | Sen. Craig Estes |
| Members: | Sen. Bob Deuell |
| Sen. Robert Duncan | |
| Sen. Kevin Eltife | |
| Sen. Glenn Hegar | |
| Sen. Juan Hinojosa | |
| Sen. Mike Jackson | |
| Sen. Robert Nichols | |
| Sen. Kel Seliger | |
| Sen. Carlos Uresti | |