Gov. Abbott announces 6 Texas Energy Reliability Council appointees to handle weather emergencies

AUSTIN, Texas -- On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced six appointees to the Texas Energy Reliability Council, which was established in June as part of a larger bill aimed at addressing preventing energy issues during emergency situations in the wake of the February 2021 winter storm.

The video above is from a previous story.

SEE RELATED STORY: Deadly Texas winter storm power outages were due to freezing or lack of winterizing, report finds

Abbott's appointees include Brad Jones, the interim CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, as well as representatives from Samsung, Valero and H-E-B from each of Texas' four largest metros.

MORE: CEO of Texas power grid operator 'terminated' in aftermath of winter storm

Senate Bill 3, which was authored by state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, during the regular 2021 legislative session, tasks the council with overseeing the weatherization of the power grid and improving communication in the energy sector.

The council is one of several provisions established under the new law aimed at "preparing for, preventing and responding to weather emergencies and power outages," per the bill's text. Other mandates include "creating a civil penalty for disconnecting natural gas service to residential customers during an extreme weather emergency" and requiring energy providers to weatherize their systems and practice for various emergencies.

RELATED: 6th ERCOT board member resigns during emergency meeting on winter storm outage

WATCH: Gov. Greg Abbott calls on ERCOT leadership to resign

The governor appeared visibly frustrated when asked about the response to the state's power outage crisis by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Watch the full interview in the video above.

The council:

• Brad Jones, Interim CEO of ERCOT, Liberty Hill
• Nate Murphy, Senior counsel for Valero, San Antonio
• George Presses, Vice president of fuel and energy for H-E-B, San Antonio
• Edward Stones, Global business director for energy and climate change for Dow, Houston
• Jon Taylor,Corporate vice president of fab engineering and public affairs at Samsung Austin Semiconductor, Austin
• Melissa TrevinoAssistant vice president for power at Occidental Energy Ventures, Houston

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