A bankrupt Texas electric company’s battle with the state’s grid operator over massive financial losses from last year’s historic winter storm threatens to shock the state’s energy market and launch a wave of similar bankruptcies.
Brazos Electric Power Cooperative Inc., which filed Chapter 11 in March 2021, was one of the first energy companies that sued to reduce its exposure to multibillion dollar charges from grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. (ERCOT) for purchasing power during the storm.
ERCOT’s “exorbitant and excessive” $1.9 billion bill plunged Brazos from financial stability to insolvency nearly overnight, the generation and transmission ...