Traffic signs on U.S. Highway 195 in Killeen, Texas, freeze due to plummeting temperatures.
Texas, USA, was hit by the coldest weather in 30 years last week, causing massive power and water outages and rumors of multiple disasters. The Family of one of the 11-year-old boys who died in his Home after a suspected power outage and no heating supply took the state’s Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT) and electric utility Entergy to court this week, claiming more than $100 million.
Cristian Pineda, 11, was found dead in his Houston home last week, according to the lawsuit. His family tried to keep him warm by huddling in a single room where Pineda was placed in a bed with his brother, but to no avail. The plaintiff alleges that a widespread power outage caused the boy’s suspected hypothermic death.
The nine-page lawsuit was filed in Jefferson County District Court.
The plaintiff’s attorney said the boy “died as a result of a non-priority on the grid” and that “the energy provider made a (priority) decision based on profits.
ERCOT and Entergy, which manage the flow of electricity through much of Texas, were supposed to invest in winterization systems for their generation facilities and warn people before the storm hit that they might be without power for a few days, but the two agencies did not, the lawyers noted.
The lawsuit reads, “Defendants’ failure to adequately inform Plaintiffs of the length of the outage prevented them from properly preparing for the lack of power or leaving the area. Providing accurate information may have saved the young Life of Christian Pineda.”
On Feb. 15, while the Texas region was experiencing a blizzard and a sharp drop in temperatures, ERCOT announced the start of rotating power outages in response to the state’s reduced power generation, but market demand instead spiked as residents tried to stay warm during the cold snap.
They had been without power for two days and the temperature had dropped to 12 degrees Fahrenheit, or -11 degrees Celsius, on the morning the boy was found dead, according to a GoFundMe fundraiser for the family.
The lawsuit accuses ERCOT and Entergy of gross negligence and seeks more than $100 million in damages.
In response, ERCOT said in a statement, “We have not yet reviewed these lawsuits and will respond accordingly once we do. Our thoughts are with all Texans who have suffered as a result of this past week. However, with approximately 46 percent of private generation tripping offline this past Monday morning, we believe our grid operators made the right choice to avoid a statewide blackout.”
In a statement, Entergy said, “We are deeply saddened by the loss of life in our community. We are unable to comment due to pending litigation.”
Meanwhile, two federal agencies, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), as well as multiple state agencies, are probing the grid failures Texas experienced during the storm.
Recent Comments