The Texas Public Utility Commission moved Thursday to strengthen its oversight of ERCOT by naming former staffer Adrianne Brandt to guide a financial analysis of last month’s near system collapse that resulted in $47 billion worth of market costs. (See related story, Is the ERCOT ‘Casino’ Going Bust?)
As director of ERCOT accountability, Brandt will be assisted by former ERCOT COO and NYISO CEO Brad Jones in a consulting role.
PUC Executive Director Thomas Gleeson said Brandt and Jones will “ratchet up ERCOT’s accountability to the PUC and the people of Texas.”
Brandt most recently served as an adviser to former PUC Chair DeAnn Walker before retiring from the commission last year. PUC Chair Arthur D’Andrea said Thursday that she came out of retirement during the widespread rolling blackouts that followed the near collapse of the ERCOT grid.
Previously, Brandt directed market energy policy for CPS Energy and handled regulatory and government affairs for Austin Energy. She was also with the PUC for six years as a utility specialist.
“Adrianne is the exact mixture of knowledge, experience and toughness this role requires,” D’Andrea said in a press release. “She knows the intricacies of power markets and will bring her forthright nature and expertise to bear in a way that will help our agency more ably fulfill our oversight role.”
Jones was ERCOT’s COO for two years before taking over at NYISO grid in 2015. He abruptly left NYISO in 2018 in what was termed a “personal decision.” (See Brad Jones out at NYISO.)
Jones has 30 years of industry experience, including serving as chairman of the Edison Electric Institute’s Executive Advisory Committee and as a board member for the Gulf Coast Power Association.
