[8] As the ISO for the region, ERCOT dispatches power on an electric grid that connects more than 46,500 miles of transmission lines and more than 610 generation units.

[9] According to an ERCOT report, the major sources of generating capacity in Texas in 2020 were natural gas (51%), wind (24.8%), coal (13.4%), nuclear (4.9%), solar (3.8%), and hydroelectric or biomass-fired units (1.9%).

[13] Power demand in the ERCOT region is typically highest in summer, primarily due to air conditioning use in homes and businesses.

The ERCOT region's all-time record peak hour occurred on August 20, 2024, when consumer demand hit 85,931 MW.

[19] Since deregulation, retail providers and power generators were unregulated, although regulations on transmitters continued to control the placement of electrical lines.

[20] In early February 2011, a major winter storm impacted Texas; freezing and extreme cold at natural gas pipelines and wells, as well as generating units (such as coal-fired power plants and wind turbines) caused power outages across Texas affecting 3.2 million customers.

ERCOT and its regulator, the Public Utility Commission of Texas, failed to adopt a mandatory standard for preparing electricity infrastructure for such occurrences (winterization), despite recommendations from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).

Texas's failure to prepare left the state vulnerable to winter-storm blackouts, including the major disaster that occurred ten years later in February 2021.

[21] During a major cold-weather event in mid-February 2021, ERCOT declared a statewide emergency, due to a 34,000 MW shortfall in generation that caused widespread blackouts.

[36] On February 16, Governor Greg Abbott declared that ERCOT reform would be an emergency priority for the state legislature, and there would be an investigation of the power outage to determine long-term solutions.

[37] A 357-page report had been written after the 2011 power outage in Texas,[38] which seemed to have been ignored, because too many critical generators still lacked appropriate weatherization in 2021,[29][39] especially the natural gas system.

[47] An 11-year-old boy, Cristian Pavon, who died of suspected hypothermia was among the deaths caused by ERCOT's grid system.

The increase in demand is the result of large users, including data centers and crypto currency mining operations, as well as oil and gas production that is switching from gas- and diesel-generated power to electricity.

[52] After the 2021 outages, the state pass laws mandating weatherization of power plants against cold, streamlined emergency communications, and provided some aid for backup fuel supplies.

[59] This revelation drew considerable anger from the public as well as elected representatives, and the board members' names and photographs were temporarily removed from the ERCOT website due to death threats.