No Market Manipulation in February Power Spike

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ An independent review of February electrical outages and power plant failures during freezing weather across Texas has found no evidence of market manipulation.

The analysis was done by Potomac Economics Ltd. The consulting company operates under contract to the Texas Public Utility Commission.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which supervises the state’s power distribution grid, ordered the rolling outages Feb. 2, a day after an ice and snow storm blanketed parts of Texas. The
severe conditions knocked out more than 80 power stations.

The Austin American-Statesman reported, for its Friday editions, that at times power prices spiked as much as 100 times normal rates.

Potomac’s analysis, released late Wednesday, found the market “operated efficiently” during the emergency.

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