The Electric Reliability Council of Texas: Storm Uri, A Non-Profit Company and Statewide Outages
Case
Teaching Notes
Supplementary Resources
Abstract
In February 2021, Storm Uri devastated an unprepared Texas which resulted in mass power outages across the state. Texans faced low temperatures, food shortages, water shortages, and power outages during the storm and high electricity bills after. When electricity demand exceeded supply, electricity prices per kilowatt-hour soared, leaving many Texans with monthly electricity bills in the thousands. ERCOT is responsible for ensuring the reliability of electric service for 90 percent of the state, despite not owning the Texas grid or setting prices, and has been highly criticized for its decision making during the event by Texas politicians, residents, and the media. 1
This case study is provided in this Sage Business collection primarily as a basis for classroom discussion or self-study and is not meant to illustrate either effective or ineffective management styles. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be an endorsement of any kind. This case study is for scholarly, educational, or personal use only within your university, and cannot be forwarded outside the university or used for other commercial purposes.
© 2026 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Resources
Figures
Figure 1: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/29/texas-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/
Figure 2: http://www.ercot.com/content/wcm/key_documents_lists/225373/2.2_REVISED_ERCOT_Prese ntation.pdf
Figure 3: https://americansystemnow.com/learning-from-energy-insanity-in-texas/
Figure 5: https://www.groschopp.com/whats-your-frequency/
Figure 6: https://sites.suffolk.edu/jstraka/tag/energy-grid-infrastructure/
Figure 7&8: https://mrcc.illinois.edu/CLIMATE/welcome.jsp
Figure 9: https://blog.heatspring.com/what-happened-in-texas-february-2021-power-outages/
This case study is provided in this Sage Business collection primarily as a basis for classroom discussion or self-study and is not meant to illustrate either effective or ineffective management styles. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be an endorsement of any kind. This case study is for scholarly, educational, or personal use only within your university, and cannot be forwarded outside the university or used for other commercial purposes.
© 2026 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL
-
Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life -
Read modern, diverse business cases
-
Explore hundreds of books and reference titles
Read next
More like this
Sage Recommends
We found other relevant content for you on other Sage platforms.
Have you created a personal profile? Login or create a profile so that you can save clips, playlists and searches