The Texas Supreme Court on Friday ended lawsuits against power generators from tens of thousands of Texas residents and small businesses who lost electricity during a devastating 2021 winter storm that resulted in billions of dollars in damages and hundreds of deaths.
The state Supreme Court provided no insight into why it ended the five separate appeals representing yearslong efforts from those affected during the that plunged Texas into single-digit temperatures for days. In the years after the storm, thousands of people sought to recoup damages to businesses or seek accountability for themselves or loved ones who were injured or died during the storm. More than died during the freeze, and some placed the damages at more than $300 billion.
The ruling is a major win for the power generators that were sued, including large regional energy companies Centerpoint Energy and NRG Texas Power, who claimed the record-breaking storm was to blame for the damages, not deficiencies in their own actions.
But Sandie Haverlah, president of the Texas Consumer Association, said Friday that the 2021 storm likely will not be the only extreme weather event of that caliber. She pointed to the state Legislature's efforts to better power generation companies for extreme weather as an acknowledgement of that 鈥� and of energy providers' own culpability in the fallout.
"If the Legislature thought this was a one-time thing, they wouldn't have done anything," she said.
Implementing those changes have also increased energy costs for consumers, Haverlah said, but still may not translate to generators' future responsibility for potential failures during extreme weather without further legislative action.
Four of the court鈥檚 nine justices did not participate in the ruling, according to the court鈥檚 . The appeals sought to challenge a ruling from the state鈥檚 First Court of Appeals that dismissed the cases for having 鈥渘o basis in law or fact.鈥�
The court鈥檚 Friday decision is not the first time it has ruled against plaintiffs seeking damages in the wake of the winter storm.
In 2023, the state鈥檚 highest court that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the power supply for most of Texas, could not be sued because it could claim sovereign immunity. The immunity, which largely shields government agencies from civil lawsuits, was provided because it 鈥減rovides an essential governmental service,鈥� according to the ruling.
Disclosure: CenterPoint Energy has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete .
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