The head of the Texas Public Utility Commission resigned as fallout mounted from the energy crisis that swept the state during a severe winter storm last month.
DeAnn Walker said Monday that she would step down amid growing calls for her ouster from state lawmakers of both parties and others, following a Texas Senate hearing last week during which she defended the commission’s response to the crisis.
“I stand proud that I worked endless hours over the past two and a half weeks to return electric power to the grid,” Ms. Walker wrote in her resignation letter. “Despite the treatment I received from some legislators, I am proud that I spoke the truth.”
Millions of Texans were left in the dark without power for days during an extreme cold front that brought freezing temperatures to much of the Lone Star State, causing numerous power plants to trip offline and leading others to experience shortages of natural gas.
As the crisis deepened, the PUC ordered market prices to go to the maximum level of $9,000 per megawatt hour until the end of the emergency, up from around $1,200 a megawatt hour at the time of its order last Monday.
