ERCOT Board Members Donations to Abbott

Three current board members of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas have contributed thousands of dollars to Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaigns over the last 10 years.

Lori Cobos, Chief Executive and Public Counsel for the Office of Public Utility Counsel (OPUC) and ex-officio member of ERCOT, donated $1,050 to Abbott’s campaign three months before being appointed by the governor to her position.

According to OPUC’s website, “Ms. Cobos oversees the operation of the agency and leads OPUC’s representation of residential and small commercial consumers, as a class, in the state’s electric, water, wastewater and telecommunications utility industries primarily before the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), state courts and Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).”

Cobos was also previously appointed by Gov. Abbott to the Board of Directors of the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation.

DeAnn Walker, chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, gave $7,620 to the governor between 2009 and 2015 and Mark Carpenter, senior vice president at Oncor Electric Delivery gave $10,000 since October 2018.

There are 16 board members in total, and five of the highest ranking board members resigned on Wednesday just one day prior to today’s Texas House hearings.