Too Little, Too Late? Phelan Announces Joint Hearing to Address Blackouts

Speaker Dade Phelan announced the House Committees on Energy Resources and State Affairs will convene in a joint hearing on February 25th to, “help Texans understand what went wrong and how we can prevent these conditions from happening again.”

The announcement comes in the midst of the one of the worst blackouts in Texas history where more than almost 4 million Texans lost power during what were supposed to be controlled rolling blackouts.

The extreme cold that triggered the scheduled blackouts have compelled public officials to warn drivers to stay off the roads, shut down airports, and have people stranded in their homes.

But as the Texas House speaker announces a joint hearing, many are asking why wasn’t anything done sooner?

Rep. James Talarico (D – Round Rock) says that this is not just a natural disaster, this is a failure of government.

Many Texans will be interested to see what comes from this hearing, but as millions of Texans huddle together in the cold and dark, the question remains, why didn’t this happen sooner?