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Abbott signs power grid bills in response to big freeze

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AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday signed sweeping legislation to address the winter weather storm that caused havoc to the State's infrastructure and left dozens of people dead.

In February, thousands of families were left in the dark for days as temperatures dipped near or below zero. Many blamed ERCOT, or the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, for not being prepared for such a massive weather event.

Governor Abbott signed two bills Tuesday to prevent another winter weather disaster from happening again. The bills, among other things, create a state-wide power outage alert system and require electricity providers to weatherize equipment.

They also shrink the number of seats on ERCOT's Board of Directors, and allow the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House to be more involved in selecting those members.

Read more about the bills here.