ERCOT is not the villain in this, the acting US Sec. of Energy is.

In anticipation of the extreme weather, ERCOT applied for permission to bring on additional generation capacity, capacity that would involve burning fossil fuels.

The Sec. denied permission to do so, permitting only enough additional generation to prevent collapse of the power grid. Despite how bad it was, with millions of people shivering in their homes, the power grid did not collapse. It was tenuous, but it held.

The short story is this: the FED is more concerned about climate change than it is about Americans.