There's plenty of blame to go around. ERCOT is a traffic director, no more and no less. They have as much chance of controlling the supply & demand as a beat cop has of stopping a speeding bus. They manage resources, sometimes good and sometimes bad.
The Supply & Demand issues:
Supply:
No argument against "all of the above." Wind & Solar are great when they produce and useless when they don't.
More available power generation would not have mattered since most of the "peak shaving" facilities are fueled with natural gas.
It is ironic that natural gas facilities REQUIRE electricity to operate. The migration from on-site power generation to purchased power was essentially complete 20 years ago, driven by power generation economies of scale, both from efficiency and emissions perspectives. We have a circular system where gas production needs electricty so we can produce more gas to make more electricty. Put another way, should oil & gas production facilities be prioritized with hospitals, schools and 1st responders? Imagine the push back when the energy companies get power when schools, homes & businesses are cut off.
There is a practical limit ($$$) to preventing lines from freezing. Not every well and every pipeline is "heat traced", nor should they be. Natural gas is produced saturated with water vapor; until you remove the water, hydrates are a concern. This is done at larger, centralized facilities. Unless the power supply is available 100% of the time, there is always a probability of freezing. If it goes down for 30 minutes, you're $%^&*@!!!
Demand:
Ignoring equipment efficiencies 🙁, It takes twice the power to heat a home from 10 ℉ to 68 ℉ than to cool it from 100 ℉ to 76 ℉. 100 ℉ is the norm in Texas, 10 ℉ is not.
When we were supposed to be conserving power, every home that had power had their swimming pool equipment running 24/7. I don't know one person that stepped up and voluntarily shut off their pool equipment, yet everyone of them had equipment damaged from freezing.
Downtown office towers were vacant, heated, and well lit because thet were on the same grid as hospitals and other core facilities. One is not like the other. We need a smarter grid.
Buckle your seatbelts, Dorothy!!!
I imagine a lot of stuff that got broke in February is not fixed yet, which means the power supply available will be challenged this summer. Take personal responsibility for your actions (like that's going to happen, Ha! Ha!) Maybe just try not to get caught with your pants down.