March 2 — It was an usually hot Texas day in late February and, per usual, Houston was causing trouble.
By late afternoon on Feb. 22, temperatures around the state had climbed into the 90s, and the demand for power surged. In Houston, where midday wholesale power prices typically hover around $25, the price spiked to $4,000 per megawatt-hour – a sign that the market was short of supply.