There does appear to be some level of micromanagement going on here, but that's not untypical. However it is important to note DC told ERCOT they needed to exhaust purchasing power from providers outside Texas before they could increase their limits.
Whenever there is a high demand, other states jack their prices. Back in the 2000s when California was in an energy crisis, the North East was charging them super high prices, but they were charging TVA normal prices, so California bought slightly jacked up power from TVA that was really purchased from the North East (it ended up taking the shortest route on the national grid; so it's literally the same power).
There are a lot of sites saying this isn't true. Don't read the articles or stupid 500 char tweets. Read the actual PDFs:
Original Request from ERCOT: https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2021/02/f82/ERCOT%20202%28c%29%20Emergency%20Order%20Request%20-%2002.14.2021.pdf
DC Response: https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2021/02/f82/DOE%20202%28c%29%20Emergency%20Order%20-%20ERCOT%2002.14.2021.pdf
There does appear to be some level of micromanagement going on here, but that's not untypical. However it is important to note DC told ERCOT they needed to exhaust purchasing power from providers outside Texas before they could increase their limits.
Whenever there is a high demand, other states jack their prices. Back in the 2000s when California was in an energy crisis, the North East was charging them super high prices, but they were charging TVA normal prices, so California bought slightly jacked up power from TVA that was really purchased from the North East (it ended up taking the shortest route on the national grid; so it's literally the same power).