The authors conduct a step-by-step examination of various factors that were blamed for the extended power outage on the ERCOT electricity grid in February 2021. While no single factor fully explains the calamity, the bureaucratic failure in identifying and addressing risks along fuel supply chains was a major failure. Most proposed remedies do not fundamentally address what occurred. The authors make several recommendations, some of which have already been implemented.
Peter R. Hartley, Kenneth B. Medlock III, Shih Yu (Elsie) HungFebruary 2, 2022
At least 164 papers have defined a "patent thicket" since the first mention of the term in 1988. Authors are frequently inconsistent in their definitions and overall there is evidence of a growing confusion concerning patent thickets. Our analysis largely resolves this confusion.