When triple-digit heat hits Texas this week, as predicted, will enough power be adequate to run air conditioners? Will lights remain on? Will available energy prevent another catastrophe?
Those who now lead Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the Texas Public Utilities Commission have made plans to prepare for it, according to PUC Chairman Peter Lake and ERCOT Interim President and CEO Brad Jones.
Lake and Jones held a joint press conference on July 22 to discuss their plans. They said the forecast calls for extremely hot weather, but Texans need not worry about the power supply.
Peter Lake
| Public Utilities Commission of Texas
High heat and high load expectation, possibly an all-time high, will put that to a test.
“We expect to have a sufficient amount of generation to serve all Texans,” Jones said.
Lake said it will be hot, and the demand will be great. But he was optimistic.
“Overall, we’re in a good position,” he said. “The lights are going to stay on and your bill should not change.”
Jones said ERCOT expects to see demand hit 74,000 megawatts this week. The record set last year was 74,800 megawatts and the summertime peak this year is forecast at 77,144 megawatts, according to ERCOT projections.
Lake said the three main issues to be addressed were stabilizing the grid for the summer, redesigning the market for the future and setting expectations for the summer. Lake and Jones spent 40 minutes explaining how that is being accomplished despite the turmoil and turnover within the agencies following a disastrous response in February when Winter Storm Uri plunged millions of Texans into cold and power outages occurred across the state.
More than 200 people died and huge power bills caused anger and a call for reform, which was heard loud and clear, they said.
“Texans demand and deserve a reliable grid and that’s our top priority,” Lake said. “The governor and the Legislature have spoken, they substantially reformed ERCOT governance, they mandated weatherization and they required a redesign of our market to enhance reliability, among many other initiatives.”
He said Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter with “strong guidance” on market redesign, and the PUC is taking “robust action” to meet those recommendations. It is an “unprecedented effort” with the agency, Lake said.
Lake said the PUC instructed ERCOT to operate with “an abundance of caution.”
ERCOT is a membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation that manages electric power to more than 26 million Texas customers, about 90% of the state’s electric load. The Texas electric grid is a massive network with more than 46,500 miles of transmission lines and more than 710 generation units.
“We need a cushion of extra reserves going into the deepest, hottest part of the summer,” Lake said. “We have no room for error.”
He said ERCOT had lurched from crisis to crisis in the past, an approach designed to fail. ERCOT will buy more additional power than in the past and releasing it quicker.
It also will call on Texans to exercise conservation when needed, Jones said. That’s done across the globe and must be an option ERCOT can use.
“It’s a tool that helps us keep our grid reliable,” he said.
Lake said in June that ERCOT called on more than eight times as much generation as was used previously and did so 32 times.
“That is a substantial enhancement on the reserve capacity and ability of our grid and a strong enhancement to our reliability,” he said. “Also want to highlight those operational changes are happening now and they will enhance reliability for Texas this summer.”
Lake said in the past, affordability was the top priority. That has changed.
“But now, reliability is first,” he said.
Lake said accountability also will be a major focus. ERCOT will offer economic incentives to generators who provide energy when needed. That includes thermal dispatchable, renewable with battery, fuel storage on site – “a myriad of possibilities.” The final outline is still being formed, Lake said, as the state works with and listens to multiple stakeholders as it redesigns the market.
“We are embarking on once-in-a-lifetime reforms, and that takes time,” he said. “But the weather won’t wait, so we need to be ready.”
On July 13, ERCOT released a “Roadmap to Improving Grid Reliability,” listing 60 improvements to Texas power grid. Jones described it as “significant” and “deep.”
According to a release, the roadmap includes:
- Taking a more aggressive operating approach. ERCOT is bringing more generation online sooner if it is needed to balance supply and demand. The grid operator is also purchasing more reserve power, especially on days when the weather forecast is uncertain.
- Requiring CEO certifications. After a rule change, all market participants who own or operate generation resources and/or transmission/distribution power lines will be required to submit a letter signed by their CEO twice a year certifying their companies have completed their weatherization preparations to protect the electric grid for the summer and winter seasons.
- Adding new requirements for generation owners. ERCOT is proposing a new market rule that requires generators to provide operational updates more frequently.
- Assessing on-site fuel supplies. ERCOT is reviewing the need for on-site fuel supplies for some generators.
- Performing unannounced testing of generation resources. This testing helps verify that generators have provided accurate information about their availability.
- Addressing transmission constraints in Rio Grande Valley. ERCOT and the PUC are initiating a process to address RGV transmission limitations and provide increased market access for resources in the Valley. This will improve reliability for customers during normal conditions and high-risk weather events.
Will McAdams and Lori Cobos were named to the PUC board after all three PUC members resigned following Winter Storm URI.
Jones took the helm at ERCOT in May, after serving as senior vice president and chief operating officer between April 2013 and October 2015. He also served as president and CEO of the New York Independent System Operator, a for-profit corporation that operates the state's bulk electricity grid, from October 2015 to October 2018.
Former CEO Bill Magness was issued a 60-day termination notice in early March and five board members stepped down.