Type | 501(c)(4), charitable organization |
---|---|
74-2587416 [1] | |
Headquarters | Austin, Texas |
Chief Executive Officer | Pablo Vegas [2] |
Bill Flores (interim) | |
Vice Chair, Board of Directors | Bill Flores |
Website | ercot.com |
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT) is an American organization that operates Texas's electrical grid, the Texas Interconnection, [3] [4] which supplies power to more than 25 million Texas customers and represents 90 percent of the state's electric load. [5] ERCOT is the first independent system operator (ISO) in the United States. [6] ERCOT works with the Texas Reliability Entity (TRE), [7] one of six regional entities within the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) that coordinate to improve reliability of the bulk power grid. [8]
As the ISO for the region, ERCOT dispatches power on an electric grid that connects more than 46,500 miles of transmission lines and more than 610 generation units. [9] ERCOT also performs financial settlements for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers retail switching for 7 million premises in competitive choice areas. [9]
According to an ERCOT report, the major sources of generating capacity in Texas are natural gas (51%), wind (24.8%), coal (13.4%), nuclear (4.9%), solar (3.8%), and hydroelectric or biomass-fired units (1.9%). [10]
ERCOT is a membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation, [11] [12] and its members include consumers, electric cooperatives, generators, power marketers, retail electric providers, investor-owned electric utilities (transmission and distribution providers), and municipally owned electric utilities. [13]
Power demand in the ERCOT region is typically highest in summer, primarily due to air conditioning use in homes and businesses. The ERCOT region's all-time record peak hour occurred on August 20, 2024, when consumer demand hit 85,931 MW. [14] A megawatt of electricity can power about 200 Texas homes during periods of peak demand. [15] By 2022, ERCOT had 2 GW of grid batteries, with another 6 GW underway. [16]
At the beginning of World War II, several electric utilities in Texas agreed to operate together as the Texas Interconnected System (TIS) to support the war effort. During the war, the grid was interconnected to other states and excess power generation was sent to industries on the Gulf Coast, providing a more reliable supply of electricity for production of metal and other material needed for the war. [17]
Recognizing the reliability advantages of remaining interconnected, TIS members continued to operate and develop the interconnected grid. TIS members adopted official operating guides for their interconnected power system and established two monitoring centers within the control centers of two utilities, one in North Texas and one in South Texas.
In 1970, ERCOT was formed to comply with NERC requirements. However, the Texas grid is not subject to regulation under the Federal Power Act, being an intrastate grid for the purposes of that law. On May 4, 1976, Central Southwest Holdings attempted to force the issue, with an event that was later called the "Midnight Connection", where it connected the grid to Oklahoma for a few hours. This caused lawsuits about whether federal regulation then applied, however the judgement was that this was not sufficient. [17]
The deregulation of the Texas electricity market occurred in two phases: the wholesale generation market in 1995 and the rest of the sector in 1999. [18] The 1999 deregulation was aimed at counteracting a shortage of generation capacity in the state. [19] Since deregulation, retail providers and power generators were unregulated, although regulations on transmitters continued to control the placement of electrical lines. The legislation abolished the former system, in which power was both generated and consumed locally. [18] Instead, under the deregulated regime, retailers could contract with providers across the state, creating a complex market. [18] The 1999 deregulation also dropped limits on rate increases. Prior to deregulation, residential electricity rates were significantly below the national average; after deregulation, residential electricity rates increased, rising 64% between 1999 and 2007. [20]
In early February 2011, a major winter storm impacted Texas; freezing and extreme cold at natural gas pipelines and wells, as well as generating units (such as coal-fired power plants and wind turbines) caused power outages across Texas affecting 3.2 million customers. ERCOT and its regulator, the Public Utility Commission of Texas, failed to adopt a mandatory standard for preparing electricity infrastructure for such occurrences (winterization), despite recommendations from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). Texas's failure to prepare left the state vulnerable to winter-storm blackouts, including the major disaster that occurred ten years later in February 2021. [21]
During a major cold-weather event in mid-February 2021, ERCOT declared a statewide emergency, due to a 34,000 MW shortfall in generation that caused widespread blackouts. [25] At 1:25 a.m. on February 15, ERCOT began requesting blackouts from service providers. [26] On February 16, electricity shortages caused the price of electricity to spike to over $9,000 per megawatt-hour (MWh), [25] [27] [28] whereas the week before, the lowest price of power had been less than $30 per MWh. [29] [30] Some retail electricity providers were possibly facing huge losses or bankruptcy, [31] and customers of Griddy reported receiving absurdly high electric bills. [32] [33]
Approximately 4 million customers in Texas were without electricity for various times during the multi-day storm. [25] At first, rotating outages lasting from 10 to 40 minutes were imposed on millions of customers, but those outages lasted many hours for some and over 48 hours for others, while millions more were spared from any hardship. [34] [35] During the power loss, some Texans were forced to survive in record freezing temperatures down to −2 °F (−19 °C). [36]
On February 16, Governor Greg Abbott declared that ERCOT reform would be an emergency priority for the state legislature, and there would be an investigation of the power outage to determine long-term solutions. [37] A 357-page report had been written after the 2011 power outage in Texas, [38] which seemed to have been ignored, because too many critical generators still lacked appropriate weatherization in 2021, [29] [39] especially the natural gas system. [26]
Texans outside the ERCOT-controlled grid had a different power experience. [4] Relatively few electric customers lost power in those regions. In counties around El Paso in western Texas, El Paso Electric reported that, as a result of it having investing millions in cold weather upgrades after the 2011 cold snap, 3,000 customers lost power for less than five minutes. In counties around Beaumont in eastern Texas, Entergy suffered relatively few outages either, because of previous winterization efforts. [40]
The first lawsuits against ERCOT grid mismanagement were filed on February 19, 2021. [41] [42] On March 8, 2021, ERCOT began releasing a weekly market notice that includes entities that have paid previously identified short-pay amounts and provides an updated estimate of the aggregate outstanding short-pay amount. [43]
On February 16, 2021, it was reported that at least 10 deaths were linked to the 2021 ERCOT grid power outages. [44] By late March, the total number of deaths surpassed 110. [45] A comprehensive review of news reports, death certificates, and lawsuit filings from every county in Texas led a team of journalists in Houston to set the death toll at 194, [46] while a later review of excess deaths by journalists at BuzzFeed estimated the full true, indirect mortalities to be between 426 and 978, four to five times higher than the final toll. [47] An 11-year-old boy, Cristian Pavon, who died of suspected hypothermia was among the deaths caused by ERCOT's grid system. Pavon's family sued Entergy Texas and ERCOT for gross negligence. [48]
Bill Magness, CEO of ERCOT, was fired on March 4, 2021, for his role in the 2021 power loss incident. [49] The board delivered a 60-day termination notice to Magness, who had been president and CEO since 2016. The board said he would serve in those roles for the next two months. [50]
In 2023, Texas's energy landscape saw significant growth in solar capacity, notably on the ERCOT grid, with solar installations, including those with storage, increasing by 35% from the previous year, leading to a reduction in midday natural gas usage. Solar generation peaked at 5.3 GWh in the summer and 3.8 GWh in the winter, while wind generation remained the largest renewable contributor at 108,000 GWh. ERCOT anticipates a substantial rise in solar capacity, with plans for 24 GW of solar and 13 GW of battery storage additions by 2025, compared to a modest 3 GW increase in both wind and natural gas capacities. [51] ERCOT reported that energy demand on the power grid reached a record 85 gigawatts in 2023 — the hottest year recorded in Texas. In 2024, ERCOT projected that demand could reach 150 gigawatts by 2030. The increase in demand is the result of large users, including data centers and crypto currency mining operations, as well as oil and gas production that is switching from gas- and diesel-generated power to electricity. [52]
ERCOT is governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and the Texas Legislature. [53] [11]
The PUC has primary jurisdiction over activities conducted by ERCOT. Three PUC commissioners, including the chair, are appointed by the governor of Texas. [54]
The ERCOT organization is governed by a board of directors made up of independent members, consumers and representatives from each of ERCOT's electric market segments. [55]
The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) makes policy recommendations to the ERCOT Board of Directors. The TAC is assisted by five standing subcommittees as well as numerous workgroups and task forces. [56]
The ERCOT board appoints ERCOT's officers to direct and manage ERCOT's day-to-day operations, accompanied by a team of executives and managers responsible for critical components of ERCOT's operation. [57]
During the February 2021 storm, it emerged that a third of ERCOT's board of directors lived outside of Texas: Chairperson Sally A. Talberg lived in Michigan, Vice-Chair Peter Cramton lived in California and worked for universities in Germany and Maryland, and three board members lived in Toronto, Illinois, and Maine respectively. [58] This revelation drew considerable anger from the public as well as elected representatives, and the board members' names and photographs were temporarily removed from the ERCOT website due to death threats. [59] [60] The board was also criticized for its meeting days before the storm: though the meeting lasted more than two hours, the members spent less than a minute discussing storm preparations and readiness. [61] [62] [63] [64] On February 23, ERCOT announced the resignation of the five out-of-state board members effective the end of the board meeting the following day. [65] [66] [67] In October 2021, El Paso billionaire Paul Foster became the new Chairperson even though El Paso is not part of the Texas power grid. The other open positions were filled afterwards. [68] Foster resigned in June 2024. [69]
It has a headquarters in Austin and an additional complex in Taylor. [70]
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is a nonprofit corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia, and formed on March 28, 2006, as the successor to the North American Electric Reliability Council. The original NERC was formed on June 1, 1968, by the electric utility industry to promote the reliability and adequacy of bulk power transmission in the electric utility systems of North America. NERC's mission states that it "is to assure the effective and efficient reduction of risks to the reliability and security of the grid".
A regional transmission organization (RTO) in the United States is an electric power transmission system operator (TSO) that coordinates, controls, and monitors a multi-state electric grid. The transfer of electricity between states is considered interstate commerce, and electric grids spanning multiple states are therefore regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The voluntary creation of RTOs was initiated by FERC in December 1999. The purpose of the RTO is to promote economic efficiency, reliability, and non-discriminatory practices while reducing government oversight.
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. is an American utility company based in Houston, Texas, that provides electric and natural gas utility to customers in several markets in the American states of Indiana, Ohio, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Texas. Part of the Fortune 500, the company was formerly known as Reliant Energy, NorAm Energy, Houston Industries, and HL&P. The company is headquartered in the CenterPoint Energy Tower at 1111 Louisiana Street in Downtown Houston.
Austin Energy is a publicly owned utility providing electrical power to the city of Austin, Texas and surrounding areas. Established in 1895, the utility is a department of the City of Austin and returns its profits to the city's general fund to finance other city services. Austin Energy is the United States' 7th largest public utility, serving more than 500,000 customers and more than one million residents within a service area of approximately 437 square miles (1,130 km2), including Austin, Travis County and a small portion of Williamson County.
The Texas electricity market is deregulated, meaning that there is competition in the generation and distribution of electricity. Power generators in the Texas Interconnection, managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, participate in an energy-only electricity market and are compensated only for the electricity they produce. The wholesale generation market was deregulated in 1995 and the distribution market in 1999, with Texas Senate Bill 7. This replaced the prior system in which power was generated and consumed locally by the same utility with one in which retail providers contracted with generators across the state.
The Texas Interconnection is an alternating current (AC) power grid – a wide area synchronous grid – that covers most of the state of Texas. The grid is managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
Southwest Power Pool (SPP) manages the electric grid and wholesale power market for the central United States. As a regional transmission organization, the nonprofit corporation is mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to ensure reliable supplies of power, adequate transmission infrastructure and competitive wholesale electricity prices. Southwest Power Pool and its member companies coordinate the flow of electricity across approximately 60,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines spanning 14 states. The company is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Griddy was an American power retailer that formerly sold energy to people in the state of Texas at wholesale prices for a $9.99 monthly membership fee and had approximately 29,000 members. The company itself was based in California.
A black start is the process of restoring an electric power station, a part of an electric grid or an industrial plant, to operation without relying on the external electric power transmission network to recover from a total or partial shutdown.
Wind power in Texas, a portion of total energy in Texas, consists of over 150 wind farms, which together have a total nameplate capacity of over 30,000 MW. If Texas were a country, it would rank fifth in the world; the installed wind capacity in Texas exceeds installed wind capacity in all countries but China, the United States, Germany and India. Texas produces the most wind power of any U.S. state. According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), wind power accounted for at least 15.7% of the electricity generated in Texas during 2017, as wind was 17.4% of electricity generated in ERCOT, which manages 90% of Texas's power. ERCOT set a new wind output record of nearly 19.7 GW at 7:19 pm Central Standard Time on Monday, January 21, 2019.
The United States has the second largest electricity sector in the world, with 4,178 Terawatt-hours of generation in 2023. In 2023 the industry earned $491b in revenue at an average price of $0.127/kWh.
Charles Jeffrey Schwertner is an American orthopedic surgeon and politician from Georgetown, Texas. He has served in the Texas State Senate since November 6, 2012, after having represented House District 20 in the Texas House of Representatives for a single term beginning in January 2011. He is a Republican.
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) is a non-profit Independent System Operator (ISO) serving California. It oversees the operation of California's bulk electric power system, transmission lines, and electricity market generated and transmitted by its member utilities. CAISO is one of the largest ISOs in the world, delivering 300 million megawatt-hours of electricity each year and managing about 80% of California's electric flow.
Lubbock Power and Light (LP&L) is third largest municipal electric utility in Texas. LP&L serves more than 101,000 electric meters and owns and maintains 4,300 square miles (11,000 km2) of power lines and three power plants in and around the City of Lubbock, Texas.
The electrical power grid that powers Northern America is not a single grid, but is instead divided into multiple wide area synchronous grids. The Eastern Interconnection and the Western Interconnection are the largest. Three other regions include the Texas Interconnection, the Quebec Interconnection, and the Alaska Interconnection. Each region delivers power at a nominal 60 Hz frequency.
Energy is a major component of the economy of Texas. The state is the nation's largest energy producer, producing twice as much energy as Florida, the state with the second-highest production. It is also the national leader in wind power generation, comprising about 28% of national wind powered electrical production in 2019. Wind power surpassed nuclear power production in the state in 2014. Since 2003, Texas state officials have created various initiatives like the Texas Enterprise Fund and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund to develop the economy of Texas.
The February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm was a crippling, large and major winter and ice storm that had widespread impacts across the United States, Northern Mexico, and parts of Canada from February 13 to 17, 2021. The storm, unofficially referred to as Winter Storm Uri by the Weather Channel, started out in the Pacific Northwest and quickly moved into the Southern United States, before moving on to the Midwestern and Northeastern United States a couple of days later.
In February 2021, the state of Texas suffered a major power crisis, which came about during three severe winter storms sweeping across the United States on February 10–11, 13–17, and 15–20. The storms triggered the worst energy infrastructure failure in Texas state history, leading to shortages of water, food, and heat. More than 4.5 million homes and businesses were left without power, some for several days. At least 246 people were killed directly or indirectly, with some estimates as high as 702 killed as a result of the crisis.
A regional entity (RE) in the North American power transmission grid is a regional organization representing all segments of the electric industry: electric utilities, federal agencies, independent power producers, power market operators, and end-users of the energy. North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) delegates to REs authority to enforce reliability standards, collectively REs, together with NERC, are known as an "ERO Enterprise".
Electrical grid security in the United States involves the physical and cybersecurity of the United States electrical grid. The smart grid allows energy customers and energy providers to more efficiently manage and generate electricity. Similar to other new technologies, the smart grid also introduces new security concerns.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Austin Campus Executive and Administration Center 7620 Metro Center Drive Austin, Texas 78744 [...] Taylor Campus Operations Center 800 Airport Road Taylor, Texas 76574 [...] Mailing Address 2705 West Lake Drive Taylor, Texas 76574