17 - Project No. 55999 – Reports of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. (Discussion and possible action)
The discussion focused on three filings: the South Texas mitigation, weatherization program update, and the RMR/MRA proposal.
The weatherization update was highlighted as successful.
Due to an extended timeline by CPS Energy, a good cause exception to protocol was discussed for strategic planning of the must-run alternative solution.
ERCOT suggested targeting RFP release in mid-May and seeking federal resilience funds for dynamic line rating technologies.
The Commission agreed to submit a protocol change for shadow price cap and may consider urgent protocol change for dynamic line ratings.
19 - Project No. 55845 – Review of Ancillary Services in the ERCOT Market. Harika Basaran and Chris Brown
On March 15, ERCOT provided a draft educational document on technical and reliability considerations regarding AS, the current process, and governance framework.
On March 18, there was an in-person meeting between Staff, ERCOT, and IMM. IMM presented their probabilistic model, which ERCOT reviewed and had questions about.
Major milestone timelines were shared with IMM and ERCOT, with the next milestone expected in mid-May, when a draft from IMM and ERCOT is anticipated.
20 - Project No. 55984 – Review of DC Tie Issues in Transmission Planning. Ramya Ramaswamy and Floyd Walker
Commission Staff recommends taking up DC Tie transmission planning for minimum deliverability at the Commission as a policy issue.
The staff suggested and the Commissioners agreed to have a rulemaking at the Commission to establish a framework and provide guidelines for evaluating future proposed DC Ties in a consistent manner.
Commissioner Glotfelty emphasized that DC lines are unique, with attributes of both generators and transmission lines, providing reliability and economic benefits.
Harika Basaran presented on firm fuel supply, highlighting the issue with ERCOT's protocols allowing procurement for two years, while historically only offering for one year at a time.
It was recommended to continue with one-year procurements due to the speculative nature of setting offer caps and budgets for two years in advance, considering the lack of forward prices for fuel oil.
22 - Project No. 55812 – Texas Energy Fund Completion Bonus Grant Program David Gordon and Allison Fink
They proposed incorporating a mechanism in the Availability Reliability Factor, where an ARF score of 0.89 to 1.0 would equal an ARF score of 1 for the generation resource, without penalties within that range.
There was consideration given to the 10-hour allowance, and after discussions with market participants and staff, the decision was made to move forward with the curve at 0.89 reflecting staff's recommendation.
Discussion on the registration process for new facilities, upgrades, and refurbished assets under a resource entity.
There is a clarification about the registration type for the company and the actual physical asset.
The intent is for the registration process to handle how facilities are considered for completion bonuses
The definition of assessed hours is meant to address peak load that needs to be served by dispatchable thermal generation, making it clear that storage is to be excluded from the net peak load.
Agreement on the 10-hour grace period for planned maintenance, acknowledging concerns from operators
The option to bring the item back for the May 2nd open meeting is mentioned if more time is needed.
Changes were made to allow for new generation resources at existing sites and a 10-hour grace period on the ARF calculation factor
Motion to adopt proposed order as modified by Commission's and Chairman's memo prevails.
35 - Project No. 55156 – Implementation Activities 88th Legislature (R.S.) Discussion and possible action
12 projects have been completed, nine ongoing, and two with initial action taken
Staff memo filed includes details about ongoing projects such as SB2627, the Energy Fund, and HB5066, the regional transmission reliability plants
The PUC website has an implementation chart for transparency and to showcase the agency's rulemaking efforts
