Post: Texas regulators order power market reforms

Texas regulators order power market reforms

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has voted to significantly improve short- and long-term electric grid reliability for Texas by enacting major reforms to the state’s wholesale electricity market.

Unveiled on December 16 the Phase I reforms, which are to be implemented as soon as possible, include the following:

• Lowering the high systemwide offer cap to $5,000/MWh from $9,000/MWh, with effect from January 1
• Raising the minimum contingency level – the minimum amount of reserves considered necessary to avoid a cascading blackout – from 2,300MW to 3,000MW
• Making changes to the Operating Reserve Demand Curve to ensure market prices reach the cap before an Energy Emergency Alert requires an appeal for public power conservation
• Changing the market to improve price signals for load-managed resources
• Setting higher energy efficiency program standards
• Working to facilitate the aggregation of load resources
• Allowing the deployment of Emergency Response Service (ERS) before an EEA is declared
• Considering changing ERS procurement process to a physical capacity based on a $50M annual spending cap
• Implementing a fast frequency response ancillary service
• Facilitating the inclusion of loads in the non-spinning reserve ancillary service
• Developing a firm fuel-based reliability service similar to ERCOT’s Black Start ancillary service
• Compensating resources, such as conventional generators, that provide voltage support
• Accelerating implementation of the ERCOT Contingency Reserve Service, a type of ramping ancillary service, and allocate its costs “consistent with cost-causation principals, in a non-discriminatory manner”

Phase 2 policies will be developed over the coming weeks.

Wayne Muncaster, VP for North America at GridBeyond, commented: