In a recent open meeting, the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas detailed eight key areas of focus that are guiding Commission work in response to the February 2021 winter weather event. As part of the related discovery process, inputs were invited from all interested parties.
The areas of focus, detailed in a memo from Connie Corona, PUC deputy executive director, are:
- Generation weatherization and emergency operations: Led by the PUC's infrastructure division, the review will include an examination of weatherization and emergency operations standards for power generation facilities, as well as the content and processes for review and certification of emergency operations plans.
- Essential generation load: Also guided by the infrastructure division, this effort will seek to establish standards and processes to protect load that provides an essential service to electric generation and weigh the necessity of additional generation resilience measures.
- Essential customer load and load shed: In this project, the agency's market analysis division will examine the standards and processes related to critical customer load and procedures related to emergency load shed.
- ERCOT operations: The market analysis division will also lead this review of ERCOT's forecasting and planning processes with the goal of establishing standards for ERCOT designation of emergency conditions.
- Communications and governance: The executive director's office will lead a review of communications standards and expectations among utilities, ERCOT, the Commission, and the public with an eye to identifying improvements for Commission communications to the Legislature and the public. The effort is also intended to identify potential improvements to ERCOT governance structure, bylaws, and stakeholder process.
- Market settlements: The market analysis division will also examine ERCOT settlements and market uplift processes.
- Wholesale market design: The market analysis division will review and identify potential improvements to the rules and protocols of the ERCOT wholesale electric market with an emphasis on how energy and ancillary services are priced.
- Retail market: The PUC's customer protection division will lead a review of the Commission's customer protection rules with emphasis on disclosures for certain electric product types and potential customer protections specific to emergency conditions.
"I am proud of the work PUC staff is doing to shed light on the issues that combined to interrupt power for millions of Texans — we must make sure it never happens again," said Chairman Arthur D’Andrea. "These areas of focus have emerged as the most likely contributors to the disaster and I'm confident our team will collaborate closely with Texans and the entities that serve them to get answers and devise solutions to protect our state."
Testimony and memoranda in these cases will be gathered in a number of Commission projects:
- Project 51825: Investigation Regarding the February 2021 Winter Weather Event
- Project 51830: Review of Wholesale-Indexed Products for Compliance with Customer Protection Rules for Retail Electric Service
- Project 51839: Electric-Gas Coordination
- Project 51840: Rulemaking to Establish Weatherization Standards
- Project 51841: Review of 16 TAC § 25.53 Relating to Electric Service Emergency Operations Plans
- Project 51871: Review of the ERCOT Scarcity Pricing Mechanism
- Project 51888: Review of Critical Load Standards and Processes
- Project 51889: Review of Communications for the Electric Market
The PUC invited interested parties to submit their insights to these projects using the PUC's Interchange Filing System here. D’Andrea also encouraged Texas customers of retail electric providers (REPs) to request a deferred payment plan from their REP if they're experiencing financial struggles.
