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Sep 29 • 8 tweets • 5 min read
On the @PUCTX's agenda today, dicussions of electric companies' "emergency operations plans" & "electric weather preparedness standards," which are based on 95th percentile historical weather & still do not account for extreme "tail events" (like Uri) or climate change. #txlege
Also on the agenda, ERCOT filed it's first "true-up" for the $2.9 billion in securitization charges: "This True-Up Filing reflects a need to increase Uplift Charges. Up-front costs in excessof those estimated were incurred in connection w/ the initial issuance of the... bonds."
For the $2.1 billion (Subchapter N) in "Uplift Charges" (such a delightful Orwellian use of language, the charges are "uplifted" to you! how uplifting), filing is here:
interchange.puc.texas.gov/Documents/5271…

And here for the $800m (Subchapter M), the filing is here interchange.puc.texas.gov/Documents/5270…
Discussion now of the Southern Cross transmission line which would enable the largest DC tie from ERCOT to another grid: 2.1GW. Total of the 4 existing interties = 1.2GW so this one project would triple the amount. Good description of the project here eenews.net/articles/what-…
A report was filed in Docket 53385 summarizing the many Emergency Operations Plans submitted by various electric companies. Commissioners approved the report.
interchange.puc.texas.gov/Documents/5338…
They're now discussing the "Phase 2" weatherization standards. The rule is based on 95th percentile of historical weather. Uri was far beyond 95th %.

There is no attempt in the proposal to account for extremes caused by #climatechange. #txlege #txenergy
interchange.puc.texas.gov/search/filings…
Cmsr McAdams filed a memo saying the standard should be based on wind chills not temperatures. He says this would better conform with @NERC_Official standards.
interchange.puc.texas.gov/Documents/5340…
Cmsr Glotfelty says the rule improves reliability but will not comment on the fuel component which is not "our bailiwick." (That belongs to @txrrc and their rule only applies to gas producers and pipelines on the Electricity Supply Chain Map which the public cannot see).
#txlege

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More from @douglewinenergy

Doug Lewin Profile picture
Oct 1
Last night, Gov Abbott said “electricity costs in TX remain one of the lowest in the entire US & far lower than the nat'l avg.” Acc'g to @EIAgov, this is false.

In 2019, *before* Uri, Texas' residential electric bills were 7th highest in the US. Now things are worse. 1/ #txlege Image
Once 2021 & 2022 data is entered, we'll likely be even worse off relative to other states.

The Independent Market Monitor shows ~$4-5 billion in added costs from "conservative operations" (ORDC, RUCs, + increased reserves for full year 2022).
#energytwitter #TXGovDebate 2/ ImageImage
Transmission congestion, a problem festering for nearly a decade, has caused another $2.1b in consumer costs thru July (likely $3-3.5b in 2022)

Per household, all this adds $100s in costs at a time >50% of Texans are cutting back on spending bc of high home energy bills. 3/
Read 6 tweets
Doug Lewin Profile picture
Jul 20
Demand stayed just below 80GW today. Large customer #demandresponse in the form of a rate structure called 4CP (more in this thread) helped to increase reliability and lower costs. Large customers are paid for their reductions. Small customers are not. 1/🧵
#txlege #txenergy
We won't have a reliable and affordable grid without demand flexibility. It’s possible—maybe—to white knuckle it through a summer with aging power plants at an extra cost of billions of dollars each year. But there’s a better and cheaper way...
#energytwitter 2/
To have a grid that is reliable and a market that is affordable, regulators need to figure out how to incorporate demand flexibility into market design.

*Pay people* to automatically (no action required) shift use to times when power is cheap and plentiful to reduce peaks. 3/
Read 17 tweets
Doug Lewin Profile picture
Jul 18
Another week, more record-setting electric demand on the #ERCOT grid:

All-time record (Tuesday): 78.4GW
Projections for today: 79.5
Tomorrow: 80.8
Wednesday: 81.7 (higher than ERCOT's most extreme scenario)

#txlege #txenergy #energytwitter 1/thread
It’s possible we’ll get more conservation alerts. If so, hopefully, @ERCOT_ISO and @PUCTX will get information out faster and be clearer about what resources are available. The public deserves more and better information.
#txlege #txenergy 2/
Last week, on Sunday, PUCT and ERCOT said there were 12GW of "dispatchable” offline. It's not clear what that represents or why it's offline. On Wednesday, that number was up to 13GW. Note they lump all dispatchable into one category while separating out wind and solar. 3/ Image
Read 13 tweets
Doug Lewin Profile picture
Jul 11
The PUCT and ERCOT have neglected some of the best solutions for the grid and customers—such as energy efficiency and demand response—and implemented very expensive (and apparently ineffective) ones. Now they're attempting to blame wind for their continued problems.
#txlege 1/🧵
We could be in trouble today bc of: (1) the unreliability of thermal power plants & (2) massive demand, which is a direct result of systematic underinvestment in things like energy efficiency & demand response. Of all the states w/EE goals, we're dead last.
#txenergy 2/
ERCOT's Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy report assumes—and presumably plans for—wind as low as 2,874MW or even 259MW. Today at peak, ERCOT expects 5.7GW of wind generation, 2x the expected low wind levels and 20x the extreme low levels.
#energytwitter 3/
Read 12 tweets
Doug Lewin Profile picture
Jul 10
#ERCOT update: New weekend record broken yesterday w/ 77.4GW; expected to be ~77.5GW today. Very low chance of outages today, somewhat higher (though still low) tmrw when 80.5GW expected.

At 9AM, 6.5GW of gas/coal is unavailable, up from 4.9GW yesterday AM.
#txlege #txenergy 1/
Yesterday, 500MW additional thermal (gas/coal) went offline as the day went on and overnight another 1000MW dropped. Hopefully some of those will come back on as the day goes on.

Remember, if there are rolling outages, they are likely to be short duration, nothing like Uri. 2/
If you want to help, pre-cool your home or business in the AM tmrw. In a well functioning market, if you choose to help, you'd be paid to do this. This function would be automatic & you'd keep the thermostat where you want it in the PM, just a little cooler in the AM. 3/
Read 14 tweets
Doug Lewin Profile picture
Jun 30
Discussion this morning on local sources of power (aka distributed energy resources or DERs) at the @PUCTX. Cmsr McAdams has engaged w/ stakeholders on a pilot. He proposes a 3 step plan. First step set up an informal workshop on Monday July 11
#txlege #energytwitter 1/
In the 7/11 workshops, McAdams wants to consider key goals and objectives to be achieved in the pilot. Will consider scale, duration, participation, and reliability. Depending on feedback from stakeholders, Cmsrs McAdams and Glotfelty would summarize consensus in a memo (cont) 2/
... which will then be considered in open meeting July 14. Workshop is by invitaiton only. If members of the public or stakeholders want to participate they can reach out to Cmsr. McAdams staff leading the project.
#txenergy 3/
Read 12 tweets

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