Confidential proposals were due April 9, and ERCOT received eight proposals that it is evaluating for Board consideration. His experience includes serving as online content editor at Fort Worth Magazine and city editor at the Killeen Daily Herald. Tuesdays hearing was more of a status update on the power grid, but it was the first public opportunity for lawmakers to question the grid operators interim president, Brad Jones, and the three-member board of the Public Utility Commission, which oversees Jones and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Log In. Executive Summary. "Is ERCOT a government agency? The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has declared an Energy Emergency Alert Level 1 and is urging consumers and businesses to limit their electricity use as much as possible on Sunday. With the states rapid population growth, this situation is getting more difficult and more challenging every year, he said. ERCOT hires Pablo Vegas as new top executive to help manage Texas' power grid. [22], 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. Amplify your impact and donate now. [45], On February 16, 2021, it was reported that at least 10 deaths were linked to the 2021 ERCOT grid power outages. If rotating outages are necessary, ERCOT will keep customers updated about the length of time it will be in effect and how the situation is progressing, according to officials. ", "I commend the ERCOT Board for confirming a leader of Brad's caliber as interim CEO," said PUC Chairman Peter Lake. Were seeing those problems show themselves today, Jones said. Answers to 5 questions about the group that operates Texas' power grid", "Texas has set power-demand records 11 times so far this summer", "ERCOT Expects Record Electricity Demand for Summer Heat But Projects Sufficient Generation for Power Grid", "Texas power grid CEO fired after deadly February power outages", Texas' deregulated electricity market, explained, Electric Deregulation Is Working in Texas, Says Lawmaker Who Led the Effort, Since Deregulation, Texas Utility Rates Have Soared, Texas leaders failed to heed warnings that left the state's power grid vulnerable to winter extremes, experts say. Jones was formerly a. Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. She is a mentor for American Corporate Partners. [49] An 11-year-old boy, Cristian Pavon, who died of suspected hypothermia was among the deaths caused by ERCOT's grid system. Battery energy storage systems (BESS), which use rechargeable batteries to close the gap (or "ramp") of about two hours that it takes to bring dispatchable generation online once solar cuts out, are another part of the solution, Jones says: "We have to make sure that we have other resources available to cover those two hours while we're bringing up slower generation." Its our 10th year participating in Amplify, and to celebrate, weve got $15,000 in matching funds from four generous Tribune supporters. There, he oversaw Commercial Operations and Grid Planning and Operations. 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. In the weeks since the winter storm, both ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the regulatory body that oversees it, have been lambasted for failures in preparing for and responding to the storm. The ERCOT Board of Directors today (April 27) announced the selection of Brad Jones to serve as the interim President and CEO for the Texas grid operator serving 90 percent of the state, effective May 4, 2021. [11] ERCOT also performs financial settlements for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers retail switching for 7 million premises in competitive choice areas. From left: Peter Lake, chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and Brad Jones, then-interim president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, speak at a May 17 press . If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands. The Texas Energy Reliability Council was established to ensure that the energy and electric industries in this state meet high priority human needs and address critical infrastructure concerns, and enhance coordination and communication in the energy and electric industries in this state. Disclosure: Texas Competitive Power Advocates has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power to 22 million Texas customers. Lawmakers also didn't provide direct aid to people harmed by the February crisis. Lake and Jones didnt reveal new information on Fridays outages beyond Jones noting that the six plants went down between noon and 4 p.m. that day. [6] ERCOT works with the Texas Reliability Entity (TRE),[7] one of eight regional entities within the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) that coordinate to improve reliability of the bulk power grid. July 13, 20214 PM Central. [27] 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. [57][58] 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. He's a graduate of Texas State University, where he served as the editor-in-chief of the student-run newspaper, The University Star. Its a scenario that ERCOT forecasters originally only gave a 5% chance of happening, Jones told the Houston Chronicle. NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is urging consumers and businesses to limit their electricity use as much as possible on Sunday. Brad Johnson June 22, 2022. Copyright 2022 by KSAT - All rights reserved. Home Tag Electric Reliability Council of Texas . Latest local news from South Texas from KSAT12. Edward Stones of Houston is the Global Business Director for Energy & Climate Change for Dow, Inc. Tickets are on sale now for the 2022 Texas Tribune Festival, happening in downtown Austin on Sept. 22-24. Houston city council tables vote on Hobby Airport restaurant contract, Georgia star Jalen Carter charged with racing in fatal wreck, Contractor dies after electric shock at Texas City Marathon refinery. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has named its new leader more than a year after the previous CEO was terminated. Texas Public Utility Commission Chair Peter Lake, appointed by Gov. Texas is likely to see a hotter and drier summer than normal this year, according to an April climate outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and 2021 is likely to rank among the 10 warmest years on record globally. by Mitchell Ferman The scene in North Austin on Feb. 16, 2021, following the devastating winter storm. He has more than 25 years of experience in energy, plastics, and hydrocarbon markets. Got something to say? According to ERCOT officials, the cold weather in the area has resulted in a record-breaking demand on the power grid. However, there are a few ways you can reduce your electric usage at home. This caused lawsuits about whether federal regulation then applied, however the judgement was that this was not sufficient. [27] At 1:25a.m. on February 15, ERCOT began requesting blackouts from service providers. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) command center in Taylor. That also means avoiding rolling blackouts. Senate Bills 2 and 3 included a few key changes to the grid that experts said will begin to address some issues, such as requiring power companies to upgrade plants to withstand more extreme weather and creating a statewide emergency alert system. [20] Instead, under the deregulated regime, retailers could contract with providers across the state, creating a complex market. Conservation is a good thing, Jones said. Presses received a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Master of Science in Environmental Science from The University of Texas at San Antonio. 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%). 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. Jon Taylor of Austin is the Corporate Vice President of Fab Engineering and Public Affairs at Samsung Austin Semiconductor, where he is responsible for factory engineering for operations including safety, quality, cost, and productivity for all production equipment and supporting personnel. Brad Jones, interim president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, shared new accountability plans and fielded several questions in a town hall coordinated by state Reps Matt . | He oversees Market Operations, Settlement and Retail Operations, Market Design and Development, Credit and Client Relations. Instead of waiting until the grid is already experiencing emergency conditions, ERCOT now releases conservation notices in advance of emergency conditions in an effort to avoid the scenario altogether. However, due to the extreme heat this summer, its now estimated that the peak demand load could exceed 81,000 megawatts. ", Power plants had until Dec. 1 to file weatherization reports, and all did except eight, who received fines totaling $7.5 million. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is a nonprofit organization that ensures reliable electric service for 90 percent of the state of Texas. Solar: 5,381 MWh; 31,546 people follow this. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, ERCOT Interim president and CEO Brad Jones said forecasters for the organization did not anticipate the extreme heat and projected that on the hottest day of summer, the grid demand could reach a max of 77,300 megawatts. Double your gift when you give by 6 p.m. Thursday. [34][35], Approximately 4 million customers in Texas were without electricity for various times during the multi-day storm. Despite the demand being higher than estimated, Jones is hopeful about getting through the remainder of the summer but he does have some concerns about older thermal generators that ERCOT has asked be up and running as much as possible. On March 15, 2021, at the request of the Board, ERCOT issued a Request for Proposal to identify and contract with a qualified executive search firm to assist the Board with identifying, investigating, qualifying and presenting a pool of qualified candidates for ERCOT's President and CEO position. It wasn't ready for the extreme cold", "LMP Contour Map: Real-Time Market - Locational Marginal Pricing", "Real-Time Settlement Point Prices Display for February 16, 2021", "The Texas grid got crushed because its operators didn't see the need to prepare for cold weather", "Real-Time Settlement Point Prices Display for February 10, 2021", "Surging Texas Power Prices Promise Both Doom and Riches", "Letter from Griddy about the storm and prices", "ERCOT asks Austin Energy to shed more power, could mean outages for emergency services", "48 hours without power a 'nightmare' as residents demand answers", "A Full List of All The Record Cold Texas Temperatures", "Governor Abbott Declares ERCOT Reform An Emergency Item", "Report on Outages and Curtailments during the Southwest Cold Weather Event of February 1-5, 2011 - Causes and Recommendations", "Texas Was Warned a Decade Ago Its Grid Was Unready for Cold", "Texas counties with fewer power outages are not part of state grid", "Lawsuits against ERCOT allege warnings about Texas grid issues 'consciously ignored', "Texas power grid operator ERCOT sued over blackouts", "Regulatory Coverage: ERCOT Discloses Short-Pay Balance of $2.5B; Organization to Release Weekly Short-Pay Report Starting March 8", "Winter storm in Texas: At least 10 deaths linked to statewide disaster; Austin outages may last another day or more", "Texas' death toll from February storm, outages surpasses 100", "Nearly 200 People Died In February's Winter Storm, Double The State's Initial Estimate", "The Texas Winter Storm And Power Outages Killed Hundreds More People Than The State Says", "Family of 11-year-old boy who died in unheated Texas mobile home sues power companies for over $100 million", "ERCOT is in charge of Texas' power, but one-third of its board lives out of state", "ERCOT Removes Names of Board Members from Site Following Death Threats Over Texas Outages", "ERCOT Will Restore Board of Directors' Names to Website After Death Threats Prompted Their Removal", "ERCOT officials spent 40 seconds on winter storm preparedness at Feb. 9 meeting", "ERCOT board meeting last week included joke about cowboy boots, less than 40 seconds of storm talk", "Listen to ERCOT leaders spend 40 seconds on preparedness before Texas winter storm", "ERCOT leaders spent less than a minute discussing winter storm preparedness at Feb. 9 meeting", "ERCOT board members who live outside of Texas are resigning in the aftermath of the power outage, winter storm", "4 ERCOT board members to resign amid backlash over Texas storm", "5 ERCOT board members who live outside of Texas resign in aftermath of power outage, winter storm", Assessing climate sensitivity of peak electricity load for resilient power systems planning and operation: A study applied to the Texas region, Regional transmission organization (North America), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Electric_Reliability_Council_of_Texas&oldid=1141382984, Electric power transmission system operators in the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. [5] [38], 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. Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. "He is an experienced leader and. Jakob Rodriguez is a digital journalist at KSAT 12. [15] A megawatt of electricity can power about 200 Texas homes during periods of peak demand. Thanks to an updated method for conservation notices, ERCOT has also been able to cut demand beyond what officials expected. Support the free press, so we can support Austin. 28,461 people like this. But the gas companies that fuel them, despite being the biggest contributors to the blackout (and to Abbott's reelection campaign), didn't have to. Turn off lights, computers, and other electronic devices whenever possible. Greg Abbott's now-infamous guarantee that last year's Winter Storm Uri catastrophe won't be repeated, Jones said, "We've done everything possible to make sure that the lights do stay on." Submit yours now at austinchronicle.com/opinion. Brad Jones, interim CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, expressed confidence in the state's grid heading into summer. Instead, the PUC plan would prioritize technology that can quickly switch power on and off throughout the grid to balance drops in renewable power generation when the sun doesnt shine or wind doesnt blow. [17] The board delivered a 60-day termination notice to Magness, who had been president and CEO since 2016. Avoid using large appliances (i.e., ovens, washing machines, and dishwashers). Community See All. "The Board looks forward to working with Brad during this time as ERCOT prepares for summer operations," said ERCOT Board Director and . [54], 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. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Independent System Operator from October 2015 - October 2018. ERCOT is prioritizing backup gas resources for generating plants: "If natural gas becomes unavailable, they can switch to the alternate fuel on-site. So I am concerned about their reliability all the way through the summer, but right now they are performing extraordinarily with low outage rates, Jones told the paper. When we call for it, I want Texans understand: Thats not because were going into rolling outages. ", "Texas largely relies on natural gas for power. 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. Rep. Richard Pea Raymond, D-Laredo, said he doesnt understand why lawmakers in the Senate asked the PUC to hit the brakes on its proposal. "Henry Hub Natural Gas Spot Price (Dollars per Million Btu)", "The Price Spike Report issued July 23, 2003", "Extreme winter weather is disrupting energy supply and demand, particularly in Texas", "What went wrong with the Texas power grid? Brad Jones. San Antonio area in for two rounds of winter weather this weekend, These San Antonio-area schools have announced changes for Monday due to expected wintry weather, These San Antonio-area businesses have announced closures, delays on Monday due to inclement weather, Mondays vaccination appointments at Alamodome, WellMed clinics rescheduled due to expected wintry weather in San Antonio, Now is the time to prepare your vehicle, gather emergency supplies before wintry weather hits. The most recent conservation appeal from ERCOT to Texans and Texas businesses was sent Wednesday. Last week, senators from the Business and Commerce Committee, after hearing similar testimony from Lake, wrote a letter to PUCs commissioners expressing their concern that the PUCs proposal may fail to meet the requirements of Senate Bill 3 and would not guarantee that new generation will be built in a timely and cost effective manner., Also last week, Patrick held a press conference in which he called for legislation that would cause additional natural-gas-fired power plants to be built in addition to the PUCs proposed market changes. [31][32] Some retail electricity providers were possibly facing huge losses or bankruptcy,[33] and customers of Griddy reported receiving absurdly high electric bills. 2021, following the devastating winter storm Public Utility Commission Chair Peter Lake, appointed by Gov for... Free press, so we can support Austin year, he oversaw Commercial Operations and grid Planning and Operations ;... 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