Texas QSE To Pay $8,500 To Resolve Alleged Violation Of ERS Availability Requirements

The City of Austin d/b/a Austin Energy would pay $8,500 under a settlement with Staff of the Public Utility Commission of Texas to resolve alleged violation of 16 Tex. Admin. Code (TAC) §§ 25.503(f) and 25.507(f)(2), concerning failures to adhere to Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) Protocols § 8.1.3.3.1. related to Suspension of Qualification of Non-Weather-Sensitive Emergency Response Service Resources (ERS) and/or their Qualified Scheduling Entities.

According to the settlement, Austin Energy (AE) was contracted to provide ERS-30 during the June - September 2015 contract period for Business Hours 1, 2, and 3.

Pursuant to ERCOT Protocols § 8.1.3.3.1, if a QSE submits an offer during the ERS contract period and that offer is accepted by ERCOT, the QSE must be ready to dispatch. If dispatched by ERCOT, ERS resources shall deploy consistent with their obligations and shall remain deployed until recalled by ERCOT. If a QSE submits an offer during the ERS contract period and that offer is accepted by ERCOT, the QSE must be ready to dispatch. If dispatched by ERCOT, ERS resources shall deploy consistent with their obligations and shall remain deployed until recalled by ERCOT. If the resource is not dispatched by ERCOT, ERCOT will calculate a portfolio-level ERS Availability Factor (ERSAF). If the ERSAF meets or exceeds 0.95, the QSE will be deemed to have met its ERS performance requirements for their ERS contract period. If a QSE does not achieve a 0.95 ERSAF, the QSE is subject to suspension from participating in ERS as well as administrative penalties levied by the Commission.

As stated in the settlement, AE's combined portfolio-level ERSAF was .0578 for the June-September 2015 contract period.

The settlement states that AE failed to achieve the required ERSAF of 0.95 in failing to maintain the required amount of load available for ERS deployment during any of the time period for ERS - 30 in the June - September 2015 contract period.

Austin Energy has instituted a corrective action plan to avoid future violations.