Texas PUC Chair Nelson: Opening Entergy Texas To Retail Choice, "Worthy Of Consideration"

The idea of transitioning Entergy Texas to retail competition, "is something that is always worthy of consideration," although, "we haven't given a lot of additional thought to that," Donna Nelson, Chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, said in response to a question at the National Energy Marketers Association's 2016 Policy Leadership Roundtable in Austin

Nelson noted that an original barrier to Entergy Texas's transition to competition was that it was not in an RTO. Nelson noted that Entergy Texas is now in an RTO -- the Midcontinent ISO

From that standpoint, "they're in a position where they could have retail competition," Nelson said, though Nelson said that she could not recall all of the specific legislative requirements adopted related to any future transition to competition at Entergy Texas after the original SB7. Nelson noted that certain of these statutory modifications were adopted when natural gas prices were high

In contrast, when asked about choice at municipals and cooperatives in ERCOT, which have the ability to opt-in to choice (though only one, Nueces, has done so), Nelson deferred to the structure envisioned by SB7, which does not mandate a transition to competition for the munis and co-ops, but allows such entities to opt-in to choice.

Nelson noted that at munis and co-ops, customers seeking choice can directly influence the governance of such utilities through the cooperative boards of municipal councils

Indeed, certain candidates elected to the Pedernales Electric Cooperative board have run on a campaign supporting choice, while large customers at Austin Energy have previously raised concerns with non-competitive rates at a legislative hearing concerning requiring a modicum of choice (for large customers) at Austin Energy, though cynically such pressure could be seen as sabre-rattling meant to extract concessions in Austin rate proceedings.