Texas PUC To Open Rulemaking Concerning Loads Seeking To Join ERCOT

Commissioners of the Texas PUC agreed yesterday to open a rulemaking to generically look at issues implicated from utilities seeking to join ERCOT

Chairman DeAnn Walker proposed such a rulemaking in discussing the application of Lubbock Power & Light to join ERCOT, which, as first reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com yesterday (see story here), Commissioners are prepared and poised to approve

Regarding a generic rulemaking on loads moving to ERCOT, Walker said, "I think we need to move forward with that, because we're getting a lot of these."

Her fellow Commissioners agreed with this approach

Walker said that this week she had discussions with a party about another transfer that's on the, "horizon." Walker did not specifically identify the party involved in the potential load transfer.

Aside from LP&L, Rayburn Country Electric Cooperative, Inc. (RCEC) has proposed transitioning approximately 190 MW of load currently in SPP to ERCOT, in which the majority of its load is already located.

East Texas Electric Cooperative also recently filed for approval (see story here) for ETEC to transfer two wholesale delivery points, totaling 35 megawatts (MW) of load, into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) from the Southwest Power Pool (SPP).