Texas PUC Staff Recommend Interim Broker Registration Form Be Used, In Advance Of Formal Rulemaking

Staff of the Public Utility Commission of Texas have filed a recommended schedule and implementation plan related to various legislation adopted during the 86th Regular Legislative Session

Electric Broker Registration, Regulation

Of note is that, regarding electricity broker registration under SB 1497, Staff recommended that, "Because the Commission does not currently have a form in place for broker registration, staff recommends that the Commission consider adopting such a form on an interim basis before August 15, 2019."

"This timing would allow brokers to register in advance of the September 1 effective date of the bill, using a form prescribed by the Commission," Staff recommended

See more details on the requirements for brokers under SB 1497 in our prior story here. EnergyChoiceMatters.com was first to report on the bill's enrollment as well as Gov. Greg Abbott's signing of the bill

Staff recommend a further rulemaking related to broker registration and associated customer protection revisions under SB 1497, recommended to begin in the second quarter of fiscal 2020 (the PUC's fiscal year begins on September 1). As noted in our prior stories on the bill, SB 1497 provides that a broker, "shall comply with customer protection provisions, disclosure requirements, and marketing guidelines established by the commission and by this chapter [Chapter 35] and Chapter 17 [of PURA]."

General Land Office Retail Electricity Program

Turning to HB 2263, which terminates the authority of the Texas General Land Office to sell retail electricity (see details here), Staff recommend that, beginning in the second quarter of fiscal 2020, the Commission commence a review of 16 TAC §25.227, relating to Electric Utility Service for Public Retail Customers (which allows public retail customers the option to purchase power from the General Land Office).

HB 2263 allows the GLO, or an entity operating under a contract with the General Land Office, to continue to provide retail electric service under the terms of an agreement with a customer entered into before the effective date of the bill, but only until the date the agreement expires, except that, any such agreement may be extended to a date not later than January 1, 2024.

Electricity Storage

Regarding electricity storage, Staff noted that, in the 2019 Scope of Competition in Electric Markets report, the Commission noted that further legislative direction regarding the ownership and operation of energy storage devices by TDUs may be appropriate. For that reason, PUC Project No. 48023, Rulemaking Regarding Non-Traditional Technologies in Electric Delivery Service, was paused during the legislative session. Staff noted that no related legislation was passed during the session. "The Commission may wish to consider whether to reactivate Project No. 48023," Staff recommended