Updated With Statement From Heritage, Has Paid Invoice; Updated With Statement From Bulb: ERCOT Says 7 Retail Providers, Power Marketers Have Short Paid Invoices (Identities Disclosed)

Updated, 7:25 pm ET

Provided with an opportunity to make a statement, Bulb directed ECM to a recent letter its General Manager wrote to Texas Gov. Abbott. In the letter, Vinnie Campo, General Manager, U.S., for Bulb wrote:

"I’m writing to urge you to take immediate action to avoid irreparable harm to the Texas electric market, its participants, and the public.

"While many Texans are suffering and facing crippling energy bills, the energy generators who failed these customers are reaping the rewards. During the storm, over 52 gigawatts of Texas’s 108 GW of installed capacity were offline at the worst point. Generators across the state were affected. Gas-fired plants shut off due to freezing conditions, causing a surge in overestimated ‘ancillary charges’ which are financial incentives paid by electric providers to encourage additional generation when it’s needed. This has led to generators making absurd profits, reported up to $50 billion in one week, and to a transfer of wealth from hard-working Texans to large corporate generators.

"We’re standing up for Texans. We don’t think it’s right or fair that providers pay these exorbitant ancillary charges to generators much of which will end up coming out of the pockets of Texans. And while Bulb won’t pass on costs from the storm to our customers, these charges could have a negative effect on many other Texans across the state, some of whom are already facing soaring energy bills. Things have to change. And that’s why we’re filing a petition to the PUCT.

"We want to understand what’s being done to fix the market to ensure generators aren’t profiting excessively from this emergency and Texans aren’t left without power ever again.

"During the winter storm, Bulb protected members from price spikes and took immediate actions to reduce the demand on the Texas power grid. Unlike other companies, we kept our members’ rates locked through February and even offered to pay our members $2 for every kilowatt-hour of energy they saved on Monday, February 15, compared to Sunday, February 14, up to $200."

-- Excerpt from letter to Gov. Abbott from Bulb

Updated, 6;07 pm ET 3/2

Heritage Power provided the following statement to EnergyChoiceMatters.com:

"Heritage Power LLC attempted to pay all invoices due to ERCOT yesterday morning. Numerous emails and phone calls were made to ERCOT with no response until after our wire deadline had passed. Heritage Power finally received correspondence from ERCOT after the deadline and today wired $7,808,051.87 for all invoices due.

"Heritage Power LLC will continue to serve its customers with competitive fixed rates.

-- Statement from Heritage Power

Earlier:

ERCOT issued a further short payment notice related to Settlement Invoices due for payout on March 2, 2021

ERCOT identified the following entities as short paying their invoices (amount of short pay listed)

Bulb US LLC - $30,870.02

Energy Monger LLC - $136,007.58

Entrust Energy INC - $274,503.54

GB Power LLC - $214,603.03

Heritage Power LLC - $54,776.73

MQE LLC - $97,399.94

Wolverine Trading LLC - $95,023.69

ERCOT's notice listed an additional short payment of $537,875.81 attributed to, "Other, atttributable [sic] to meter read timing"

The total amount short to the market was $1,441,060.34

ERCOT said in the notice that, "Qualified Scheduling Entities (QSEs) and Congestion Revenue Right Account Holders (CRRAHs) that are owed monies from ERCOT on Settlement Invoices due for payout on March 2, 2021, will notice that the amount of funds transferred is short of the balance payable on the Settlement Invoices."

"ERCOT initiates the short payment procedure when a Market Participant fails to make a complete payment for Settlement Invoices. Several Market Participants failed to make full payments for Settlement Invoices that were due on March 1, 2021," ERCOT said in the notice

"In accordance with ERCOT Protocol Section 9.19, ERCOT will draw from available Financial Security provided by short-paying Market Participants. Funds received from Financial Security will be allocated to short paid Invoice Recipients as soon as possible. Furthermore, ERCOT will deduct any applicable ERCOT Administrative fees, payments for Reliability-Must-Run (RMR) services, and the CRR Balancing Account from the amount received, and then reduce payments to all Invoice Recipients owed monies. The reductions will be made on a pro-rata basis of monies owed to each ERCOT creditor to the extent necessary to clear ERCOT's accounts on the payment date to ensure revenue neutrality for ERCOT," ERCOT said in the notice