Texas PUC Staff Identify Review Of Retail Market Customer Protection Rules, With Emphasis On Disclosures & Potential Protections Specific To Emergency Conditions, As Part Of Several Focus Areas To Address In Response To Weather Event

Staff of the Texas PUC in a memo to the Commission identified eight "key focus areas" as a "road map" for Commission work in response to the February 2021 Winter Weather Event

Staff noted that these focus areas are not specific projects, but instead are categories used to identify and scope concepts raised by Staff, Commissioners, the Legislature, and stakeholders. Each focus area may have multiple projects associated with it and, conversely, an individual project or rulemaking may apply to more than one focus area

Among the eight focus areas identified by Staff is: "Retail Market - Review the Commission's customer protection rules, with emphasis on disclosures for certain electric product types and potential customer protections specific to emergency conditions."

As first reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com, one project related to this area has already been opened: Project 51830, Review of Wholesale - Indexed Products for Compliance with Customer Protection Rules for Retail Electric Service

Another of Staff's identified focus areas is: "Wholesale Market Design - Review and identify potential improvements to the rules and protocols of the ERCOT wholesale electric market, with emphasis on pricing of energy and ancillary services." One open project already involves this focus area: Project 51871, Review of the ERCOT Scarcity Pricing Mechanism

Another of Staff's identified focus areas is: "Market Settlements - Examine ERCOT settlements and market uplift processes."

The other focus areas identified by Staff are:

• ERCOT Operations: Review ERCOT's forecasting and planning processes; establish standards for ERCOT designation of emergency conditions.

• Communications and Governance: Review communications standards and expectations among utilities, ERCOT, the Commission, and the public. Identify improvements for Commission communications to the Legislature and the public. Identify potential improvements to ERCOT governance structure, bylaws, and stakeholder process.

• Essential Customer Load and Load Shed: Examine standards and processes related to critical customer load and procedures related to emergency load shed.

• Essential Generation Load: Establish standards and processes to protect load that provides an essential service to electric generation. Explore whether additional generation resiliency measures are appropriate.

• Generation Weatherization and Emergency Operations: Examine weatherization and emergency operations standards for power generation facilities. Examine content and processes for review and certification of emergency operations plans.