Texas PUC Approves Recovery Of CenterPoint-TDU Mobile Generation Costs

The Texas PUC approved the recovery of costs for CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric's (CEHE) temporary emergency electric energy facilities (TEEEF), which CEHE originally proposed as part of its DCRF proceeding (with the costs later severed into proposed Rider TEEEF)

Commissioner Jimmy Glotfelty dissented with respect to the recovery of the TEEEF costs

Several other Commissioners expressed concerns with the cost recovery, but ultimately said that the unique situation presented by CEHE's application warranted approval of the TEEEF cost recovery

Commissioners noted that legislation granted TDUs authority to procure and operate such mobile back-up generation, but the PUC has not established a rule implementing such law.

While Commissioners noted the risk to TDUs inherent in acting before adoption of a rule, a majority of Commissioners cited the exigent circumstances at CEHE, including two conservation notices issued after Uri, the geography of CEHE's service area, and the disproportionate concentration of critical infrastructure in its service territory that can't be rotated. Commissioner Kathleen Jackson commended CEHE for being proactive in managing outage risk through the mobile generation

Discussing mobile generation broadly, Chairman Peter Lake said that the costs can't be unlimited, and that RFPs from the TDUs need to be more competitive than the RFP issued by CEHE.

The PUC also adopted an uncontested black box settlement to set DCRF rates, excluding the TEEEF costs which were reserved for litigation.

A separate rider, Rider TEEEF, will be used to recover the TEEEF costs

The PUC ruled that transmission voltage customers shall not be assigned TEEEF costs

CEHE's original application had proposed to apply Rider TEEEF to transmission voltage customers, so updated amounts for other classes will need to be filed in a compliance filing to reflect this change

The PUC also adopted certain other revisions to CEHE's original TEEEF application (relating to the amortization period and requiring the use of 12 CP) which may further change the previously filed proposed Rider TEEEF rates.

A written order has not yet been issued.

As originally proposed, Rider TEEEF for residential customers would have been $0.001071 per kWh

Docket 53442