It should be included in the next special session, said Tom Smith, longtime former director of Public Citizens Texas office. Greg Abbott's now-infamous guarantee that last year's Winter Storm Uri catastrophe won't be repeated, Jones said, "We've done everything possible to make sure that the lights do stay on." power load 1,100+. AUSTIN, Texas -- The board overseeing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the independent nonprofit entity that operates and manages the electricity grid that covers much of Texas, named former executive Brad Jones on Tuesday to be interim president and CEO. Your donation keeps our trusted reporting free and accessible for all Texans and during a legislative session when lawmakers are set to tackle issues from school choice for K-12 students to school safety improvements to changes in property taxes, its critical that Texans know what lawmakers decisions mean for their futures. Leaders of the Texas power grid tried to assure the public Tuesday that the states grid is ready for summer, when they forecast record-breaking demand for electricity during the hottest stretches. Coal: 78,700 MWh; His experience includes serving as online content editor at Fort Worth Magazine and city editor at the Killeen Daily Herald. 90%. Did Texas energy regulators fail to mandate winter protections? Electric Reliability Council of Texas has 125 employees, of which 19 are in a leadership position. "The Board looks forward to working with Brad during this time as ERCOT prepares for summer operations," said ERCOT Board Director and HR&G Committee Chair Mark Carpenter. Dec. 5, 20223 PM Central. NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is urging consumers and businesses to limit their electricity use as much as possible on Sunday. Home Tag Electric Reliability Council of Texas . Meanwhile, the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the natural gas industry, has required those providers to sign up as critical services whose own electricity won't be shut down during a blackout. [34][35], Approximately 4 million customers in Texas were without electricity for various times during the multi-day storm. According to an ERCOT report, the major sources of generating capacity in Texas are natural gas (51%), wind (24.8%), coal (13.4%), nuclear (4.9%), solar (3.8%), and hydroelectric or biomass-fired units (1.9%). According to ERCOT officials, the cold weather in the area has resulted in a record-breaking demand on the power grid. However, there are a few ways you can reduce your electric usage at home. She is a mentor for American Corporate Partners. He is a corporate member representative for the Texas Oil & Gas Association, Texas Industrial Energy Consumers, Louisiana Energy Users Group, Oklahoma Industrial Energy Consumers, Texas Energy Coalition, and the Association of Oil Pipe Lines. Melissa Trevino of Houston is the Assistant Vice President for Power at Occidental Energy Ventures, where she leads the energy management team and oversees the power reporting and compliance group. Support the free press, so we can support Austin. Mr. Jones has 30+ years of industry experience, including serving as former ERCOT Vice President of Commercial Operations from April 2013 - December 2014 and Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from January 2015 - October 2015. Log In. He's a graduate of Texas State University, where he served as the editor-in-chief of the student-run newspaper, The University Star. The legislation also changes how the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' governing board is appointed. He has over 35 years of experience in the electric energy industry. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington. The board oversees major functions of ERCOT: open access to the transmission grid on nondiscriminatory terms, system reliability and adequacy, and . Energy experts say lawmakers could have passed legislation to pay consumers to reduce electricity usage or help Texans better insulate their homes and reduce their electricity usage. ERCOT underestimated the maximum amount of power that would be demanded by homes, businesses and industry during a severe winter storm in its fall projections, and it overestimated the amount of power generation that would be available to the grid during such a storm. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT) is an American organization that operates Texas's electrical grid, the Texas Interconnection,[3][4] which supplies power to more than 25 million Texas customers and represents 90 percent of the state's electric load. By Matt Payne Latest local news from South Texas from KSAT12. Brad Jones became ERCOT's vice president of Commercial Operations in April 2013. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. [6] ERCOT works with the Texas Reliability Entity (TRE),[7] one of eight regional entities within the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) that coordinate to improve reliability of the bulk power grid. Seems to me we asked you to do something, and youre doing it, he said. The PUCs favored proposal would leave the basics of the market unchanged a supply-and-demand model that relies on price and gives the biggest financial benefits to generators that can produce the cheapest power. Updated The best way to say it is that before, operators had gotten comfortable standing at the edge of the cliff and looking down, and now we stand 10 feet back. [17] The board delivered a 60-day termination notice to Magness, who had been president and CEO since 2016. He is a past Chairman of the Edison Electric Institute's Executive Advisory Committee and a board member for the Gulf Coast Power Association. [14], Power demand in the ERCOT region is typically highest in summer, primarily due to air conditioning use in homes and businesses. Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Patrick Svitek contributed to this story. Senate Bills 2 and 3 included a few key changes to the grid that experts said will begin to address some issues, such as requiring power companies to upgrade plants to withstand more extreme weather and creating a statewide emergency alert system. Power-generating companies across the state must comply with weatherization standards or face steep fines, according to the new head of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Lawmakers also didn't provide direct aid to people harmed by the February crisis. In counties around El Paso in western Texas, El Paso Electric reported that, as a result of it having investing millions in cold weather upgrades after the 2011 cold snap, 3,000 customers lost power for less than five minutes. On March 10, 2021, ERCOT provided an update to the Public Utility Commission of Texas on its governance status. The key though, is to make sure we have other resources to balance them." When we call for it, I want Texans understand: Thats not because were going into rolling outages. Create new account. [31][32] Some retail electricity providers were possibly facing huge losses or bankruptcy,[33] and customers of Griddy reported receiving absurdly high electric bills. [36][37] During the power loss, some Texans were forced to survive in record freezing temperatures down to 2F (19C). Hunter and Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, repeatedly questioned Lake about whether the PUCs vote on the market redesign which is expected in January after the public has an opportunity to comment on the plan would be binding and whether the Legislature would have the opportunity to make changes to it. Industry veteran Brad Jones is taking over as interim president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of . Prior to deregulation, residential electricity rates were significantly below the national average; after deregulation, residential electricity rates increased, rising 64% between 1999 and 2007. In 1970, ERCOT was formed to comply with NERC requirements. You can learn more at nbutexas.com and on NBUs Facebook page. [11] ERCOT also performs financial settlements for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers retail switching for 7 million premises in competitive choice areas. power. Pablo Vegaswill take over the president and CEO role for the. Supply and Demand. Energy Texas Electricity Prices Up After Post-Blackout Directives, State Increasing Capacity and Caution. (Matt Payne/Community Impact Newspaper). He implored his colleagues to focus on the task at hand: What I hope, members, is that we can try to figure out how to get Texas to the next step, to the next decade [because] the demand continues to go up, and continues to go up.. Greg Abbott and many state lawmakers quickly criticized the Electric Reliability Council of Texas because several members of its large . Jones said the June power crunch was caused by issues stemming from the February freeze. Brad Johnson January 20, 2023. . Dan Patrick had called for Magness and DeAnn Walker, then the head of the PUC, to resign. Breaking down the state's power sources from gas to wind. 2005-2022 Community Impact Newspaper Co. All rights reserved. managed and monitored. P.O. In the days and weeks before the plant failures, ERCOT had asked several energy companies to delay their scheduled maintenance in order to keep up with the hotter-than-expected May weather. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, ERCOT Interim president and CEO Brad Jones said forecasters for the organization did not anticipate the extreme heat and projected that on the hottest day of summer, the grid demand could reach a max of 77,300 megawatts. But the gas companies that fuel them, despite being the biggest contributors to the blackout (and to Abbott's reelection campaign), didn't have to. Brad Jones will fill the role in an interim capacity in early May. ERCOT's interim president appeared before a Senate committee on Tuesday to discuss efforts to improve the state's electrical grid. If you need help with the Public File, call 210-351-1241. [28], Texans outside the ERCOT-controlled grid had a different power experience. AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM) On July 13 the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) delivered what it calls a "roadmap to improving grid reliability" to . See more of Electric Reliability Council of Texas on Facebook. Brad Johnson June 22, 2022. Lake and Jones said they didnt have concerns about natural gas-fired power plants the largest source of electricity generation on the power grid despite having to ask Texans to reduce their power consumption on Friday after six power plants unexpectedly broke down. Many are no longer cost competitive. Were seeing those problems show themselves today, Jones said. Jones' hiring as interim president and CEO, after stints as a vice president and chief operations officer at ERCOT between 2013 and 2015, provides more time for the organization to find a permanent leader. In Texas, that would largely mean new natural-gas-fired plants. [21] Since deregulation, retail providers and power generators were unregulated, although regulations on transmitters continued to control the placement of electrical lines. They said their agencies are better prepared for times when there is likely to be a smaller share of energy generated by renewable sources. He is a 2017 graduate of the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas in Denton. Hydroelectric Pumped Storage: -368; 9:50 AM Dec 2, 2021 CST The Electric Reliability Council of Texas ensures a reliable electric grid and efficient electricity markets. Renewable Sources Excluding Hydroelectric and Solar: 38,812 MWh; All four regulators replaced officials ousted after the winter storm that crippled the grid for days during subfreezing weather. We used to stand right at the edge of the cliff before calling one, now were 10 feet back when we start to it manage.. Additionally, he is a member of the California State Bar and an inactive member of the Colorado State Bar. "Is ERCOT a government agency? July 13, 2021 / 8:50 AM / CBS Texas. The board said he would serve in those roles for the next two months. The scene in North Austin on Feb. 16, 2021, following the devastating winter storm. Based on our data team's research, Brad Jones is the Electric Reliability Council of Texas's CEO. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is a nonprofit organization that ensures reliable electric service for 90 percent of the state of Texas. Some key points in the plan include requiring CEOs of energy companies to sign a letter that their equipment is prepared to withstand inclement weather, incentivizing power plant operators to store reserve fuel onsite in case of emergencies and re-writing ERCOTs external communications materials to better inform the public about the state of Texas power supply. About See All. ERCOT hires Pablo Vegas as new top executive to help manage Texas' power grid. Natural Gas: 125,704 MWh; Copyright 2022 by KSAT - All rights reserved. Greg Abbott called for reforming the governance of ERCOT, and legislation to do so is advancing through the Legislature. Abbott, at a separate event on Tuesday in north Texas, was asked about the grid and saluted ERCOT for how it handled last weeks problems. Looking to avert crises like Uri in the future, Jones says, "We want to bring in as much solar and wind as we possibly can. He did not elaborate. With BESS, he says, if Austin were to endure the opposite of Uri a heat dome such as Portland experienced last summer, leading to scores of deaths solar would get us through. 148 talking about this. [22], In early February 2011, a major winter storm impacted Texas; freezing and extreme cold at natural gas pipelines and wells, as well as generating units (such as coal-fired power plants and wind turbines) caused power outages across Texas affecting 3.2 million customers. Any blackouts expected each year is unacceptable, Lake said, pointing out that many coal- and natural-gas-fired power plants, which can typically produce power consistently during times when renewables cannot, are being shut down. [50], ERCOT is governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and the Texas Legislature. ", "Texas largely relies on natural gas for power. Mary Claire Patton has been a journalist with KSAT 12 since 2015. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) command center in Taylor. Greg Abbott did not include improving Texas main power grid in his 11-item agenda for the special legislative session that began earlier this month, so lawmakers cannot pass new grid-related laws. Greg Abbott after last years deadly winter storm to regulate utilities and to oversee the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, said there will be more reserve power available to the grid this summer than in previous summers, a necessary cushion that Lake said reflects a different approach than before last Februarys disaster. She has reported on several high-profile stories during her career at KSAT and specializes in trending news and things to do around Texas and San Antonio. Last week, senators from the Business and Commerce Committee, after hearing similar testimony from Lake, wrote a letter to PUCs commissioners expressing their concern that the PUCs proposal may fail to meet the requirements of Senate Bill 3 and would not guarantee that new generation will be built in a timely and cost effective manner., Also last week, Patrick held a press conference in which he called for legislation that would cause additional natural-gas-fired power plants to be built in addition to the PUCs proposed market changes. [8], As the ISO for the region, ERCOT dispatches power on an electric grid that connects more than 46,500 miles of transmission lines and more than 610 generation units.[9]. It puts a lot of wear and tear on some of these older machines. [27] At first, rotating outages lasting from 10 to 40 minutes were imposed on millions of customers, but those outages lasted many hours for some and over 48 hours for others, while millions more were spared from any hardship. The PUCs proposal aims to reduce that risk to once per decade. In response to Gov. Get your TribFest tickets by May 31 and save big! Does your plan guarantee new generation? asked state Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi. [52], The ERCOT organization is governed by a board of directors made up of independent members, consumers and representatives from each of ERCOT's electric market segments. (512) 463-2000, Office of the Texas Governor | Greg Abbott, Governor Abbott Appoints Six to Texas Energy Reliability Council. Amplify your impact and donate now. (Jordan Vonderhaar For The Texas Tribune, Jordan Vonderhaar For The Texas Tribune). From left: Peter Lake, chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and Brad Jones, then-interim president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, speak at a May 17 press . "The Board looks forward to working with Brad during this time as ERCOT prepares for summer operations," ERCOT Director Mark Carpenter said in a Tuesday release. My guarantee to you is that we intend to communicate more clearly than weve done in the past, Jones told lawmakers. Taylor received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire. Austin Texas 78711 Other senators questioned why in June, two weeks after the regular legislative session ended, some Texas power plants unexpectedly went offline, spurring ERCOT to ask Texans to set thermostats higher during a heat wave to conserve energy. He oversees Market Operations, Settlement and Retail Operations, Market Design and Development, Credit and Client Relations. 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