The ERCOT Board of Directors today (April 27) announced the selection of Brad Jones to serve as the interim President and CEO for the Texas grid operator serving 90 percent of the state, effective May 4, 2021. 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 conference about the state power grid. Its our 10th year participating in Amplify, and to celebrate, weve got $15,000 in matching funds from four generous Tribune supporters. The terms of Mr. Jones' engagement with ERCOT will be established with the ERCOT Human Resources and Governance Committee, subject to Board approval. The legislation abolished the former system, in which power was both generated and consumed locally. Appointment. [55], During the February 2021 storm, it emerged that a third of ERCOT's board of directors live outside of Texas; this includes the chair Sally A. Talberg, who lives in Michigan, and the vice chair Peter Cramton. The agency has already implemented the winterization regulation the Legislature passed in 2021. However, the Texas grid is not subject to regulation under the Federal Power Act, being an intrastate grid for the purposes of that law. The United States Energy Information Administration Electric Power Monthly published the following detailed report regarding Texas's Net Generation by Energy Source: Total (All Sectors), 2010-December 2020, (Thousand Megawatthours), Table 1.1, for the Month of December 2020:[10] Jordan Vonderhaar for. Jon Taylor of Austin is the Corporate Vice President of Fab Engineering and Public Affairs at Samsung Austin Semiconductor, where he is responsible for factory engineering for operations including safety, quality, cost, and productivity for all production equipment and supporting personnel. [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. [20] Instead, under the deregulated regime, retailers could contract with providers across the state, creating a complex market. broke down Friday, and industry officials say others did, too. over the last decade to implement meaningful grid-related improvements. Brad Jones. Lake and Jones didnt reveal new information on Fridays outages beyond Jones noting that the six plants went down between noon and 4 p.m. that day. [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. Eric Goodman's Austin FC column, other soccer news. Houston city council tables vote on Hobby Airport restaurant contract, Georgia star Jalen Carter charged with racing in fatal wreck, Contractor dies after electric shock at Texas City Marathon refinery. [56] This revelation drew considerable anger from the public as well as elected representatives, and the board members' names and photographs were temporarily removed from the ERCOT website due to death threats. Despite the demand being higher than estimated, Jones is hopeful about getting through the remainder of the summer but he does have some concerns about older thermal generators that ERCOT has asked be up and running as much as possible. by Erin Douglas We need a reliability standard.. Community See All. 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. 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 winter storm that has moved across our region has caused temperatures to drop well below average for this time of year. Mary Claire Patton has been a journalist with KSAT 12 since 2015. In the weeks since the winter storm, both ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the regulatory body that oversees it, have been lambasted for failures in preparing for and responding to the 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%). Executive Summary. Gov. Regional transmission organization in Texas, The Wall Street Journal, "Texas Power Grid Operator Fires CEO," March 4, 2021, North American Electric Reliability Corporation, deregulation of the Texas electricity market, February 2011, a major winter storm impacted Texas, February 1317, 2021 North American winter storm, Deregulation of the Texas electricity market, "Electric Reliability Council Of Texas Inc 10 10 90 - Nonprofit Explorer", "Pablo Vegas, a utility executive in Ohio, named ERCOT's new CEO", "The Texas Freeze: Why the Power Grid Failed", "Electric Power Monthly - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)". Get your TribFest tickets by May 31 and save big! 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. [4] Relatively few electric customers lost power in those regions. In a Monday committee hearing, lawmakers questioned whether a Public Utility Commission proposal to redesign Texas electricity market would lead to the building of more natural-gas-fired power plants. Solar power doesn't work at night without battery storage, which would have to be scaled up to run for several days to get through a weeklong event like Uri. Copyright 2021 by KSAT - All rights reserved. It also performs financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers retail switching for nearly 8 million premises in competitive choice areas. Updated Jones said the June power crunch was caused by issues stemming from the February freeze. Petroleum Coke: 742 MWh; If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands. Lake said that right now, according to an analysts report commissioned by the PUC, the Texas grid can be expected to experience rolling blackouts at least one day per year on average. [31][32] Some retail electricity providers were possibly facing huge losses or bankruptcy,[33] and customers of Griddy reported receiving absurdly high electric bills. Prior to becoming President and CEO of the New York ISO, Brad served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Brad Jones, interim CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, expressed confidence in the state's grid heading into summer. | A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austins independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the communitys political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. 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. Lake and Jones said asking Texans to conserve electricity is a tool they use to ensure reliability of the power supply and should not be viewed as a sign that the grid is unstable. 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. [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. 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. You can do this by setting your thermostat to 78 degrees (or a level that is safe for you); turning off lights and pool pumps; avoiding use of large appliances such as ovens, washing machines and dryers; and turning off or unplugging unused electric appliances. Brad Jones, interim CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, expressed confidence in the states grid heading into summer at a Tuesday press conference. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Jones acknowledged the problem, adding that the state hasnt invested enough in part of our generation fleet.. 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. Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Brad Jones, Nate Murphy, George Presses, Edward Stones, Jon Taylor, and Melissa Trevino to the Texas Energy Reliability Council for terms at the pleasure of the Governor. To remove industry jargon, to speak to you in ways that all of us can understand.. Now, officials are working to determine how the Texas power market will create and meet the reliability standard also mandated by Senate Bill 3. Dec. 5, 20223 PM Central. That also means avoiding rolling blackouts. 148 talking about this. Overall, Jones says, "We've been bringing on additional reserves to make sure we have an abundance of caution. Regulators say it would. Solar: 5,381 MWh; During the war, the grid was interconnected to other states and excess power generation was sent to industries on the Gulf Coast, providing a more reliable supply of electricity for production of metal and other material needed for the war.[19]. 9:50 AM Dec 2, 2021 CST, Brad Jones, interim president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, shared new accountability plans and fielded several questions in a town hall coordinated by state Reps Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, and Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, on Dec. 1 at the George A. Purefoy Municipal Center. ERCOT and its regulator, the Public Utility Commission of Texas, failed to adopt a mandatory standard for preparing electricity infrastructure for such occurrences (winterization), despite recommendations from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). That's the difference.". Rep. Richard Pea Raymond, D-Laredo, said he doesnt understand why lawmakers in the Senate asked the PUC to hit the brakes on its proposal. Amplify your impact and donate now. An immediate concern Jones must confront at ERCOT is the prospect of an atypical summer that pushes demand for electricity beyond normal summer peaks. 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. Set ceiling fans to the winter setting by running them clockwise, to pull the warm air down. Lt. Gov. Battery energy storage systems (BESS), which use rechargeable batteries to close the gap (or "ramp") of about two hours that it takes to bring dispatchable generation online once solar cuts out, are another part of the solution, Jones says: "We have to make sure that we have other resources available to cover those two hours while we're bringing up slower generation." What ERCOT did by making the announcement on Friday was a greater level of transparency that did not exist before [Winter Storm] Uri, Abbott said. State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said some of the fault lies with state lawmakers, who have failed over the last decade to implement meaningful grid-related improvements following a severe winter storm in 2011 that highlighted that power companies and natural gas producers hadnt properly prepared their facilities for cold weather. power load 1,100+. Conservation is a good thing, Jones said. Log In. Double your gift when you give by 6 p.m. Thursday. by Mitchell Ferman 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. [15] A megawatt of electricity can power about 200 Texas homes during periods of peak demand. About See All. [42], The first lawsuits against ERCOT grid mismanagement were filed on February 19, 2021. September 28, 2021 | Austin, Texas Brad Jones, interim CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas . But after recent leadership shakeups at ERCOT and the PUC, it is state lawmakers who are now increasingly coming under pressure to pass substantial legislation that would protect the state from another power failure the next time inclement weather hits Texas. [39] A 357-page report had been written after the 2011 power outage in Texas,[40] which seemed to have been ignored, because too many critical generators still lacked appropriate weatherization in 2021,[31][41] especially the natural gas system. He called renewable sources of energy a luxury.. [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. Pablo Vegaswill take over the president and CEO role for the. Its a shame the public doesnt have confidence in the system, state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, told Jones. Instead of waiting until the grid is already experiencing emergency conditions, ERCOT now releases conservation notices in advance of emergency conditions in an effort to avoid the scenario altogether. He has over 30 years of experience as a process engineer. The document is filed in PUC Project No. ERCOT's interim president appeared before a Senate committee on Tuesday to discuss efforts to improve the state's electrical grid. Jones credited Texans for helping out and told the paper this is where I get impressed by the Texas spirit, the spirit of people who wanted to help each other.. This caused lawsuits about whether federal regulation then applied, however the judgement was that this was not sufficient. Brad Jones became ERCOT's vice president of Commercial Operations in April 2013. Heres how you can help reduce electricity use, according to ERCOT: According to officials, at this time, ERCOT has additional resources that are only available during tight conditions, so rotating outages are not likely.. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) board has selected a new CEO and president. Got something to say? He is a past Chairman of the Edison Electric Institute's Executive Advisory Committee and a board member for the Gulf Coast Power Association. "The Board looks forward to working with Brad during this time as ERCOT prepares for summer operations," said ERCOT Board Director and . You can get the very latest forecast anytime by bookmarking our weather page and downloading the KSAT Weather Authority App - available for both Apple and Android devices. Turn off lights, computers, and other electronic devices whenever possible. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power to more than 26 million Texas customers -- representing about 90 percent of the state's electric load. ERCOT hires Pablo Vegas as new top executive to help manage Texas' power grid. Home Tag Electric Reliability Council of Texas . SAN ANTONIO Officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas were not expecting this summer to be quite so brutal. The board oversees major functions of ERCOT: open access to the transmission grid on nondiscriminatory terms, system reliability and adequacy, and . Amplify your impact and donate now. You can learn more at nbutexas.com and on NBUs Facebook page. Coal: 78,700 MWh; On Wednesday, Jan. 26, the League of Women Voters and state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, hosted the Electric Reliability Council of Texas ' interim CEO Brad Jones on a " listening tour. Instead, the PUC plan would prioritize technology that can quickly switch power on and off throughout the grid to balance drops in renewable power generation when the sun doesnt shine or wind doesnt blow. 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. The scene in North Austin on Feb. 16, 2021, following the devastating winter storm. The ERCOT region's all-time record peak hour occurred on July 20, 2022, when consumer demand hit 79,828 MW. "He brings the right combination of ERCOT knowledge and broad industry expertise needed to provide the stability and reliability that Texans expect and deserve.". The selection of Pablo Vegas to head the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, comes about a year and half after a devastating February's 2021 winter storm left dozens dead,. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. Jakob Rodriguez is a digital journalist at KSAT 12. Magness will soon depart ERCOT following a 60-day termination notice handed to him by ERCOT's board of directors in March. Yes, sir, Lake responded. However, due to the extreme heat this summer, its now estimated that the peak demand load could exceed 81,000 megawatts. What percentage of Texas energy is renewable? In response to Gov. . Jones expressed some caution about times that are dark and still, meaning when the sun isnt shining to produce solar power and when wind isnt blowing enough to produce wind energy. He did not elaborate. [27] At 1:25a.m. on February 15, ERCOT began requesting blackouts from service providers. (Jordan Vonderhaar For The Texas Tribune, Jordan Vonderhaar For The Texas Tribune). [23], During a major cold-weather event in mid-February 2021, ERCOT declared a statewide emergency, due to a 34,000 MW shortfall in generation that caused widespread blackouts. Lawmakers also didn't provide direct aid to people harmed by the February crisis. ", One of the main questions from attendees was on equitable load-shedding during a blackout; many emailed asking why Downtown's lights stayed on. May 17, 20225 PM Central. Michele Richmond, the executive director for Texas Competitive Power Advocates, an industry group that represents large power companies, said her members were prepared to build new gas-fired power plants in Texas between 2024 and 2026 capable of producing 4,600 megawatts of power if the Legislature does not inhibit the implementation and the PUCs rule-making process continues as planned. Was that this was not sufficient Brief, our daily newsletter that readers. Hires pablo Vegas as new top Executive to help manage Texas & # x27 ; s president. 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