Mindful of the widespread power cuts and system damage during last winter’s ice storms, and the subsequent shake-up in regulatory control of its responsibility for system reliability, The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has filed its final winter weatherisation readiness report with the Texas Public Utility Commission. The report shows 321 out of 324 electric generation units and transmission facilities fully passed inspection for new winterisation regulations from the Commission.
“The Texas electric grid is more prepared for winter operations than ever before,” commented Interim ERCOT CEO Brad Jones.
ERCOT conducted onsite inspections at 302 electric generation units during December, representing 85 % of the megawatt hours lost during last year’s Winter Storm Uri due to outages, and 22 transmission station facilities. Three resources have been identified for further review but remain operational. They represent approximately 0.4 % of the total ERCOT generation fleet.
“We are confident these 321 inspected facilities either meet or go beyond the new requirements from the Commission and we will continue to work with the other 3 facilities to ensure they correct remaining deficiencies,” said Woody Rickerson, ERCOT VP of System Planning and Weatherisation. “Our teams spent thousands of hours preparing for and conducting these 324 onsite inspections to ensure the electric grid is prepared for winter.”
The Commission will determine any potential enforcement actions resulting from the inspections. Last year, the Texas Legislature increased the maximum penalties for violating weatherisation rules to $1 000 000 per day per violation.
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