ERCOT seeks help for winter
AUSTIN — The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is asking for more power to overcome potentially high winter demands.
As part of ERCOT’s reliability-first approach to grid operations, a request was issued to stakeholders Monday, Oct. 2 to increase operating reserves, a press release said.
The council is looking to add about 3,000 MW to its reserves in order for the grid to get through the coming months.
“Our request to procure capacity in advance of winter is part of our continued com- mitment to maintain grid reliability and resiliency,” said ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas. “ERCOT is not projecting energy emergency conditions this winter season, but we want to be prepared and ensure all available tools are readily available if needed.”
ERCOT said the capacity request was informed by several factors including significant peak Load growth since last winter, recent and proposed retirements of dispatchable Generation Resources and recent extreme winter weather events.
Based upon probabilistic analysis, ERCOT said it has determined that if the ERCOT Region experienced a winter storm during the 202324 winter peak load season comparable to Winter Storm Elliott in December 2022, the risk of entering into an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) during the highest-risk hour would be approximately 19.9%.
This would exceed the 10% probability level that constitutes an “elevated” risk under the standard ERCOT has employed for purposes of its studies conducted in support of NERC’s winter resource adequacy assessments.
The highest-risk hour during cold weather is in the morning at about 8 a.m.
The proposal seeks capacity from both dispatchable generation and demand response solutions to cover the period of Dec. 1, 2023, through Feb. 29, 2024. More information can be found in ERCOT’s market notice.
