Triple-digit temperatures in parts of Texas last week sent energy demand into record territory and electricity prices soaring to nearly $1,500/MWh.
ERCOT, which manages the energy flow for about 90% of the state’s electric load, set multiple records for May peak demand. The first came May 16, when the ISO topped out at 61.5 GW between 5 and 6 p.m., after having reached 61.1 GW the hour before. It upped that mark to 63.7 GW the next day, a 7.5% increase over the previous record of 59.3 GW set last May.
Demand on May 18 peaked at 63.1 GW during the 4-5 p.m. hour.
ERCOT had predicted a May peak demand of 59.6 GW. Demand peaked at 47.9 GW in April, 9.9% below expectations.
The ISO has projected a summer peak of 72.8 GW in August, which would break the 2016 record of 71.1 GW. It says it has 78.2 GW of capacity available, with a planning reserve margin of 11%. (See ERCOT Gains Additional Capacity to Meet Summer Demand.)
Operating reserves dipped to 3 GW on May 16, just above ERCOT’s emergency level of 2.3 GW, but spokesperson Leslie Sopko said the ISO hasn’t issued any emergency alerts or had any issues with reserves or reliability.
“While load has been high, we have had sufficient generation to meet the demand,” she said. “We expect that will continue through the weekend.”
Average prices jumped to $1,488.86/MWh in the interval ending at 4:45 p.m. on May 16. Prices dropped down below $100/MWh by 6 p.m. and did not crack triple digits the rest of the week.
Temperatures approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit in much of the state Friday. They were forecast to drop into the lower 90s and upper 80s over the weekend, before crawling back up to 100 next weekend.
Small Munis File Appeal with Texas PUC
The Small Public Power Group (SPPG) of Texas, comprising eight small municipally owned utilities with peak loads of 1 to 21 MW, filed an appeal on May 14 with the Public Utility Commission over ERCOT’s definition of transmission owner.
It’s the last resort for the SPPG, which has failed to secure approval through ERCOT’s stakeholder process of a revision request that would exempt municipal distribution service providers without transmission or generation facilities from having to procure designated transmission owner (DTO) services from a third-party provider if their annual peak load is less than 25 MW. (See “Small Public Power Group’s Appeal Again Meets Defeat,” ERCOT Board of Directors Briefs: April 10, 2018.)
The PUC has opened a docket in the proceeding (No. 48366) and directed the group, ERCOT, commission staff and market participants to attempt to reach an agreement. The SPPG must file a report on the discussions by July 9.
The group said none of its members have ever been included in the ERCOT load-shed table, and that their load is “so miniscule that it would not materially change anyone else’s load relief share.” Clark Hill Strasburger’s Tom Anson, who represents the SPPG, wrote in the appeal that several members are physically limited in their ability to comply with relevant ERCOT requirements and that the proposed revision “will not, in any way, affect ERCOT’s system reliability.”
“The commission should recognize that ERCOT’s rules do not fit all circumstances, that there is no reliability issue at stake in this special circumstance and that it is appropriate to modify ERCOT’s rules in this special instance,” Anson said.
The proposed change was developed in 2015 to settle the noncompliant status of municipally owned utilities as PUC staff began to look into the issue.
— Tom Kleckner
