ERCOT said last week that its corporate members have approved the elections of two unaffiliated directors, the re-election of a third unaffiliated director and amendments to the grid operator’s amended and restated bylaws.

Staff conducted a ballot vote “to resolve the items” before a scheduled Friday special meeting of corporate or voting members. They received enough votes to pass each of the four motions on July 2 and canceled the special meeting.

ERCOT plans to file the three director nominations for approval with the Texas Public Utility Commission this week. It expects approval in early November.

The Board of Directors in June approved Michigan Public Service Commission Chair Sally Talberg and retired ISO–NE General Counsel Ray Hepper to three-year terms as unaffiliated directors. The board also approved Terry Bulger for a second term as an unaffiliated director when his current term expires next March. (See “Michigan PSC’s Talberg Among Director Nominees,” ERCOT Board of Directors Briefs: June 9, 2020.)

Board Chair Craven Crowell, Vice Chair Judy Walsh and Director Karl Pfirrmann all roll off the board when their terms expire at the end of this year.

ERCOT has already filed the bylaw amendments with the PUC for its expedited approval (50918). That should come by July 31, according to the docket’s procedural schedule. The amendments address the need and processes for teleconference meetings under social-distancing requirements related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Demand, Temps on the Rise

June’s peak demand in ERCOT’s footprint came within 116 MW of last June’s peak, a sign that consumer demand and summer heat are nearing normal levels. The grid operator recorded a peak demand of 68,043 MW during the hour ending at 6 p.m. on June 8. Peak demand last June was 68,159 MW.

Gas-fired resources accounted for 40.9% of the energy produced during the month, with wind energy responsible for 23.34%. Coal resources provided 16.6% of ERCOT’s energy in June.

The grid operator was expecting a potential new weekend peak demand and a new all-time peak on Monday, July 13. ERCOT set a new all-time peak of 74.8 GW last year and has predicted a new mark of 75.2 GW this year, almost 1.5 GW less than staff predicted before Texas began locking down in March.

A heat wave continues to bake the Southwest and has brought triple-digit temperatures to much of Texas.