AUSTIN, Texas — A program to bolster energy reserves has been canceled by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas ahead of a potentially hazardous winter after a limited response from the market.
The state's electrical grid operator said they were seeking procurement for additional power generation from various energy providers by having them fire up their dormant power plants—but the demand was not met by the companies.
ERCOT sought to boost the reserves after an analysis showed them that if severe winter conditions strike in the 2023-2024 season, there would be a 20% chance of ERCOT entering emergency energy conditions.
The organization said they only received 11.1 MW of potentially eligible capacity of the 3,000 MW they requested from energy companies.
The low-yield of power they did receive would only be enough to power 2,200 homes of the roughly 600,000 they sought to power should emergency conditions arise.
In an interview with the Dallas Morning News, ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said, "It was disappointing that there wasn’t more available in the procurement. We’re going to really take the learning to focus on what we can do to improve down the road."
Since 2021, ERCOT said they have implemented many reforms and improvements to the grid to prevent emergency conditions like the ones that arose in prior years' severe winter conditions.
But the call to boost power reserves was just a precaution, the organization said.
“The request for additional capacity was an extra layer of precaution to mitigate higher risk during extreme weather this winter,” said Vegas in an release from the organization. “ERCOT is not projecting emergency conditions this winter and expects to have adequate resources to meet demand.”
ERCOT lists some of these grid improvements as weatherization inspections of electric generation units and transmission facilities, more ancillary services, firm fuel supply services and more.
Despite the market response, ERCOT said they firmly believe that there is great potential in expanding energy demand responses to the state's industrial, commercial and residential areas.
ERCOT said they are working with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and other stakeholders to explore incentives and product designs for more future improvements.
