|
SECTION 1. Subchapter D,
Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is amended by adding Section 39.159 to read as
follows:
Sec. 39.159. SWITCHABLE
ELECTRIC GENERATING FACILITIES FOR CROSS-BORDER DISPATCH. (a) In this
section:
(1) "Load shedding condition" means a
temporary condition on a power grid that requires or may require the
interruption of firm load.
(2) "Mexican power
grid" means the electric
power grid in the northeast region of
the United Mexican States.
(b) The commission shall adopt rules to encourage the
development of switchable electric generating facilities that:
(1) are located in this state; and
(2) consist of multiple electric generating units each of which:
(A) can dispatch into only a single grid at any
given time but is capable of synchronizing with and dispatching into
the ERCOT power grid and the
Mexican power grid at different times; and
(B) may be called on by ERCOT to address a load shedding
condition.
(c) The rules must allow and encourage the
adoption of a binding coordination agreement by the operators of ERCOT
and the Mexican power grid to govern the dispatching of energy into the
ERCOT power grid and the Mexican power grid from a switchable electric
generating facility described by
Subsection (b).
(d) For an agreement described by Subsection (c) that requires
that a new switchable electric generating facility have a nameplate output
at least 35 percent of which is from electric generating units that, under
the agreement, are committed to serve the ERCOT power grid to the
exclusion of the Mexican power grid during an ERCOT load shedding condition, regardless of whether a load shedding condition exists
on the Mexican power grid, the rules
must:
(1) provide reasonable
assurance that access to an electric
generating unit cannot be denied to the operator of the Mexican
power grid when the unit is
called on by the operator, regardless of whether a load shedding condition exists on the ERCOT power grid, if the unit is not committed under the
agreement to serve the ERCOT power grid during a load shedding condition on
the ERCOT power grid; and
(2) establish a process for the commission to evaluate an
agreement described by Subsection (c) to determine whether the agreement
qualifies for the protections described by this subsection.
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter D,
Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is amended by adding Section 39.159 to read as
follows:
Sec. 39.159. SWITCHABLE
ELECTRIC GENERATING FACILITIES FOR CROSS-BORDER DISPATCH. (a) In this
section:
(1) "Critical load condition" means a
temporary condition on a power grid that requires or may require the
interruption of firm load.
(2) "Mexican power
grid" means an electric
power grid in the United Mexican States that
is adjacent to the ERCOT power grid.
(3) "Switchable electric generating facility" means
an electric generating facility that
consists of one or more units that:
(A) are capable of
synchronizing with and dispatching into the ERCOT power grid or the Mexican power grid at different
times; and
(B) can each dispatch into only the ERCOT power grid or the
Mexican power grid at any given time.
(b) Subject to Subsection (c), the commission
shall approve a binding coordination agreement made between the operators of the ERCOT power grid and the Mexican
power grid that governs the dispatching of energy into the ERCOT power grid
and the Mexican power grid from a new
switchable electric generating facility that
is capable of making all generating units available to serve the ERCOT
power grid during an emergency and that is commissioned after September 1,
2017, if the agreement complies with the requirements of this section.
(c) The commission may impose reasonable conditions on a
binding coordination agreement to protect the public interest.
(d) The commission shall approve a binding coordination
agreement filed with the commission that complies with the requirements of
this section not later than the 185th day after the date the agreement is
filed.
(e) A binding coordination agreement must:
(1) require that at least 35 percent of the switchable electric
generating facility be
committed to serve the
ERCOT power grid to the exclusion of the Mexican power grid during an ERCOT
critical load condition,
regardless of conditions on the
Mexican power grid;
(2) provide reasonable
assurance that the remaining nameplate
capacity of the switchable
electric generating facility cannot be denied to the operator of the
Mexican power grid when the facility
is called on by the operator of the
Mexican power grid, regardless of whether an ERCOT critical load condition exists on the ERCOT
power grid, unless the remaining
capacity:
(A) has been offered to the ERCOT power grid and is selected by
the operator of the ERCOT power grid to provide ancillary services in
accordance with Section 35.004(e); or
(B) is otherwise expressly contractually committed to the
operator of the ERCOT power grid; and
(3) provide that the owner of the switchable electric
generating facility is responsible for any penalties imposed on the
operator of the ERCOT power grid by the commission, the Texas Reliability
Entity, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or the North American
Electric Reliability Corporation for any action taken by the operator of
the ERCOT power grid in accordance with Subdivision (2) if the entity
imposing the penalty determines that a wrongful action of the switchable
electric generating facility caused the violation for which the penalty is
imposed.
(f) A binding coordination agreement may limit the provision of
service from a unit to the ERCOT power grid during an emergency.
|