Electric Reliability Council of Texas

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The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is one of 9 (or 10) independent transmission system operators in North America. ERCOT is responsible for the operation of the Texas Interconnection (TI), one of three interconnected networks in the USA . ERCOT is a non-profit organization that is regulated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Texas legislature. Although the TI operated by ERCOT is limited to the state of Texas, ERCOT is also subject to the supervision of federal agencies such as the NERC and the FERC .

In 2012 ERCOT had around 600 employees and an annual budget of USD 170 million .

Central main switchboard ( English dispatcher ) of the ERCOT

history

Due to the Federal Power Act of 1935, the power companies in Texas cut their power lines to the other states in order to avoid federal law in this area.

In 1941, various power companies in Texas merged to form the Texas Interconnected System (TIS), the forerunner of the Texas Interconnection . They diverted excess electricity to industrial companies in the Gulf of Mexico to aid the US war effort. The electricity suppliers recognized the advantages of an interconnected network and began to expand the TIS over time.

In 1970, TIS founded ERCOT to meet the requirements of the NERC. In 1981 the members of the TIS transferred the coordination of operations to ERCOT. In 1995, Texas lawmakers began deregulating the electricity market. As a result, in September 1996, ERCOT became the first independent transmission system operator ( ISO) in the USA, with the aim of guaranteeing non-discriminatory access to the network.

In 1999, the legislature also enabled competition in the end customer market for electricity. ERCOT implemented the requirements by January 2002 and by 2007 46% of end customers had already changed their electricity provider.

Members

The members of ERCOT are divided into different groups. This includes:

  • Consumers (Engl. Consumers ), for example. B. the City of Houston or Texas Instruments
  • Cooperative (engl. Cooperatives ) z. B. the Farmers Electric Cooperative Inc.
  • Independent producers (Engl. Independent generator ), for example. B. EDF Trading North America LLC
  • Independent marketers (Engl. Independent Power Marketers ), for example. B. E.ON North America LLC
  • Private utilities ( investor-owned utilities ), e.g. B. American Electric Power Service Corporation

The technical facilities of the network, such as high-voltage lines and substations, belong to the respective members of ERCOT.

Key figures

In 2014, over 24 million customers were supplied in the integrated network operated by ERCOT and 90 (or 85)% of the load in Texas was covered. The network includes high-voltage lines with a length of 69,000 km (43,000 miles). The installed capacity is over 74,000 (or 84,000) MW and the peak load on August 3, 2011 was 68,305 MW. In 2014 electricity consumption was 340 billion kWh. The installed capacity in 2014 consisted of gas-fired power plants (55%), coal-fired power plants (24%), nuclear power plants (6%) and wind parks (14%); generation came from gas-fired power plants (41.1%), coal-fired power plants (36%), nuclear power plants ( 11.6%) and wind farms (10.6%).

From the load profile on August 3, 2011, it can be seen that coal and nuclear power plants served to cover the base load, while gas power plants covered the peak load. Wind power made a small contribution that day. On that day, the price for the MWh , which is usually between 25 and 75 USD, rose to as much as 3,000 USD between 1:30 pm and 6:00 pm. As an incentive for additional peak load generation, the maximum wholesale price per MWh was increased from USD 5,000 to USD 9,000 in 2015.

The costs per MWh for the various producers in the ERCOT area are quantified as follows: Combined cycle power plant 61, wind power 81, coal power plant 87, nuclear power plant 93 and photovoltaics USD 107.

Wind farms

When it comes to wind farms, Texas ranks first among the states in the USA with an installed capacity of 12,000 MW; Applications for wind farms with a further 24,500 MW had been submitted to ERCOT by December 2014. On February 19, 2015, a record was reached in the Texas Interconnection network for generation from wind power with 11,154 MW; that corresponded to 34% of the network load on that day. On March 29, 2015, wind power achieved the highest share in generation with 40.58%.

The strong expansion of wind energy in 2008 led to negative prices in some ERCOT regions. At times, USD 30 was paid for the purchase of one MWh, for which the lack of transmission lines was seen as the cause. As a result, ERCOT was authorized by the PUCT to spend 4.9 billion USD on the construction of transmission lines to connect wind farms. These so-called CREZ lines ( Competitive Renewable Energy Zones ) were completed by 2014 at a total cost of USD 6.9 billion. They have a total length of 5,800 km (3,600 miles) and a transmission capacity of 18.5 GW.

The general problem with wind power in Texas is that it generates the least in the summer while the consumption is highest. In the summer of 2014, for example, with an installed capacity of 11,000 MW , ERCOT only expected a guaranteed capacity of 963 MW. Records also show that most wind power is generated at night, while peak loads occur during the day.

See also

Web links

  • Homepage. ERCOT, accessed on June 22, 2015 (English).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Members at a glance. (No longer available online.) Www.isorto.org, archived from the original on July 28, 2016 ; accessed on June 22, 2015 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.isorto.org
  2. ↑ a b c d e ASSOCIATION OF WATER BOARD DIRECTORS. (PDF 1.1 MB, pp. 2–3, 11) ERCOT, July 21, 2012, accessed on June 23, 2015 (English).
  3. ^ Company Profile. ERCOT, accessed on June 22, 2015 (English).
  4. ↑ a b c Quick Facts. (PDF 324 KB) ERCOT, accessed on June 19, 2015 (English).
  5. ↑ To Electric 'Game Changer' Gets FERC Scrutiny. The New York Times , December 23, 2009, accessed June 21, 2015 .
  6. ↑ a b c History. ERCOT, accessed on June 19, 2015 (English).
  7. ↑ Membership. ERCOT, accessed on June 22, 2015 (English).
  8. ↑ a b c US – MEXICO Cross-border trade NARUC Summer Meeting. (PDF 1 MB; pp. 3–4) (No longer available online.) ERCOT, archived from the original on June 21, 2015 ; accessed on June 21, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.narucmeetings.org
  9. ↑ a b c d e TEXAS POWER CHALLENGE - GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR ENERGY DOLLARS. (PDF 2.9 MB; pp. 3, 5–8, 11, 13) (No longer available online.) Comptroller.texas.gov, formerly in the original ; accessed on June 23, 2015 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: dead link / comptroller.texas.gov  
  10. ↑ curtailment, Negative Prices Symptomatic of Inadequate transmission. www.renewableenergyworld.com, September 19, 2008, accessed June 23, 2015 (English).
  11. ↑ Texas grid leads the way. www.windpowermonthly.com, September 1, 2013, accessed June 23, 2015 (English).