Texas Regulator Fines Wholesale Market Participant for Capacity Shortfall, Telemetry Violations

Twin Eagle Resource Management LLC agreed to pay an administrative penalty of $180,000 to resolve alleged claims arising from its obligations as a qualified scheduling entity in 2016, according to a July 22 settlement agreement with the Texas Public Utilities Commission staff.

Twin Eagle failed to reserve sufficient capacity to meet its obligations for 23 separate operating hours during six days in April and August 2016. The average capacity shortfall across these hours was about 7 megawatts. The wholesale market participant also failed to meet its ancillary service obligations for 23 hours in July and August of the same year, resulting in a capacity shortfall of about 8 megawatts.

Although Twin Eagle provided email notifications to several resource units about the grid operator’s advisory on physical responsive capability issued on April 19, 2016, it failed to include all parties that should have been notified.

Twin Eagle telemetered inaccurate data to the Texas grid operator from March 11-31, 2016 relating to plant output because of net and gross values being transposed.

The agreement resolves the commission staff’s investigation of Twin Eagle for alleged violation of the Public Utility Regulatory Act and Electric Reliability Council of Texas nodal protocols. A qualifying scheduling entity that submits bids and offers on behalf of retail electric providers to buy or sell energy in the day-ahead and real-time market.