Texas Electric Generation Fleet Prepared for Winter Following Weatherization Rule: ERCOT

The Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) announced on Dec.30 it has completed on-site inspections of mandatory winterization efforts and concluded that the independently owned power generation fleet and transmission companies serving the region are prepared for winter weather. The grid operator conducted inspections at facilities, which represent 85 percent of the megawatt hours lost due to outages during the February 2021 winter storm, as well as 22 transmission facilities.

The summary inspection reported that out of the 302 generation resources inspected, a large number of generators exceeded the commission’s winterization requirements. On the contrary, 10 generation resources, with a capacity of about 2.1 gigawatts accounting for 1.7 percent of the region’s generation fleet, had items identified that required correction. These units have implemented the corrections. Furthermore, six of the 22 transmission station facilities had potential deficiencies, most of which have been addressed.

Recently adopted regulations require all electric generation and transmission owners to make significant winterization improvements, following the deadly winter freeze in Texas during the February 2021 Winter Storm Uri, which negatively impacted the Texan power grid. To avoid this situation going forward, ERCOT and the commission are coordinating efforts to ensure reliability and security of energy supply. During the February 2021 event, the Texas grid was unable to cope, leaving more than 4.5 million people without power.

Following the storm, Texas enacted legislation in early 2021, which raised the maximum penalties for violation of weatherization rules to $1 million per day per violation. In October, the commission adopted a rule addressing weather emergency preparedness of power generators and utilities pursuant to the law. The weatherization rule turns known industry best practices into specific actions with inspections and financial penalties, and focuses on ways to mitigate the effects of extreme weather events on cold weather critical components through methods like windbreaks and insulation.

ERCOT has currently filed a preliminary summary inspection report with the Texas Public Utility Commission and is due to submit a final report on Jan. 18, 2022 for review and potential enforcement action. ERCOT manages the flow of electric power to more than 26 million Texas customers – representing about 90 percent of the state’s electric load.