As winter approaches, vulnerable Texas dithers and grumbles. Weather resilience is important in the Lone Star State, where intense summer heat and deep winter freezes have often crippled the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state-wide, autarkic electric grid. Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 caused many of dollars in economic damage and over 200 deaths in Texas, according to the Texas comptroller.
As the specter of winter’s past arrives, ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) are squabbling over preparedness. Part of the problem in Texas is the continued political might of the natural gas industry and antipathy toward advanced technologies, specifically battery electric storage as an aid to short-term supply.
In early October, ERCOT issued a request for proposals “to increase operating reserves, adding up to an additional 3,000 MW for the winter 2023-2024 peak load season.” The RFP identified “mothballed,” “seasonably mothballed,” and “decommissioned” generating resources, all fossil-fueled resources. The RFP entirely eschewed renewables and battery storage.
On Nov. 17, ERCOT cancelled the resource RFP, citing “limited response from the market, which included only a small 11.1 MW of potentially eligible capacity.” Putting a predictable gloss of the RFP’s failure, ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said, “ERCOT is not projecting emergency conditions this winter and expects to have adequate resources to meet demand.”
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