Generators are working tirelessly under extreme conditions with their suppliers ERCOT, and the PUC to get as many plants online and producing as possible during this unprecedented time. Click below for more information.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped day-to-day life in the United States and across the globe; but despite all the changes, people continue to expect the lights and air conditioning to come on when they need them. Likewise, our healthcare institutions need reliable and resilient power for the care and safe recovery of patients. The Texas electric generators comprising the Texas Competitive Power Advocates (TCPA) membership are not immune from the impacts of COVID-19, and the industry is evolving to answer the call to ensure reliable electricity continues to be available to meet the needs and expectations of Texans.
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Members of Texas Competitive Power Associates (TCPA), a trade association representing power generators and wholesale power marketers in Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) wholesale market, and generating nearly seventy percent (70%) of the electric capacity in ERCOT, have taken action to support the communities in which they operate. Having recognized the enormous hardships the COVID-19 pandemic has caused, these generation companies are contributing to direct relief efforts to help ease the financial burdens and supply challenges that exist both in Texas and other communities across the United States.
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Electric Reliability Council of Texas stakeholders voiced concern Thursday about a proposed rule that would require gas-fired generators to provide detailed information about the status and potential problems with their feedgas pipelines. Ultimately, consideration of the proposal was postponed allowing formal comments to be filed. Michele Gregg, Texas Competitive Power Advocates executive director, said her gas-fired generation members usually have long-term agreements with pipeline operators that forbid disclosure of certain types of confidential information, which may include some of the information described in NPRR 997.
Most ERCOT market participants have come to grips with the fact that “9-ish percent” reserve margins are likely “the new normal” in Texas’ energy-only market. Market reliability has been the story of the last 25 years in Texas.
As temperatures climbed into the triple digits this summer, big commercial and industrial companies shut down production lines, sent employees home and fired up backup generators. These moves, however, weren’t made to avoid the temporary spikes that sent wholesale electricity prices soaring to the maximum $9,000 per megawatt hour, but rather to cut their transmission costs throughout the year — and ultimately shift them to consumers and small businesses.