[00:00:05]
[1. Call General Session to Order]
TO GET STARTED.UM, I'M PAUL FOSTER ERCOT, BOARD CHAIR.
WELCOME TO THE DECEMBER 19TH, 2023 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING.
I HEREBY CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
THIS MEETING IS BEING WEBCAST LIVE TO THE PUBLIC ON ERCOT WEBSITE.
BEFORE WE BEGIN, I'D LIKE TO ASK INTERIM PUC CHAIR KATHLEEN JACKSON IF SHE WOULD LIKE TO CALL AN OPEN MEETING OF THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION TO ORDER.
THIS MEETING OF THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS WILL COME TO ORDER TO CONSIDER MATTERS THAT HAVE BEEN DULY POSTED WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DECEMBER 19TH, 2023.
I'M KATHLEEN JACKSON AND I'M JOINED TODAY BY COMMISSIONERS COBOS AND, UH, COMMISSIONER TY.
UM, I'D ALSO LIKE TO, UM, MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT.
UH, I AM, UH, PLEASED TO DESIGNATE COMMISSIONER LORI KOBOS TO SERVE AS AN EXOFFICIO MEMBER OF THE ERCOT BOARD OF DIRECTORS AS A STATUTE UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF TEXAS UTILITY CODE 39.151.
GF NOW AUTHORIZES TWO PUC COMMISSIONERS TO SIT ON THE ERCOT BOARD.
UH, COMMISSIONER KOBOS TERM AS AN ERCOT DIRECTOR WILL BEGIN ON JANUARY 1ST, 2024, AND END ON DECEMBER 31ST, 2024.
COMMISSIONER CABOS HAS BEEN AN INVALUABLE COLLEAGUE DURING MY TENURE AT THE PC, AND SHE WILL BE A TERRIFIC ADDITION TO THE ERCOT BOARD.
AND, UH, WELCOME ABOARD, COMMISSIONER.
I LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING ON THE BOARD.
UM, IT'S A RETURN BACK TO THE BOARD I WAS SERVING ON THE ERCOT BOARD OF DIRECTORS WHEN I WAS PUBLIC COUNCIL OF THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC UTILITY COUNCIL.
AND SO, UM, LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH EVERYBODY AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, COLLABORATING WITH CHAIR JACKSON, UM, OVER THE NEXT YEAR.
ALL RIGHT, BEFORE MOVING ON TO TODAY'S BUSINESS, UH, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE COMMISSIONER WILL MCADAMS AND HIS DEPARTURE FROM THE PUC AT THE END OF THIS YEAR.
ALTHOUGH HE IS NOT HERE TODAY, I WANT TO THANK HIM FOR HIS LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT AND WORKING WITH ERCOT AND WISH HIM THE BEST OF LUCK IN HIS FUTURE ENDEAVORS.
UH, WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THE ANTITRUST ADMONITION AND SECURITY MAP ARE INCLUDED WITH POSTED MEETING MATERIALS.
AND LASTLY, BOARD MEMBER BOB FLEXON IS JOINING US BY TELECONFERENCE TODAY.
[2. Notice of Public Comment, if Any]
ON TODAY'S AGENDA IS ITEM TWO.NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMENT, IF ANY.
UH, TODAY'S MEETING AGENDA WAS POSTED PUBLICLY ON DECEMBER 12TH AND PROVIDED INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PUBLIC FOR COMMENTING IN PERSON.
TO MY KNOWLEDGE, WE DO HAVE ONE, UH, COMMENTER.
A, UH, MR. BRIAN SAMS FROM CALPINE, AND HE'S HERE WITH US IN PERSON.
ALRIGHT, UH, ERCOT BOARD, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK THIS MORNING.
THE CALPINE TEAM WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT OUR FREESTONE PEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT, IN CASE YOU HADN'T HEARD.
UH, JUST AS A QUICK INTRODUCTION TO CALPINE, UH, WE OPERATE A DOZEN NATURAL GAS FIRED POWER PLANTS WITH ABOUT 9,000 MEGAWATTS OF CAPACITY HERE IN ERCOT.
WE ALSO SERVE CUSTOMERS THROUGH OUR RETAIL ELECTRIC PROVIDERS CHAMPION ENERGY AND CALPINE ENERGY SOLUTIONS.
LAST WEEK, WE COMMITTED TO BUILD A NEW 425 MEGAWATTS SIMPLE CYCLE NATURAL GAS FIRED POWER PLANT IN FREESTONE COUNTY.
THAT FACILITY WILL BE LOCATED AT THE SITE OF OUR EXISTING FREESTONE COMBINED CYCLE PLANT, AND WILL EMPLOY, UH, SIGNIFICANT WORKFORCE DURING THE CONSTRUCTION PERIOD AND WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL FULL-TIME JOBS ONCE COMPLETED, ONCE OPERATIONAL, THE PLANT WILL PROVIDE FAST RAMPING LONG DURATION CAPACITY TO SUPPORT GRID RELIABILITY, PARTICULARLY DURING PERIODS OF PEAK DEMAND.
AND WE'RE SEEKING TO BE ONLINE BY THE SUMMER OF 26.
DRIVERS FOR THIS INVESTMENT ARE REALLY TWOFOLD.
UH, THE FIRST IS JUST, YOU KNOW, TREMENDOUS LOAD AND ECONOMIC GROWTH OVER THE LAST DECADE AND ESPECIALLY THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
SECONDLY, ERCOT CONSERVATIVE OPERATING POSTURE, INCLUDING USE OF NEW PRODUCTS LIKE ECRS HAS SENT A SIGNAL FOR NEW INVESTMENT AND WE'RE BUILDING INTO THAT.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO BUILDING THIS PROJECT TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE STATE'S STRONG ECONOMIC GROWTH AND TO SUPPORT RELIABILITY IN THE ERCOT MARKET.
[3. Recognition of Brad Jones]
ITEM THREE.UM, I WANNA RECOGNIZE, UH, BRAD JONES
[00:05:01]
SERVICE TO ERCOT.AS YOU ALL KNOW, BRAD JONES PASSED AWAY AFTER A HARD FOUGHT BATTLE WITH CANCER.
BRAD WAS PART OF THE ERCOT FAMILY AND A VALUED MEMBER OF OUR TEAM FROM APRIL 1ST, 2013 TO OCTOBER 10TH, 2015 AS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER.
AND THEN HE RETURNED TO ERCOT AS THE INTERIM PRESIDENT AND CEO ON, UH, MAY 4TH, 2021.
BRAD'S LAST DAY AT ERCOT WAS NOVEMBER 1ST, 2022.
MUCH HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT BRAD OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS TO HONOR HIS LEGACY AND IMPACT ON THIS INDUSTRY.
WE THANK HIM FOR HIS COMMITMENT AND SERVICE AND HE WILL BE GREATLY MISSED.
PABLO, I KNOW YOU HAVE A FEW REMARKS AND IF THERE ARE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS OR COMMISSIONERS WHO WANNA COMMENT, UH, PLEASE FEEL FREE.
I, I ONLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO KNOW BRAD FOR A FEW, YOU KNOW, A FEW MONTHS, UH, AND, UH, AND WORK WITH HIM CLOSELY FOR A FEW MONTHS.
BUT LIKE ANY, ANYBODY WHO HAD A CHANCE TO GET TO KNOW BRAD, IT ONLY TAKES ABOUT FIVE MINUTES TO BECOME A CLOSE FRIEND OF HIS.
HE WAS A GENEROUS PERSON WITH HIS TIME.
HE WAS A COURAGEOUS LEADER AND, UM, A FRIEND TO EVERYBODY WHO MET HIM.
WHEN I FIRST CAME ON BOARD, I WORKED WITH, UH, BRAD AND THE EXECUTIVE TEAM PRIOR TO MY START DATE TO GET RAMPED UP ON THE BUSINESS OF, OF ERCOT.
AND I SPENT, UH, HOURS AND HOURS EACH WEEK WITH BRAD GOING THROUGH ALL FACETS OF THE ERCOT BUSINESS AND, AND ESPECIALLY THE PEOPLE.
AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT JUST STOOD OUT TO ME RIGHT AWAY, IS THAT HOW MUCH BRAD FOCUSED ON THE PEOPLE OF THE ORGANIZATION, THE PEOPLE OF THE MARKET, THE BOARD JUST, HE RECOGNIZED HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS THAT THE COMMUNITY OF THIS ELECTRIC BUSINESS WE HAVE HERE IN TEXAS, HOW THAT COMMUNITY IS SO CRITICAL TO THE VALUE AND TO THE PROGRESS AND ITS CAPABILITIES.
AND HE EMPHASIZED THAT IN EVERY ONE OF OUR INTERACTIONS.
I DIDN'T KNOW IT AT THE TIME HE WAS GOING THROUGH TREATMENTS WHEN WE WERE SPENDING THIS TIME TOGETHER, HE NEVER LET ON AND WOULD PROBABLY HAVE VERY DIFFICULT PERSONAL DAYS WHEN WE WERE SPENDING TIME TOGETHER.
BUT IT DIDN'T CHANGE THE, HIS SELFLESSNESS AND THE AMOUNT OF TIME HE SHARED WITH ME AND WITH OTHERS AS THAT, UH, THAT PERIOD OF TIME WENT ON.
I'M DEEPLY THANKFUL FOR HAVING HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO KNOW HIM FOR THE SHORT PERIOD OF TIME THAT I DID.
I'M EXTREMELY THANKFUL THAT TEXAS AND ERCOT HAD THE ACCESS TO A LEADER LIKE BRAD AND HE WAS EXACTLY WHAT THE STATE AND WHAT THE ORGANIZATION NEEDED FOLLOWING WINTER STORM URI AND ALL OF US THAT HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO KNOW BRAD ARE BETTER BECAUSE OF HIS SERVICE AND BECAUSE OF HIS FRIENDSHIP CHIP.
[4. Consent Agenda]
FOUR, OUR, UH, CONSENT AGENDA.I WILL TURN IT OVER TO CHAD TO PROVIDE THE BUDGET IMPACTS OF THE REVISION REQUESTS.
THERE ARE EIGHT REVISION REQUESTS ON THE CONSENTA.
NONE OF THEM HAVE ERCOT STAFFING IMPACTS.
TWO OF THEM HAVE ERCOT BUDGET IMPACTS.
THOSE ARE NPR 1201 AND NPR 12 0 4 12 0 1 HAS A BUDGET IMPACT OF 40,000 TO 70,000 AND WILL TAKE FOUR TO SIX MONTHS TO IMPLEMENT AFTER PUC PRIORITIZATION AND APPROVAL.
NPR 1204, WHICH IS THE CONSIDERATION OF STATED CHARGE WITH REAL-TIME, CO-OP OPTIMIZATION IMPLEMENTATION HAS A BUDGET IMPACT OF 750,000 TO 1 MILLION, BUT IS ALREADY INCLUDED IN THE RTC PROJECT.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, WITH THAT, DOES ANY BOARD MEMBER WISH TO DISCUSS OR REMOVE ANY ITEM FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA? I MOTION? I'M SORRY.
[5. October 17, 2023 General Session Meeting Minutes]
FOUR.GENERAL SESSION MEETING MINUTES.
THERE'S A DRAFT IN THE MEETING MATERIALS.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR WISH TO MAKE A MOTION? SECOND, WE HAVE A MOTION.
ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? THAT PASSES.
[6. CEO Update]
SIX, WHICH IS OUR CEO UPDATE.AND, UH, C PABLO IS UP AND READY TO GO.
THANK YOU, CHAIR, FOSTER, UH, ERCOT.
[00:10:01]
THE TIME THIS MORNING.AND AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST AS WE DISCUSSED THE IMPORTANT WORK OF ERCOT AND THE TEXAS ELECTRIC MARKET TODAY.
I WANT TO SPEND A FEW MINUTES COVERING, UH, WHERE WE STAND IN OUR WINTER PREPAREDNESS, UM, ACTIVITIES AS WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE WINTER SEASON AHEAD.
A LOT OF WORK HAS HAPPENED OVER THE COURSE OF THIS YEAR AND CONTINUES TO HAPPEN TO MAKE SURE WE'LL CONTINUE TO MEET THE RELIABILITY EXPECTATIONS OF ALL TEXANS.
I'D LIKE TO COVER SEVERAL MARKET RELATED CHANGES THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE SINCE OUR LAST BOARD MEETING.
AND THEN I'LL TOUCH, UH, BRIEFLY ON ONE OF OUR MOST IMPORTANT CRITICAL OPERATIONAL FOCUS AREAS, WHICH IS CYBERSECURITY.
TODAY, WE DO NOT HAVE, I'M NOT ASKING FOR ANY, UH, VOTING ITEMS FROM THE BOARD.
THESE ARE INTENDED TO BE, UH, DISCUSSION AND, UH, UPDATES ONLY.
SO AS WE LOOK AT OUR WINTER PREPAREDNESS, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID EARLY ON AS WE WERE COMING OUT OF THE, UH, SUMMER SEASON AND RECOGNIZED THE SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN DEMAND THAT WE HAD EXPERIENCED OVER THE SUMMER, IS WE STARTED EVALUATING WHAT WOULD BE THE IMPACT OF THAT DEMAND GROWTH DURING THE WINTER SEASON.
AND SO WE BEGAN TO WORK TO DISAGGREGATE THE COMPONENTS OF THE LOAD TO UNDERSTAND WHICH PORTIONS OF IT CAME FROM TRUE ECONOMIC GROWTH, MORE POPULATION, MORE BUSINESSES, AND WHICH OF IT CAME FROM THE EXTREME HEAT THAT WE EXPERIENCED THIS SUMMER.
AS WE'VE TALKED MANY TIMES THIS SUMMER IS THE SECOND HOTTEST SUMMER IN TEXAS ON RECORD FOLLOWING THE 2011 SUMMER.
SO CLEARLY A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THAT INCREASED DEMAND CAME FROM THAT EXTREME WEATHER.
AS WE DID THAT DISAGGREGATION, WE DID SEE THAT THERE WAS LIKELY SEVERAL THOUSAND MEGAWATTS OF THAT NEW PEAK THAT WE WERE EXPERIENCING ABOVE LAST YEAR'S PEAK.
THAT LIKELY CAME FROM ECONOMIC GROWTH.
AND AS WE LOOKED AT THAT INTO THE WINTER, WE STARTED TO RUN OUR MONTECARLO SIMULATIONS AND ANALYSIS ON HOW WOULD THE SYSTEM PERFORM DURING ITS EXPECTED TIGHTEST PERIODS UNDER DIFFERING WEATHER CONDITIONS.
WHEN WE DID THAT ANALYSIS, WE SAW THAT THE RISK OF EEA EVENTS HAS GONE UP AS A RESULT OF THE INCREASED DEMAND ON THE SYSTEM.
AND WHILE WE HAVE SEEN INCREASED GENERATION SUPPLY AS TALKED ABOUT, A LOT OF, UH, SOLAR HAS COME ONTO THE SYSTEM, BATTERIES HAVE COME ONTO THE SYSTEM IN SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS.
THERE HAS NOT BEEN AS MUCH DISPATCHABLE THERMAL RESOURCES COME UP IN COMPARISON TO THE FIRM LOAD GROWTH.
AND THE SUMMER PEAKS ARE DIFFERENT THAN THE WINTER PEAKS IN THE WINTERTIME.
THE PEAK ON THE SYSTEM TENDS TO HAPPEN IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS AS PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO WAKE UP BETWEEN SEVEN AND 8:00 AM IT'S STILL COLD FROM AN OVERNIGHT WINTER COLD, AND WE DON'T YET HAVE THE RESOURCES LIKE SOLAR RESOURCES ON THE SYSTEM AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
THAT'S TYPICALLY WHEN THE DEMAND IS HIGHEST IN THE WINTER.
AND SO AS WE EVALUATED THAT PERIOD OF TIME VERSUS WHAT WE EXPERIENCED IN THE SUMMER, IN THE SUMMER, THE ACTUAL PEAKS ARE WHEN YOU WOULD EXPECT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY WHEN IT'S SUPER HOT, FOUR, FIVE O'CLOCK.
HOWEVER, DURING THOSE PERIODS OF TIME, WHAT WE EXPERIENCE THIS SUMMER IS WE HAD ADEQUATE SOLAR RESOURCES AND, AND THERMAL SUPPLY AND WIND TO MEET THAT DEMAND THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER CONSISTENTLY.
AND WE DIDN'T SEE THE SCARCE SCARCITY PERIODS OCCUR UNTIL THE SOLAR RAMPS WHEN THE SUN WAS SETTING.
AND WE STILL HAD THE HIGH HEAT PRESENT AND WE WERE LEANING ON THE REMAINING SUPPLY RESOURCES DURING THOSE PERIODS OF TIME.
THAT'S WHY THE WINTER LOOKS QUITE A BIT DIFFERENT 'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THAT 15,000 MEGAWATTS OR SO OF SOLAR RESOURCES TO RELY ON DURING THAT SEVEN 8:00 AM PERIOD OF TIME IN THE MORNING.
AND SO THE ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT THE RISK OF EA EVENTS HAD GONE UP AS A RESULT OF THE DEMAND GROWTH DURING THOSE PERIODS OF TIME.
AND SO WE LOOKED AT WHAT RESOURCES AND TOOLS WE HAD AVAILABLE TO DEAL WITH THAT INCREASED RISK.
AND WE DECIDED THAT WITH THE PROTOCOL THAT WAS AVAILABLE AND THAT HAD BEEN CREATED FOLLOWING THE 2011 HOT SUMMER EVENT, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO GO OUT IN THE PERIOD IN THE SEASON BEFORE THE WINTER TO SEE IF THERE WAS ADDITIONAL CAPACITY THAT COULD BE PROCURED ALMOST LIKE AN INSURANCE PRODUCT TO COVER IF THERE WERE AN EXTREME SCENARIO AND TO HAVE CAPACITY TO COVER.
IN THOSE CASES, THE WE, WHAT WE DID IS WE PUT TOGETHER AN RFP FOR CAPACITY THAT COULD BE MET BY EITHER SUPPLY SIDE RESOURCES, COULD BE, UH, GENERATION RESOURCES THAT HAD RECENTLY ANNOUNCED RETIREMENT THAT HAD MOTHBALLED OR ANNOUNCED A SEASONAL RETIREMENT.
IT COULD ALSO BE FOR, UH, DEMAND RESPONSE TYPE OF RESOURCES.
SO THIS WOULD HAVE TO BE NET NEW DEMAND RESPONSE, NOT THOSE THAT ARE ALREADY PARTICIPATING IN CURRENT PROGRAMS AND COULD BE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED AS NET NEW DEMAND RESPONSE.
'CAUSE THE WHOLE INTENTION BEHIND THIS RFP IS TO FIND NEW CAPACITY THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO HELP MANAGE THAT INCREASED RISK IN THE MORNINGS.
WHAT WE REALIZED IS, AS GOING THROUGH THIS, THIS PROCESS IS THAT IT WAS QUITE A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME THAT THE MARKET REALLY HAD TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW REQUEST LIKE THIS.
AND WHILE WE WERE HOPING TO GET SOMEWHERE AROUND, YOU KNOW, UP TO 3000 MEGAWATTS OF CAPACITY, THE REALITY IS THAT WE WERE NOT ABLE TO GET THAT AMOUNT OF DEMAND RESPONSE OR, UH,
[00:15:01]
RETURN GENERATION SUPPLY TO ANY MEANINGFUL LEVEL TO MAKE IT WORTHWHILE TO GO THROUGH THE FULL, UH, IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS RFP FOR CAPACITY OR OR TO, TO SEE IT THROUGH CONCLUSION.SO GIVEN THAT WE SAW, WE ONLY SAW ABOUT 11 MEGAWATTS OF QUALIFIED RESOURCES AT THIS TIME TO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE, WE DECIDED TO GO AHEAD AND CANCEL THAT RFP FOR CAPACITY AND LEAN ON THE SIGNIFICANT, UH, RELIABILITY EFFORTS THAT WE HAVE BEEN TAKING ON OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS TO CONTINUE TO DELIVER THE RELIABILITY EXPECTATIONS OVER THE COURSE OF THIS WINTER.
IT WAS A GREAT LEARNING OPPORTUNITY, I STILL BELIEVE, AND, AND THE ERCOT MARKET STILL BELIEVES THAT THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF DEMAND RESPONSE THAT POTENTIALLY COULD BE QUANTIFIED AND CAPTURED OVER TIME.
AND I THINK THAT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO WORK WITH THE MARKET AND WITH THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION TO WORK ON DEFINING THOSE KINDS OF PRODUCTS THAT COULD BE UTILIZED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, NOT JUST DURING AN EXTREME WINTER SEASON, BUT TO HELP WITH PEAK SHAVING CAPABILITIES AT ANY POINT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA COMMIT TO DO IN 2024, IS TO, TO WORK WITH THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION AND WITH THE MARKET TO SEE WHAT THE POTENTIAL IS FOR DEMAND RESPONSE PRODUCTS THAT COULD BE BROADLY INCLUSIVE OF RESIDENTIAL PARTICIPANTS, SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPANTS, AND OF COURSE LARGE INDUSTRIALS THAT TODAY ARE THE MAJORITY PARTICIPANTS IN IN, IN OUR STRUCTURED DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS THAT, THAT ARE CUT FACILITATES.
I DO WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT THERE IS A LOT OF WORK THAT HAS GONE INTO WINTER PREPAREDNESS THIS SEASON, AND WE ARE IN AS GOOD A POSITION AS WE HAVE EVER BEEN TO DEAL WITH THE CHALLENGES THAT A WINTER SEASON CAN BRING.
OUR INSPECTION PROGRAM IS AHEAD OF PACE TO WHAT IS REQUIRED FROM A COMPLIANCE PERSPECTIVE.
WE HAVE COMPLETED OVER 1500 INSPECTIONS ACROSS GENERATION AND TRANSMISSION FACILITIES IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, AND WE HAVE CLOSE TO 500 INSPECTIONS PLANNED THIS WINTER.
WE HAVE VERY GOOD PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF RETURNS OF CERTIFICATIONS BY THE TRANSMISSION AND GENERATOR COMMUNITY.
THEY HAVE TO SUBMIT THEIR CERTIFICATIONS TO US AT THE BEGINNING OF DECEMBER ON HOW THEY ARE WEATHERIZING.
AND WE'VE RECEIVED THE LARGE MAJORITY OF ALL OF THOSE AND OUR INSPECTIONS ARE GONNA BE GOING OUT AND VERIFYING WITH THOSE OWNERS HOW THOSE, UH, HOW THAT WEATHERIZATION IS GONNA BE ACHIEVED.
THIS WINTER WILL ALSO BE THE FIRST WINTER THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE ECRS IN PLACE.
IT'S ANOTHER GOOD LEARNING OPPORTUNITY.
WE LEARNED A LOT THIS SUMMER ABOUT HOW ECRS PERFORMED AND THE ROLE THAT IT PLAYED.
THIS WILL BE OUR FIRST WINTER WITH IT.
AND SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO LEARNING, CONTINUING TO LEARN AND TAKE THOSE LEARNINGS INTO THE FUTURE USE OF IT.
I WANNA EMPHASIZE THE SUPPLY CHAIN MAP.
WE DON'T TALK A WHOLE LOT ABOUT THAT, BUT IT IS ONE OF THE COMPONENTS THAT CONTINUES TO GET UPDATED EACH YEAR, EACH QUARTER WITH NEW INFORMATION THAT COMES TO BEAR THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR MANAGING AN EMERGENCY SITUATION.
THE SUPPLY CHAIN MAP TAKES ALL OF THE ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FROM WELLHEAD ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE PRODUCTION OF ELECTRICITY AND THEN GOES BEYOND THAT TO THE CRITICAL CUSTOMERS THAT LEVERAGE, UH, ELECTRICITY AND NEED IT IN ORDER TO PROVIDE CRITICAL SERVICES TO THE STATE OR FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.
AND IT PUTS ALL OF THAT INFORMATION ON A MAP TOGETHER.
AND THAT MAP IS AVAILABLE TO THE, TO THE, UH, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
IT'S AVAILABLE TO THE TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES, TO ERCOT AND TO OTHERS WHO WOULD NEED ACCESS TO IT, TO KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH AN EMERGENCY SITUATION AND TO TARGET RESPONSES IN SUCH A WAY TO VERY QUICKLY RECOVER THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM SHOULD THERE BE A PROBLEM.
SO THAT SUPPLY CHAIN MAP CONTINUES TO GET UPDATED AND REFRESHED AND PRACTICED WITH THE, UH, INDUSTRY ON HOW TO UTILIZE IT, SHOULD WE NEED TO USE IT.
AND WE ARE CONTINUING VERY PO YOU KNOW, UH, PROACTIVE COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE PIPELINE INDUSTRY, UH, ACROSS WITH AND WITH THE ELECTRIC INDUSTRY TOGETHER TURK, THE TEXAS, UH, ENERGY RELIABILITY COUNCIL MEETS ON A REGULAR BASIS.
WE PLAN WHAT A KIND OF, UH, UH, COMMUNICATIONS ARE GONNA BE NEEDED IN THE CASE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
AND WE ARE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS ON A REGULAR BASIS.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE PIPELINE COMMUNITY IS EXTREMELY DEDICATED AND FOCUSED ON ENSURING THAT THEIR ASSETS AND RESOURCES ARE GONNA BE AVAILABLE AND WEATHERIZED AND READY TO PERFORM DURING THE WINTER AS WELL.
SO I'VE, I'VE HEARD FEEDBACK THAT AS WE TALK THROUGH THESE ISSUES, THAT THERE'S REALLY KIND OF TWO MESSAGES THAT ARE COMING OUT.
AND THESE TWO MESSAGES ARE DIFFERENT, BUT BOTH ARE TRUE.
ONE IS THERE IS INCREASING RISK.
WE SEE THAT BECAUSE OF THE INCREASED DEMAND, DEMAND IS GROWING AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE CAN MEET THAT DEMAND WITH THE RESOURCES, ALL OF THE RESOURCES SUPPLY AND, UH, DEMAND RESOURCES ON THE GRID.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE ARE AS READY AS WE HAVE EVER BEEN TO DEAL WITH THE CHALLENGES OF A WINTER SEASON.
THAT IS BECAUSE OF THE EVOLUTION IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN MAP, THE PRACTICING OF HOW TO BE READY FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT CONDITIONS, THE CONTINUED GROWTH OF A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESOURCES ON THE SYSTEM.
SO WHILE WE HAVE INCREASED RISK THAT WE HAVE TO MANAGE, WE ARE ALSO AS WELL PREPARED AS WE HAVE EVER BEEN TO
[00:20:01]
DEAL WITH THOSE RISKS.AND SO BOTH OF THOSE FACTS ARE TRUE, AND SOMETIMES THEY CAN SEEM AT ODDS WITH EACH OTHER, BUT THEY'RE REALLY TWO INDEPENDENT POINTS, POINTS THAT ARE BOTH ACCURATE AND BOTH REFLECT THE STATE OF WHERE WE ARE AS WE HEAD INTO THIS WINTER SEASON.
SO LET ME PAUSE THERE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS OR ANY FEEDBACK BEFORE I MOVE ON TO SOME OF OUR MARKET UPDATES.
SO I WANTED TO SHARE, UH, A CHANGE THAT IS COMING AS A RESULT OF, UH, CONTINUED CONVERSATION.
AND AGAIN, AS, AS WE ARE ALWAYS SHOWING HERE IN ERCOT, WE ARE AGILE AND READY TO BE RESPONSIVE TO THE NEEDS OF THE MARKET.
OUR INITIAL PLAN WITH DRRS WAS TO PR DEVELOP THE DISPATCHABLE RELIABILITY RESERVE SERVICE AS A COMPONENT OF THE NONS SPIN ANCILLARY SERVICE.
AND THE DRIVER FOR DOING THIS WAS TO BE ABLE TO MEET A STATUTORY DATE OF DECEMBER OF 2024.
AND WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE, UH, RESOURCES REQUIRED AND THE TECHNICAL CHANGES REQUIRED IN ORDER TO DEVELOP THIS NEW ANCILLARY SERVICE, IT WAS REALLY THE ONLY PATH THAT WE COULD DO IT WITH ADEQUATE TESTING AND ENSURE THAT THE QUALITY WOULD MEET ALL EXPECTATIONS.
WE THEN HAVE RECEIVED FEEDBACK SUBSEQUENTLY THE, FROM THE LEGISLATIVE LEADERSHIP, FROM BOTH THE LEADERSHIP IN THE SENATE AND IN THE HOUSE, THAT REALLY THE INTENTION BEHIND, UH, THE REQUIREMENT FOR DEVELOPING DRRS, WHICH WAS PUT INTO HOUSE BILL 1500, REALLY WANTED IT TO BE MORE OF A STANDALONE TYPE OF AN ANCILLARY SERVICE THAT COULD EVENTUALLY BE CO OPTIMIZED WITH ALL OF THE ANCILLARY SERVICES DOWN THE ROAD.
AND SO WE RECEIVED A LETTER REQUESTING OF THE, THE COMMISSION TO CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF THE RR RSS BEING AS A SUB DEVELOPED ANCILLARY SERVICES TO NONS SPIN AND TO ACTUALLY DEVELOP IT AS A STANDALONE, UM, STANDALONE ANCILLARY SERVICE.
SO AS A RESULT OF THAT, FIRST OFF, ERCOT FULLY SUPPORTS THAT DIRECTION.
WE THINK IT'S THE RIGHT DIRECTION IN TERMS OF HOW TO DEVELOP THIS ANCILLARY SERVICE.
WE HEARD CONVERSATION AND DISCUSSION AT THE DIOCESE WHEN THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION DISCUSSED THAT IN THEIR OPEN MEETING.
AND WE ARE ALL OF THE SAME, UH, MIND THAT IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO DEVELOP DRRS IN THIS WAY.
AND SO WHAT WE INTEND TO DO IS TO WITHDRAW NPRR 1203, WHICH WAS DESIGNED TO SET IT UP FOR THE SUB COMPONENT OF, UH, NONS SPIN.
AND THEY'LL BE DEVELOPING IT AS A STANDALONE BASIS, RECOGNIZING THAT THE SCHEDULE OBLIGATION OF DECEMBER, 2024 WILL NOT ABLE TO BE, UH, MET, WILL HAVE TO BE, WILL HAVE TO TAKE THE TIME TO DEVELOP IT AS A FULL STANDALONE ANCILLARY SERVICE, AND WILL LIKELY TAKE A PERIOD OF TIME, PROBABLY A YEAR OR TWO LONGER, AND WE'LL EVALUATE THE BEST TIMETABLE TO ROLL THIS OUT AS WE'RE WORKING ON RTC.
AND AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, RTC REMAINS OUR TOP PRIORITY INITIATIVE BECAUSE OF THE SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT THAT IT OFFERS TO THE ENTIRE MARKET BY GETTING THAT ROLLED OUT AND ACTIVE.
AND SO WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION WITH A SCHEDULE ON DRRS THAT FACTORS IN THE TIMETABLE OF RTC AS WELL AS THE OTHER MANDATES THAT CAME THROUGH THE LEGISLATION THIS LAST SESSION THAT WE'RE GONNA BE DEVELOPING.
IN ADDITION, THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT PASSAGE OF, UH, A PROPOSITION TIED TO SENATE BILL 26 27, UH, THAT TRANSLATED INTO PROPOSITION SEVEN THAT WAS ON THE BALLOT THIS LAST NOVEMBER, WHICH CREATES THE TEXAS ENERGY FUND.
THIS COMPONENT NEEDED TO BE PASSED BY THE VOTERS OF TEXAS IN ORDER TO CREATE THE, UH, FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO OFFER WHAT SENATE BILL 26 27 LAID OUT.
WHAT THIS IS GONNA PROVIDE IS LOW INTEREST FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISPATCHABLE THERMAL GENERATION IN TEXAS.
PROJECTS ARE GONNA HAVE TO BE SIZED AT LEAST 100 MEGAWATTS IN SIZE IN ORDER TO QUALIFY.
AND THEN IN ORDER TO, THERE'S, THERE'S ALSO AN ELEMENT OF A COMPLETION BONUS, WHICH IS AVAILABLE FOR RESOURCES.
IT'S A TIERED COMPLETION BONUS BASED ON WHEN THE ASSET GOES INTO SERVICE.
THERE'S A HIGHER BONUS IF IT GOES INTO SERVICE BY JUNE OF 2026, AND THEN A STEP DOWN BONUS IF IT GOES INTO SERVICE BY JUNE OF 2029.
SO I WANTED TO, UH, EMPHASIZE THAT WITH THE PASSAGE OF THIS, UM, PROPOSITION AND WITH THE CREATION OF THE FUND, THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE READY TO HELP MANAGE THAT PROCESS ON THE GENERATION INTER UH, CONNECTION Q SIDE.
AND THIS IS A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE TIMELINE AND THE DATES.
SO BY JUNE OF NEXT YEAR, UH, THE PUCT NEEDS TO BE, UH, BEGIN ACCEPTING, UH, LOAN APPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES.
UH, THE DECEMBER 31 OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR, 2025 IS THE DATE BY WHICH INITIAL DISBURSEMENTS, UH, HAVE TO BE APPROVED FOR THE, FOR THOSE APPROVED LOANS.
THEN YOU'VE GOT THE TIERED COMPLETION BONUS STATES, AND THEN THE EXPIRATION, UH, IN STATUTE IS SEPTEMBER OF 2050.
SO WE ARE READY HERE FOR ANY, UH, THERMAL DISPATCHABLE FACILITIES THAT ARE GONNA BE COMING INTO THE QUEUE AS A RESULT OF SOME OF THE INCENTIVES THAT HAVE BEEN LAID OUT.
I WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT, YOU KNOW, THE WAY THAT THE THE ERCOT GENERATION INTERCONNECTION
[00:25:01]
QUEUE WORKS IS IT'S A PROCESS THAT MOVES RESOURCES IN THROUGH A STUDY STAGE ALL THE WAY THROUGH CONNECTION STAGE THAT INVOLVES ERCOT, THE RESOURCE ENTITIES THAT ARE ACTUALLY DEVELOPING THE ASSETS AND THE TRANSMISSION PROVIDERS.WE HAVE DIFFERENT PROCESSES FOR RUNNING THIS GENERATION INTERCONNECTION QUEUE THAN A LOT OF OTHER GRIDS DO IN THE UNITED STATES.
OUR PROCESSES ARE, UH, IN, IN, IN MANY WAYS MORE EFFICIENT AND HELP TO FACILITATE GET GETTING GENERATORS ONLINE ON OUR GRID MUCH MORE QUICKLY.
AND THERE'S SOME KEY DIFFERENCES AS TO WHY THAT IS THE CASE.
IN ERCOT, WE PRIORITIZE GENERATE, UH, THERMAL DISPATCHABLE GENERATION ABOVE, UH, INTERMITTENT RESOURCES.
SO THAT IS A DIRECTIVE THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED, AND WE ARE ABLE TO PROCESS DISPATCHABLE GENERATORS FIRST AS THEY COME INTO THE QUEUE IN ORDER TO PRIORITIZE THEIR INTERCONNECTION PROCESS.
WE ALSO ARE NOT LIMITED BY STAFFING LIMITATIONS IF THAT QUEUE GROWS VERY QUICKLY BECAUSE WE CONTRACT OUT A LOT OF THE ENTRY LEVEL TYPE ENGINEERS THAT DO THE STUDY WORK FOR THE GENERATION OF CONNECTION PROCESS, AND WE CAN FLEX THAT UP AND DOWN AS NEEDED AS THE QUEUE GROWS.
AND THAT'S NOT AN INCREMENTAL COST TO RATE PAYERS BECAUSE THOSE CHARGES ARE PASSED ON TO THE GENERATORS THAT ARE COMING INTO THE QUEUE.
SO THE GENERATORS EFFECTIVELY PAY FOR THAT FLEXIBILITY TO BE ABLE TO MOVE THE RESOURCES THROUGH MORE QUICKLY.
IN ADDITION, WE ALSO HAVE PROCESSES IN OUR INTERCONNECTION QUEUE THAT ALLOWS SMALL GENERATION TO MOVE THROUGH WITH A MORE, UH, SIMPLE AND FACILITATED PROCESS.
IT ALSO, OUR QUEUE ALLOWS THE SCREENING STUDIES TO HAPPEN AT THE SAME TIME AND IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE FULL INTERCONNECTION STUDIES.
SO THAT SIMULTANEOUS PROCESSING OF THOSE STUDIES ALSO HELPS TO FACILITATE QUICKER MOVEMENT.
IN ADDITION, WE DON'T HAVE TRANSMISSION RIGHTS ISSUES LIKE OTHER REGIONS WHERE IT'S A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS.
AND PLACING, UH, TRANSMISSION, UH, OR PROJECTS INTO THE QUEUE BECOMES A VERY, YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANT ISSUE IN OTHER, IN OTHER REGIONS.
AND WE HAVE THE BENEFIT OF BEING, YOU KNOW, GOVERNED BY ONE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION.
AND SO DECISIONS, UH, AROUND HOW THINGS CHANGE AND MOVE THROUGH THE PROCESS CAN BE DONE THROUGH ONE SINGLE STATE REGULATORY BODY.
SO ALL OF THESE FACTORS HELP TO MAKE THE PROCESSING OF GENERATION THROUGH THE ERCOT INTERCONNECTION QUEUE AS EFFICIENT AS WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE.
WE'RE ALWAYS CONTINUING TO FOCUS ON HOW TO IMPROVE IT AND DO IT BETTER, BUT WE DON'T FACE A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT YOU ARE READING IN THE PAPERS ABOUT HOW SOME OTHER REGIONS ARE REALLY STRUGGLING TO GET RESOURCES CONNECTED TO THE GRID.
RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE OVER 1600 PROJECTS IN OUR QUEUE.
WE HAD A RECORD YEAR IN 20 23, 800 NEW PROJECTS IN 2023 ALONE.
OUT OF THOSE 1600, AND SINCE APRIL OF THIS YEAR, APRIL OF 2023, WE'VE SEEN OVER 50,000 MEGAWATTS OF NEW BATTERY INTEREST IN CONNECTING INTO THE ERCOT QUEUE, AS WELL AS OVER 7,700 MEGAWATTS OF NEW GAS DISPATCHABLE GENERATION EXPRESSING INTEREST BY COMING INTO THE QUEUE.
THOSE ARE RECORD NUMBERS, AND WE ARE READY TO HELP MANAGE AND FACILITATE THOSE RESOURCES COMING THROUGH THE QUEUE QUICKLY.
I'LL PAUSE THERE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS ON ANYTHING THAT I'VE COVERED AS IT RELATES TO THE, SOME OF THE MARKET CHANGES AND OUR GENERATION INTERCONNECTION QUEUE.
SO THEN TO, UH, TO MOVE FORWARD, JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT SOME, UH, PROGRESS THAT CONTINUES TO BE MADE IN OUR TRANSPARENCY IN OUR COMMUNICATIONS.
OUR, UH, COMMUNICATIONS TEAM AND OUR OPERATIONS TEAM HAVE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY TOGETHER TO TRY TO, UH, ILLUSTRATE FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE ERCOT GRID, MAKING IT MORE EASY TO UNDERSTAND.
WE JUST LAUNCHED THIS ENERGY STORAGE RESOURCE DASHBOARD.
UH, IT IS NOW AVAILABLE ON ERCOT.COM.
IT PROVIDES A GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF TOTAL DISCHARGING, TOTAL CHARGING, AND NET OUTPUT FROM ENERGY STORAGE RESOURCES USING REALTIME TER DATA THAT IS UPDATED EVERY FIVE MINUTES.
ONE INDUSTRY PUBLICATION NOTED THAT THIS DASHBOARD IS THE MOST CLEAR AND TRANSPARENT BATTERY STORAGE DASHBOARD THAT THEY HAVE SEEN IN ANY MARKET ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
IT HELPS TO KIND OF SHOW THE DYNAMIC NATURE OF HOW BATTERIES PERFORM AND HOW FLEXIBLE THEY ARE IN REAL TIME TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A VARIETY OF SERVICES.
SO A BIG THANKS TO OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND OPERATIONS TEAM HELPING TO CONTINUE TO ILLUMINATE WHAT'S GOING ON ON THE ERCOT GRID, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO SEE PROGRESS AND NEW DASHBOARDS COMING OUT IN 2024 AS WELL.
THEN LATE, UH, IN THE SECOND, UH, HALF OF THIS YEAR SINCE OUR LAST BOARD MEETING, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF PRETTY SIGNIFICANT, UH, CYBERSECURITY PREPARATION EVENTS THAT I WANTED TO NOTE.
ONE OF THEM WAS THAT WE COORDINATED WITH THE US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND THE, UH, IDAHO NATIONAL LABS TO FACILITATE A CYBER STRIKE, UH, CYBER ATTACK EVENT, WHICH WAS, UH, BASED ON REAL EVENTS THAT OCCURRED IN RUSSIA AND IN UKRAINE, UH, IN, UH, IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT, UH, PAST.
AND IT WAS, I WAS HERE FOR THAT TRAINING.
IT WAS REALLY QUITE INCREDIBLE.
THEY BROUGHT IN ACTUAL, UM, UNITS LIKE, UH, CONTROL UNITS THAT WOULD BE
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REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT OPERATORS IN A CONTROL ROOM WOULD'VE UTILIZED DURING THAT PERIOD.AND THEY WERE ABLE TO WALK THROUGH THE SERIES OF EVENTS THAT OCCURRED DURING THESE ATTACKS, WHAT THE OPERATORS ACTUALLY SAW, AND THEN TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE WITH THE ACTUAL CONTROL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE TO PRACTICE WHAT WOULD BE DONE IN THE CASE OF SOMETHING LIKE THIS OCCURRING AGAIN, IT, IT WAS WELL ATTENDED ACROSS THE MARKET AND, UH, AND REALLY A VERY HIGH QUALITY TRAINING EVENT THAT HELPS TO ADVANCE THE, THE READINESS AND THE CAPABILITIES OF ERCOT AND THE MARKET FOR THESE TYPES OF EVENTS.
AND THEN IN ADDITION, WE HAD GRID X THIS LAST MONTH.
GRID X IS A LARGE, UH, CYBER PREPARATION EVENT THAT TAKES PLACE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
THIS WAS A JOINT EFFORT WHERE TEXAS A AND M HELPED TO FACILITATE THIS WORK.
AND WE HAD PARTICIPATION BY ERCOT, BY THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS, THE FBI AND THE TAYLOR POLICE DEPARTMENT, ALL PARTICIPATING TOGETHER IN A HALF DAY DRILL OF AN ESCALATING SCENARIO OF A CYBER ATTACK EVENT, SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE A REALISTIC POTENTIAL OUTCOME.
IT WAS GREAT LEARNINGS FROM A COMMUNICATIONS AND OPERATIONS POINT OF VIEW, AND IT'S THE KIND OF EVENTS THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO HOST IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BROADER MARKET IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE READY FOR ANYTHING THAT COMES OUR WAY.
SO, LIKE I ALWAYS LIKE TO CONCLUDE MY REMARKS.
I'D LIKE TO, UM, OFFER MY THANKS AND GRATITUDE TO THE TEAM THAT VERY QUICKLY PULLED TOGETHER THIS RFP FOR CAPACITY.
AND EVEN THOUGH IT DIDN'T RESULT IN, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL MEGAWATTS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE, UH, THIS WINTER FOR AN AS AN INSURANCE PRODUCT, IT REPRESENTED THE AGILITY AND THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE ORGANIZATION TO RESPOND TO EMERGING NEEDS AND RISKS.
AND A BROAD TEAM NEEDED TO WORK VERY QUICKLY TO PUT TOGETHER A STRUCTURE, A PROCESS, AND GET THAT LAID OUT FOR THE MARKET AT LARGE.
SO I WANT TO THANK ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WORKED VERY HARD TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN ON A VERY QUICK BASIS, AND THE LEARNINGS THAT WE TOOK FROM IT, OUR LEARNINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO LEVERAGE IN THE COMING YEAR AS WE LOOK FOR WAYS TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THE DEMAND RESPONSE SIDE OF THIS CAPABILITY.
I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR, UH, FEEDBACK.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR PABLO? THANK YOU, CHAIR.
UH, NEXT IS AGENDA ITEM SEVEN,
[7. 2023-2024 Winter Weather Update]
THE 20 23 20 24 WINTER WEATHER UPDATE.UH, CHRIS COLEMAN, WHO'S ERCOT LEAD METEOROLOGIST IS HERE TO PRESENT THIS ITEM.
NOW I'M, NOW I'M A LITTLE TOO LOUD.
UH, THANKS FOR, UH, HAVING ME BACK.
IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO SPEAK IN FRONT OF THE BOARD.
AND, UH, SO TODAY I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU MY THOUGHTS ON THE, WELL, THE WINTER THAT'S NOW IN PLACE, UH, AND THE REMAINDER OF THE WINTER HERE.
UM, SO, UH, LET'S GO AHEAD TO SLIDE TWO HERE.
TO START, HOLD ON JUST A SECOND.
OH,
UH, TO START, UH, AS YOU'RE ALL AWARE, UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF AN EL NINO.
UH, A YEAR AGO WE WERE TALKING ABOUT A LA NINA.
UM, SO WE STARTED THIS YEAR STILL WITH THE LA NINA IN PLACE, UH, THROUGH WINTER OF LAST YEAR.
AND THEN IT QUICKLY TRANSITIONED TO AN EL NINO, UH, DURING THE SPRING SEASON.
IN FACT, THAT WAS THE MOST AGGRESSIVE, FASTEST CHANGE TO AN EL NINO FROM ALAN NINA SINCE 1972.
UH, OR ACTUALLY THE FASTEST CHANGE TO AN EL NINO SINCE 72 AND THE FASTEST COMING OFF OF LA NINA SINCE 1965.
SO, AGAIN, A VERY RARE OCCURRENCE.
YOU'RE GONNA HEAR THAT THROUGHOUT MY PRESENTATION TODAY, UH, JUST HOW UNUSUAL THIS YEAR WAS AND HOW MUCH THAT IS IMPACTING MY THOUGHTS ON THE, UH, THE WINTER SEASON.
UH, WE REACHED THE STRONG THRESHOLD FOR THE, UH, EL NINO IN LATE AUGUST, UH, WHERE ACTUALLY NOW BORDERLINE, UH, VERY STRONG CATEGORY, WHICH HAS ONLY HAPPENED A HANDFUL OF TIMES.
UH, SO THIS IS LIKELY GOING TO BE ONE OF THE TOP FIVE STRONGEST EL NINOS ON RECORD, AND IT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WINTER SEASON.
UH, SO IT WILL HAVE AN IMPACT HERE.
UH, THE, THE PICTURES THERE ON THIS SLIDE, UH, THE TOP LEFT SHOWS YOU, UH, THAT'S A PROBABILITY OF THE
[00:35:01]
EL NINO CONTINUING, AND THOSE ARE THREE MONTH INCREMENTS.SO THE ND J NOVEMBER, DECEMBER, JANUARY, AND SO FORTH.
SO THROUGH, UH, MARCH, APRIL, MAY, UH, YOU'RE ABOUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GRAPH THERE.
THE RED BAR IS AN EL NINO WITH, UH, YOU'RE STILL LOOKING AT, UH, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 85 AND 90% PROBABILITY, UH, INTO MID-SPRING.
AND THEN SOME POINT IN THE SUMMER, UH, AT LEAST FROM THIS MODEL, UH, THE ODDS ARE LEANING TOWARDS THOSE GRAY BARS, WHICH IS NEUTRAL, NEITHER EL NINO OR LA NINA.
BUT GIVEN HOW UNUSUAL THIS IS, YOU KNOW, I WOULDN'T PUT A LOT OF STOCK IN THAT, UH, AT LOOKING OUT TO THE SUMMER, AT LEAST THROUGH, UH, EARLY SPRING.
I THINK WE'VE, UH, WE'RE DEFINITELY GOING TO HAVE THE EL NINO IN PLACE.
UH, AND THEN BELOW THERE, ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT, I ACTUALLY LISTED EVERY, UH, WINTER THAT HAD AN EL NINO, UH, IN PLACE.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE MOST RECENT.
SO IT'S ALL CHRONOLOGICAL, UH, STARTING WITH THE MOST RECENT BEFORE THIS YEAR, WHICH WAS 20 19, 20 20, UH, ALL OF THOSE IN RED, UH, YOU SEE LIKE A HUNDRED 12TH COLDEST FOR THE FIRST YEAR THERE.
ALL THOSE IN RED WOULD BE IN THE WARMEST THIRD OF ALL WINTERS FOR TEXAS.
AND YOU SEE, MOST RECENTLY, UH, DATING BACK TO THE EARLY NINETIES, THE TOP OF THE SECOND, UH, COLUMN THERE, 91, 92, MOST OF THOSE EL NINO WINTERS HAVE BEEN WARM.
UH, BUT THEN PRIOR TO THE NINETIES, MOST OF THE EL NINOS ACTUALLY RESULTED IN A COLD WINTER FOR TEXAS.
AND THE COLDEST WINTER SINCE 2001 OCCURRED DURING AN EL NINO.
AND THAT WAS THE 2009, 2010 WINTER.
BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, WE'VE HAD MANY MORE WARM WINTERS, UH, THAN COLD WINTERS IN RECENT, UH, THE LAST TWO OR THREE DECADES.
ALL RIGHT, NOW ONTO THE UNUSUAL PATTERN HERE.
UH, THE TOP RIGHT LARGEST IMAGE IS THE OCEAN TEMPERATURES, AND, UH, IT'S CENTERED THERE OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN.
AND I DON'T HAVE A POINTER, DO I? PENNY? NO POINTER.
UM, WELL, IF YOU CAN LOOK OFF THE COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA AND TO THE LEFT, YOU SEE, UH, UH, SOME DARK RED THAT WOULD BE MUCH ABOVE TO NORMAL TEMPERATURES, UH, FOR THE, UH, PACIFIC OCEAN, RIGHT ALONG THE EQUATOR, THAT'S WHERE YOU FIND THE EL NINO.
SO AN EL NINO IS WARMER THAN NORMAL WATER, UH, SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES, UH, ALONG IN EITHER SIDE OF THE EQUATOR OFF THE, UH, THE SOUTH AMERICAN COAST.
AND YOU SEE A LOT OF YELLOWS AND ORANGES AND REDS UP THERE.
THIS IS, UH, A VERY WARM PATTERN FOR ALL OF THE OCEANS.
WHAT MAKES THIS UNUSUAL IS, AND I'VE MENTIONED THIS IN PAST, UH, BOARD MEETINGS AND OTHER MEETINGS, UH, THE PDO, THE PACIFIC DECAL OSCILLATION, WHICH IS A CYCLE IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN, UH, THAT USUALLY VARIES FROM 10 TO 30 YEARS BEFORE IT FLIPS THE OTHER DIRECTION.
WELL, IT IS CURRENTLY, UH, IN AN UNCOMMON PHASE FOR AN EL NINO, UH, WHICH IS, IT IS CURRENTLY IN A NEGATIVE PHASE, WHICH YOU SEE THE TWO DIFFERENT ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT, TWO DIFFERENT PDO UH, POSSIBILITIES, THE POSITIVE PHASE AND THE NEGATIVE PHASE.
THE, THE NEGATIVE PHASE IS TYPICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH AN LAINA.
SO THIS IS, AGAIN, AS A VERY UNUSUAL PATTERN.
WE HAVE A NEGATIVE PDO, UH, WHICH WITH THE NEGATIVE, UH, YOU SEE THE WARMEST WATERS ARE OVER THE, UH, UH, NORTHWEST PACIFIC, UH, OFF THE, UM, JAPAN, KOREA, THAT AREA, UH, COASTLINE AND IT'S COOLER OFF THE, UH, NORTH AMERICAN COAST.
UH, SO THAT'S BACKWARDS FOR WHAT YOU NORMALLY WOULD SEE FOR NAIL NINO.
UM, AND THEN A COUPLE OTHER COMMENTS OF JUST HOW UNUSUAL THIS IS.
UH, I LOOK BACK AT LAST SPRING, AND IF YOU REMEMBER LAST SPRING HERE, WE ACTUALLY WERE NICE AND GREEN.
WE HAD QUITE A BIT OF RAIN, UH, THAT WAS TRUE ACROSS, UH, MOST OF TEXAS.
AND, UH, THAT'S USUALLY A GOOD SIGN HEADING INTO THE SUMMER.
UH, WE WENT FROM THE 80TH, DRIEST APRIL, MAY, JUNE PERIOD, UH, THIS YEAR TO A VERY HOT, AS PABLO MENTIONED, THE SECOND HOTTEST ON RECORD BETW BEHIND 2011 AND DRY SUMMER, THE SEVENTH DRIEST ON RECORD.
WHEN I GIVE YOU THESE TEMPERATURE RANKINGS, THIS GOES BACK, OR PRECIPITATION RANKINGS GOES BACK TO 1895.
SO YOU'RE AT A HUNDRED TWENTY EIGHT, A HUNDRED TWENTY NINE YEARS OF RECORD, UH, FOR THESE, UH, THESE RANKINGS THAT I'M, I'M, UH,
[00:40:01]
MENTIONING HERE.SO IN OTHER WORDS, WE HAD A WET THAN NORMAL, UH, MID-SPRING TO EARLY SUMMER PERIOD, UH, AND OUR OTHER THREE HOTTEST SUMMERS ON RECORD, 2011 BEING NUMBER 1 20 22, UH, YEAR, A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO NOW.
THAT WAS ACTUALLY OUR SECOND HOTTEST UNTIL 2023 CAME ALONG.
SO THOSE OTHER THREE HOTTEST SUMMERS ALL WERE PRECEDED BY A TOP SEVEN DRIEST, APRIL, MAY, JUNE.
UH, THAT'S USUALLY HOW IT WORKS HERE IN TEXAS.
YOU HAVE A DRY SPRING, YOU HAVE MUCH BETTER CHANCE, UH, FOR A HOT SUMMER OR HOTTER THAN NORMAL SUMMER.
WE DID NOT HAVE A DRY SPRING, AND YET WE ENDED UP WITH THE SECOND HOTTEST SUMMER ON RECORD.
SO AGAIN, JUST POINTING OUT HOW UNUSUAL, UH, THIS YEAR HAS BEEN.
IN FACT, I WENT BACK AND LOOKED, WE'VE NEVER SEEN A FLIP FROM THAT WET OF A MID-SPRING TO EARLY SUMMER TO THAT HOT OF A SUMMER OR ANYWHERE CLOSE TO THAT.
ALL RIGHT, ONTO THE, UH, THE FULL YEAR.
AND YOU SEE THE FIRST BULLET POINT THERE, UH, IS THROUGH OCTOBER ACTUALLY, JUST, UH, THE NOVEMBER NUMBERS HAVE BE, UH, BECOME AVAILABLE SINCE I PUT THESE SLIDES TOGETHER.
SO JANUARY THROUGH NOVEMBER OF THIS YEAR, UH, 2023 IS STILL THE NUMBER ONE WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD.
AND GIVEN HOW, UH, WE'RE OVER HALFWAY THROUGH DECEMBER NOW, UH, WHICH IS ABOVE NORMAL DECEMBER, THIS IS VERY LIKELY GOING TO BE OUR WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD, UH, FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS GLOBALLY AS WELL.
UM, AGAIN, DATING BACK TO 1895.
AND YOU, YOU NOTICE THAT NOTE THAT THE, ACTUALLY THROUGH NOVEMBER, IT'S THE FIVE WARMEST JANUARY THROUGH NOVEMBER, UH, PERIODS HAVE ALL OCCURRED THIS CENTURY, AND SEVEN OF THE TOP EIGHT.
UH, BUT YEAH, ALL THOSE YEARS, UH, 20 23, 20 11, 2000, 2012, UH, THOSE OF ALL, UH, AGAIN, THIS CENTURY WE'RE SEEING MANY MORE, UH, ABOVE NORMAL HOTTEST TOP 10 HOTTEST, UH, YEARS, UH, THAN WE'VE SEEN PRIOR TO THIS CENTURY.
AND LET'S SEE, JANUARY THROUGH OCTOBER, I DIDN'T, UH, UPDATE THROUGH NOVEMBER RAINED.
IT'S THE 34TH DRIEST JANUARY THROUGH OCTOBER, ACTUALLY, I'M SURE IT'S EVEN DRIER, UH, BECAUSE NOVEMBER WAS MUCH DRIER THAN OCTOBER HERE IN TEXAS.
AND, UH, IT WILL GO DOWN AS ONE OF THE DRIEST, UH, THIS CENTURY AS WELL, LIKELY TOP THREE.
OH, AND THE TWO GRAPHS THERE, UH, ON THE RIGHT THERE, THIS IS THE TEXAS TEMPERATURES THERE DATING BACK TO 1895.
AND I PUT THE, THE NORMAL IS THE BLACK LINE.
THAT'S A 15 YEAR NORMAL, UH, THAT YOU SEE.
AND LET'S SEE, IT'S RIGHT, BE RIGHT BELOW 69 DEGREES.
UH, IT WOULD BE YOUR NORMAL, THIS IS YOUR YEAR TO DATE TEMPERATURE.
UH, AND YOU CAN SEE HOW MOST RECENT YEARS, THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE THE MOST FREQUENTLY ABOVE THE 15 YEAR NORMAL.
AND THEN THE BOTTOM IS THE GLOBAL TEMPERATURES, UH, ALSO DATING BACK TO 1895, AND YOU CAN SEE THE OBVIOUS TREND THERE AS WELL.
SO I WANTED TO LOOK AT WHAT THIS HAPPENED THIS YEAR THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER RECENT YEARS THAT ADDED TO THIS WARM, HOW COULD WE HAVE GONE FROM A WET SPRING TO THE SECOND HOTTEST SUMMER ON RECORD? AND THESE ARE A FEW OF THE, UM, FACTORS THAT, THAT LIKELY ADDED TO THE WARMTH, UH, BUT LIKELY NOT THE ONLY ONES.
BUT A FEW TO POINT OUT HERE, UH, IF YOU RECALL IN JANUARY, 2022, THIS WAS IN THE NEWS, THERE WAS A LARGE VOLCANO, UH, THAT ERUPTED OVER THE SOUTH PACIFIC NEAR TONGA.
AND, UH, BONUS POINTS FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO ATTEMPT TO PRONOUNCE, UH, THAT VOLCANO'S NAME
UH, IT WAS AN UNDERWATER VOLCANO, UH, THAT THAT'S WHAT MADE IT INTERESTING.
BUT IT WAS THE SECOND LARGEST VOLCANIC EXPLOSION, UH, ON EARTH SINCE MOUNT PINATUBO IN 1991 IN THE PHILIPPINES.
UH, THIS ACTUALLY THAT PHILIPPINES, HURRICANE MOUNT PINATUBO HAD AN OPPOSITE EFFECT OF THE TONGA HURRICANE.
UH, IT HAD AN OPPOSITE EFFECT OF THE TONGA VOLCANO IN THAT THE MOUNT PINATUBO VOLCANO, UH, SPEWED ASH INTO THE STRATOSPHERE AND ACTUALLY LED TO A GLOBAL COOLING IN THIS CASE, BECAUSE IT HAPPENED UNDERGROUND OR UNDER THE OCEAN SURFACE, UH, THE ASH WAS NOT AS MUCH OF A FACTOR, NOT NEARLY AS MUCH OF A
[00:45:01]
FACTOR.AND WHAT IT DID WAS IT EVAPORATED, UH, MILLIONS, 50 MILLION TONS OF WATER, AND, UH, TURNED THAT INTO WATER VAPOR THAT WENT INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, UH, EJECTED INTO THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.
AND AS YOU KNOW, UH, WATER VAPOR, OR YOU MAY KNOW, UH, ACTUALLY HAS A WARMING EFFECT.
SO THIS HAD THE OPPOSITE OF MOUNT PINATUBO BECAUSE THIS VOLCANO HAPPENED UNDER THE SURFACE, UH, OF THE OCEAN, AND IT ACTUALLY DID ADD TO SOME WARMING, WHICH USUALLY WITH GIVEN MOUNT PUNA TURBO FOR A REFERENCE, AGAIN, QUITE A BIT DIFFERENCE.
IT HAS ABOUT A TWO TO THREE YEAR PERIOD, UH, OF IMPACT OR INFLUENCING THE WEATHER PATTERNS, UH, ACROSS THE GLOBE.
SO I WOULD EXPECT SOMEWHERE HERE IN 2024 WHERE THIS SHOULD START TO FADE, BUT IT LIKELY DID HAVE SOME IMPACT HERE THIS YEAR.
AND ALSO THE SOLAR MAX, AS YOU'VE BEEN HEARING HERE IN THE NEWS WITH THE NORTHERN LIGHTS OR AURORA BOREALIS BECOMING MORE ACTIVE HERE, EVEN THOUGH WE TEND NOT TO GET, UH, THAT FORTUNATE HERE IN TEXAS, AND ACTUALLY THAT'S PROBABLY FOR THE BEST.
UM, WE'RE IN A MORE ACTIVE SOLAR PATTERN, AND THAT'S THE BO BOTTOM RIGHT GRAPH.
AND WE'RE LOOKING AT SOMEWHERE HERE IN THE NEXT, UH, 12 TO 18 MONTHS WHERE THIS SOLAR CYCLE PEAKS, UH, WHERE WE HAVE OUR MOST ACTIVE POINT OF THE SUN.
AND THAT DOES ACTUALLY ADD TO SOME, UH, WARMING OF THE PLANET AS WELL.
AND THEN LAST, THE EL NINO, WHICH IS GENERALLY A WARMER PATTERN THAN A LA NINA.
UH, AGAIN, THERE'S LIKELY SOME OTHER FACTORS, BUT THAT'S SOME OF THE THINGS THAT MADE 2023 DIFFERENT THAN SAY 2011, UH, WHERE WE DID NOT HAVE THOSE IN PLACE.
ALL RIGHT, UH, THIS, UH, I'M SHOWING YOU LAST WINTER HERE, UH, TO GIVE YOU A, UH, REFERENCE, AND THAT'S THE MEAN TEMPERATURES, THE, THE MAP ON THE LEFT AND THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURES.
SO YOUR MORNING LOWS AND YOUR 24 HOUR AVERAGE OVER THE ENTIRE SEASON ARE THOSE TWO MAPS.
LAST WINTER WAS THE SIXTH WARMEST ON RECORD DATING BACK TO 1895.
AND UH, IT'S A GREAT POINT, BUT THIS, UH, IF YOU RECALL, RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS LAST YEAR, WE HAD AN EXTREME COLD.
IN FACT, IF IT WASN'T FOR YURI IN FEBRUARY, 2021, THAT WOULD'VE BEEN OUR COLDEST PERIOD SINCE 1989.
SO THAT WAS OUR SECOND COLDEST PERIOD SINCE DECEMBER, 1989, THIS LAST DECEMBER, RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS.
AND YET WE HAD THE SIXTH WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD FOR THE STATE.
SO WHENEVER I GIVE YOU A SEASONAL FORECAST, AND ESPECIALLY FOR WINTER, UH, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS, I, I PREACH THIS TO EVERY GROUP I TALK TO, UH, INCLUDING OUR WEATHERIZATION TEAM.
YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO TAKE EACH WINTER WITH THE APPROACH THAT AN EXTREME EVENT COULD OCCUR BECAUSE THEY CAN OCCUR IN A VERY WARM WINTER, AS WE SAW JUST THIS LAST WINTER.
UH, THERE, THE WINTER SEASON, UNLIKE THE SUMMER, IS VERY VOLATILE, CHANGEABLE PATTERN.
AND IT CAN FLIP FROM 80 DEGREES TO 15 DEGREES IN A MATTER OF 24 HOURS.
UH, YOU DON'T SEE THOSE BIG SWINGS IN THE SUMMER.
SO AGAIN, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING YOU WANT THE MINDSET YOU NEED TO TAKE GOING INTO EACH SUMMER, NO MATTER WHAT TYPE OF A SEASONAL FORECAST, WHICH IS A VERY BROAD BRUSH, UH, I GIVE YOU, IS THAT EXTREME POTENTIAL IS ALWAYS IN PLACE.
AND HERE'S MY OUTLOOK, AND IT'S THE LARGE, UH, MAP THERE IN THE TOP RIGHT, ACTUALLY THE BOTTOM RIGHT THERE IS THE PRELIMINARY FOR FORECAST.
AND USUALLY I DON'T GO THROUGH THIS MUCH OF A CHANGE.
SO THE PRELIMINARY WAS ISSUED IN SEPTEMBER AND THE FINAL WAS ISSUED, UH, IN NOVEMBER.
AND IT WAS A GENERAL WARMING, UH, OVERALL, BUT THEY MAINTAIN THE SAME GENERAL PATTERN IN THAT SOUTH TEXAS HAS THE BEST OPPORTUNITY FOR BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES THIS WINTER, UH, AS WELL AS PORTIONS OF WEST TEXAS.
UH, CLOSER TO NORMAL IS THAT, UM, I GUESS GRAY, UH, COLOR, AND THEN THE YELLOW STEL ORANGE WOULD BE ABOVE NORMAL.
UH, BEST CHANCE FOR ABOVE NORMAL THIS WINTER WOULD BE, UH, NORTH CENTRAL AND, UH, NORTHEAST TEXAS.
AND JUST TO NOTE THAT WE HAVE NOT HAD A LOT OF COLD WINTERS, UH, RECENTLY.
ONLY THREE OF THE PAST 22 WINTERS HAVE FALLEN IN THE COLDEST THIRD OF ALL WINTERS.
AND THAT WAS THE WINTER WITH URI.
AND THAT ACTUALLY WAS A WARM WINTER IF YOU TAKE AWAY THE TWO WEEKS OF EXTREME COLD AND MOST OF TWO WEEKS, UH, THAT PULLED IT TO THE COLD SIDE.
AND THEN YOU HAVE TO GO BACK TO 20 13, 20 14 WINTER, WHICH WAS THE WINTER WHEN, UH, THE MEDIA MADE, UH, FAMOUS THE TERM POLAR VORTEX.
AND THEN 2009, 2010, UH, SO THERE'S YOUR THREE COLD WINTERS HERE.
[00:50:01]
THE GENERALLY A LITTLE, UH, THIS CENTURY.AND, UH, AND AGAIN, KEEP IN MIND THAT THE GLOBAL FACTORS I MENTIONED, WHY I KIND OF PUSHED IT TOWARDS THE WARM SIDE, UH, A LOT OF THE CHALLENGES IN BUILDING THIS FORECAST WAS FINDING A HISTORICAL SIMILARITY.
SO WHEN I DO A LONG RANGE FORECAST OR REALLY ANY FORECAST, NOT JUST WEATHER, YOU'RE LOOKING FOR HISTORICAL SIMILARITIES, SAY WHAT'S HAPPENED IN THE PAST WILL HAPPEN AGAIN IN THE FUTURE.
UH, THAT WAS A VERY CHALLENGING, UH, STEP HERE FOR BUILDING THIS WINTER FORECAST.
AND, UH, SO I WOULD SAY OVERALL, UH, THAT'S WHY WE WENT THROUGH THIS, THIS SIGNIFICANT CHANGE FROM A COLDER LOOK TO A WARMER LOOK.
AND IT MAKES FOR SOME MORE CHALLENGES WHERE YOU NEED TO KEEP AN EYE ON.
I WILL BE KEEPING AN EYE ON THE MID, MID RANGE AND THE SHORT RANGE WEATHER TO SEE WHEN WE MIGHT SEE ONE OF THOSE EXTREME EVENTS.
UH, BUT WHAT I NOTED ONLINE, AND I'LL POINT YOU WHERE YOU CAN FIND THE FORECAST ONLINE, IS THAT, UM, DECEMBER HAD THE BEST OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABOVE NORMAL.
AND WE'RE SEEING THAT THIS WAS WITH A NOVEMBER UPDATE.
JANUARY AND FEBRUARY WILL HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITIES THAN DECEMBER FOR SOME, UH, IMPACT FROM THE POLAR VORTEX.
UH, SO I'M NOT GONNA POINT OUT ANY DATES, BUT I THINK THAT AS WE TRANSITION INTO JANUARY, YOU WILL SEE SOME PATTERN DIFFERENCES THAT MAY, UH, POSE SOME ISSUES FOR TEXAS.
BUT AGAIN, WE WON'T BE ABLE TO CATCH THIS UNTIL A FEW WEEKS, UH, IN ADVANCE.
AND I'M WATCHING THAT FIRST HALF OF JANUARY CLOSELY RIGHT NOW.
UH, BUT WE'RE GOOD THROUGH CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR'S.
ALL RIGHT? UH, AND YOU SEE MY, UH, ANALOG MATCHES MY HISTORICAL MATCHES, 20 15, 20 16 IS WHAT I'M RELYING ON QUITE A BIT FOR THIS WINTER.
THAT WAS THE LAST STRONG EL NINO AND IT'S MUCH MORE SIMILAR THAN 1997 EL NINO AND THE 1982 EL NINOS.
UH, THEN, UH, SO THAT'S WHAT I'M RELYING ON AS WELL AS THE PAST TWO WINNERS BECAUSE IF YOU TAKE AWAY THE EL NINO, YOU REMOVE THAT FROM THE EQUATION.
MOST OF THE OTHER FACTORS DRIVING THE WEATHER ARE STILL IN PLACE FROM THE LAST TWO YEARS.
AND COMPARING THAT WITH OUR CURRENT DROUGHT, WHICH WE STILL HAVE THE DROUGHT IN PLACE, 74% OF THE STATE IS IN MODERATE, UH, DROUGHT OR WORSE, THOUGH IT'S NOT LOOKING, UH, NEARLY AS BAD AS IT DID A COUPLE MONTHS AGO.
UH, THE END OF THE SUMMER, WE DID HAVE SOME IMPROVEMENTS THIS FALL.
YOU NOTICE THOUGH THAT HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS, AUSTIN SAN ANTONIO IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE, THE WORST PARTS HERE IN THE STATE.
AND SO OUR, UH, THE PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK THERE ON THE TOP LEFT, YOU SEE KIND OF A MIX.
YOU'RE MOSTLY LEANING ON THE DRY SIDE.
UH, THAT GREEN AREA, AGAIN, NORTH CENTRAL, NORTHEAST KIND OF MATCHES THE WARMER TEMPERATURES, UH, HAS YOUR BEST CHANCE FOR ABOVE NORMAL, UH, PRECIPITATION THIS WINTER.
AND THEN THE YELLOW, ORANGE AND BROWN IS, IS LEANING, UH, BELOW NORMAL WITH THE BEST OPPORTUNITY FOR BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION SOUTH AND SOUTHERN WEST TEXAS.
UH, SO MY THINKING, UH, WITH THIS WINTER IS THAT WE LIKELY WILL STILL HAVE SOME DROUGHT IN PLACE WHEN THE WINTER IS COMPLETE AND WE'LL BE RELYING ON SOME SPRING, UH, RAIN TO HELP US OUT FROM THIS EL NINO.
UM, AND THEN A COUPLE OTHER NOTES HERE LOCALLY, YOU NOTE, UH, FOR LAKE TRAVIS HERE LOCALLY, WE'RE STILL AT OUR LOWEST LEVEL, UH, SINCE 2015 AND THAT ENDED WITH THE, UH, MEMORIAL DAY FLOODS OF 2015.
UH, SO IT'S BEEN EIGHT, NINE YEARS SINCE WE'VE SEEN LAKE TRAVIS THIS LOW, AND WE'RE A LONG WAYS FROM, UH, RETURNING TO NORMAL THERE.
SO WHILE WE'VE SEEN SOME GRASS GREENING UP, UH, HERE IN THE PAST COUPLE MONTHS, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALSO THE WATER TABLE IS A MAJOR, UH, PORTION OF THE DROUGHT AND THAT IS STILL QUITE LOW.
AND JUST TO NOTE THAT NOT EL ALL EL NINOS, LEMME GO BACK TO THAT SLIDE BECAUSE YOU TYPICALLY HEAR EL NINO WET FOR TEXAS.
I'M SURE YOU'VE HEARD THAT MANY TIMES AND THAT'S WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE SAYING, AND I'M NOT GONNA RULE IT OUT AT LEAST FOR PART OF THE PARTS OF THE STATES.
THERE IS NO ALL EL NINOS OR THIS OR THAT WHEN IT COMES TO TEMPERATURES OR PRECIPITATION FOR TEXAS.
UH, THERE ARE MOST EL NINOS ARE WET 20 15 20 16, WHICH I'M REFERENCING AS MY HISTORICAL MATCH WAS NOT A WET WINTER FOR TEXAS.
SO THAT'S, UH, DRIVING MY FORECAST.
AGAIN, I THINK WE'LL SEE SOME IMPROVEMENTS, UH, WITH THE DROUGHT, BUT NOT WIDESPREAD IMPROVEMENTS.
[00:55:01]
GO THROUGH ALL THIS 'CAUSE I'M SURE I'M OVER MY 15 MINUTES.UH, BUT JUST TO POINT OUT, IF YOU WANT TO READ THE FULL DISCUSSION, UH, THAT'S THE, UH, UH, RIGHT IMAGE THERE.
UH, ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SLIDE, YOU FROM THE DASHBOARD, YOU GO TO THE WINTER OR THE WEATHER OUTLOOK WEATHER FORECAST PAGE, UH, WHICH GIVES YOU THE CURRENT DAY FORECAST AND OUT THROUGH THE NEXT THREE DAYS, UH, AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT YOU'LL SEE A, UH, SEASONAL UPDATES LINK AND YOU CLICK ON THAT, YOU WILL GET MY WINTER FORECAST.
AND IF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES FINDING THAT, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHOOT ME AN EMAIL, CHRIS.COLEMAN@ERCOT.COM.
AND UH, I'LL GIVE YOU THE DIRECT LINK, UH, WHICH IT'S ALSO SHOWN BELOW THERE, UH, AT THE VERY BOTTOM.
UH, SO YOU DO HAVE THE LINK AVAILABLE, UH, ON THIS SLIDE AS WELL.
AND I BELIEVE THAT IS IT FOR ME, UNLESS YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
ANYBODY HAVE QUESTIONS? JULIE? GOOD QUESTION.
ANY COMMENT ABOUT WIND BEING HIGHER, LOWER? UH, THAT, THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION.
UM, NOW I'M TRYING TO RECALL EXACTLY WHEN I LOOKED AT THAT.
I MAY HAVE TO JUST, UH, I THINK IT'S PROBABLY ON MY, UH, DISCUSSION ONLINE.
UH, BUT I BELIEVE I WAS LEANING TOWARDS A BELOW NORMAL WIND, UH, FOR WEST TEXAS AND THEN FOR COASTAL SOUTH TEXAS ABOVE NORMAL WIND.
I WOULD ALSO THINK AS FAR AS SOLAR IMPACTS, AND AGAIN, AS PABLO POINTED OUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE PEAK IN THE WINTER, IT'S UH, WHEN THE SUN IS JUST COMING UP.
UH, BUT SOMETIMES YOU GET A COLD FRONT THAT COMES THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY AND THE TEMPERATURE DROPS 20, 30 DEGREES IN A MATTER OF AN HOUR.
UH, I THINK IN GENERAL, SOLAR WILL BE A LITTLE LESS THAN NORMAL.
AGAIN, THAT'S BROAD BRUSH FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON.
I WANNA ECHO JULIE'S COMMENTS.
UH, THIS QUESTION'S PROBABLY TO PABLO OR WOODY AT A HIGH LEVEL.
WHAT DO WE DO WITH THIS INFORMATION? WHAT DOES ERCOT DO WITH THIS INFORMATION? SO LET, LET ME JUST KIND OF HIGH LEVEL, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT ERCOT DOES FUNDAMENTALLY IS SHARE DATA WITH THE MARKET.
AND THAT DATA IS USED TO OPERATE REAL TIME ALL THE WAY THROUGH LONG-TERM PLANNING, UM, ET CETERA.
AND SO THIS INFORMATION IS VERY HELPFUL FROM OUR LONGER TERM PLANNING PERSPECTIVES AS WE'RE COORDINATING WITH ALL OF THE DIFFERENT MARKET PARTICIPANTS AND RESOURCES IN, UM, IN THE, IN THE ERCOT MARKET.
KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT HELPS TO KIND OF SET THE FRAMEWORK FOR THEN KIND OF THE OPERATIONAL CADENCE AND THE KIND OF PLANNING THAT WE ARE GONNA DO IN REAL TIME.
SO THAT'S AT A HIGH LEVEL WHAT WE USE THESE KINDS OF FORECASTS FOR.
BUT WOODY, I'D WELCOME YOUR YOURS OR DAN'S PERSPECTIVE ON THAT AS WELL.
YEAH, WE ALSO DO A LOT OF, UH, STUDIES INTO THE FUTURE.
AND SO THOSE STUDIES WILL, WILL HAVE SCENARIOS.
AND SO IF WE THINK WE HAVE A LOW WIND SCENARIO, THAT MIGHT BE A, AN EXTREME SCENARIO WE WOULD RUN IN SOME OF THOSE STUDIES.
AND SO THESE, THIS KIND OF ANALYSIS HELPS INFORM THOSE STUDIES OF WHAT KIND OF, WHAT KIND OF SCENARIOS WE WANT TO USE IN THOSE ANALYSIS.
[8. Confirmation of 2024 TAC Representatives]
CONFIRMATION OF THE 2024 TAC REPRESENTATIVES PURSUANT TO SECTION 4.8 OF THE ERCOT BYLAWS, THE BOARD SHALL CONFIRM THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.IN THE MEETING MATERIALS IS A LIST OF THE REPRESENTATIVES ELECTED OR APPOINTED BY THEIR MARKET SEGMENTS.
WOULD ANY BOARD MEMBER LIKE TO DISCUSS THIS ISSUE OR ALTERNATIVELY MAKE A MOTION? ALL RIGHT.
ANY, ANY OPPOSED? THAT PASSES.
UH, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU.
[9. Adjunct Membership Application of Linebacker Power, LLC]
ITEM, AGENDA ITEM NINE, ADJUNCT MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION OF LINEBACKER POWER LLC FOR MEMBERSHIP YEAR 2024.AND CHAD, I THINK YOU HAVE SOME COLOR ON THAT.
YOU HAVE THE DECISION TEMPLATE.
ANY MATERIALS TO APPROVE THIS ADJUNCT MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FOR 2024.
THE BYLAWS REQUIRE BOARD APPROVAL OF AN ENTITY DOES NOT MEET THE DEFINITION TO JOIN AS A CORPORATE OR ASSOCIATE MEMBER IN ANY OTHER CATEGORY.
LINEBACKER HAS JUSTIFIED ITS ABILITY TO BE AN ADJUNCT MEMBER.
THE ADJUNCT MEMBERS ARE LIMITED TO VOTING RIGHTS
[01:00:01]
AT THE PROTOCOL REVISION SUBCOMMITTEE.UH, ERCOT STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF THIS APPLICATION AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UM, THANK YOU, CHAD.
UM, HEARING NO COMMENTS, WOULD ANYBODY LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION ON THE ADJUNCT MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION OF LINEBACKER POWER? SO MOVED.
[10. Independent Market Monitor (IMM) Report]
MARKET MONITOR OR IMM REPORT, WHICH IS AGENDA ITEM 10.UM, THE IMM PRESENTED ITS REPORT EARLIER THIS MORNING DURING THE RELIABILITY MARKETS COMMITTEE MEETING.
SO, UH, I DON'T THINK WE'RE PLANNING TO REVISIT THAT.
SO WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM.
[11. TAC Report]
TO INVITE KAITLYN SMITH, VICE-CHAIR OF THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO PRESENT AGENDA ITEM 11, THE T REPORT.THERE'S ONE NON UNANIMOUS REVISION REQUEST AS A VOTING ITEM UNDER THET REPORT TODAY, NPRR 1172.
AFTER KAITLIN REPORTS ON TAX RECOMMENDATION R AND M COMMITTEE CHAIR BOB FLEXON WILL REPORT ON THE R AND M COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION.
CAITLIN, WILL YOU PLEASE PROCEED? WHERE IS IT? BECAUSE IT'S NOT ON HERE.
I AM THE VICE CHAIR OF THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THIS MORNING.
UM, YOU HEARD FROM CLIFF, OUR CHAIR YESTERDAY AT R AND M ON THE TAC AND SUB COMMITTEE AT STRUCTURAL AND PROCEDURAL REVIEW, AS WELL AS THESE OPPOSED REVISION REQUESTS FROM OCTOBER AND DECEMBER TAC.
UM, CLIFF IS STEPPING BACK FROM TAC NEXT YEAR, SO I'D LIKE TO THANK HIM FOR HIS LEADERSHIP AS, AS TAC CHAIR FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS.
HE WA HE WAS CHAIR DURING AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER WINTER STORM URI.
UH, HE LED A LOT OF GOOD STAKEHOLDER WORK AND KIND OF LED THIS INITIAL TRANSITION WITH THE INDEPENDENT BOARD.
UM, AND THANK YOU TO EMILY, WHO WAS OUR TECH ADVOCATE ON THE ANCILLARY SERVICE METHODOLOGY THIS MORNING.
SO AS WE DO AT EACH BOARD MEETING, I'M PRESENTING A SUMMARY OF THE TAC MEETINGS THAT OCCURRED SINCE THE LAST BOARD MEETING.
WE DID MEET IN OCTOBER AND OCTOBER 24TH, AND ON DECEMBER 4TH, WE HAVE THE SEPARATE VOTING ITEMS FOR YOU TODAY.
I BELIEVE IT IS JUST THE ONE REVISION REQUEST WITH OPPOSING VOTES.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE EIGHT UNOPPOSED REVISION REQUESTS.
HERE'S THAT LIST OF THE EIGHT UNOPPOSED REVISION REQUESTS, AS WELL AS THE ONE THAT WAS NOT UNANIMOUS, AND THAT IS NPRR 1172.
FUEL ADDER DEFINITION, MITIGATED OFFER CAPS AND ROCK CLAWBACK.
THIS NPRR REMOVES C MITIGATED OFFER CAP MULTIPLIERS AND CREATES A HUNDRED PERCENT CLAWBACK FOR RELIABILITY UNIT COMMITMENT OR ROCK.
THE NPRR ALSO SETS THE THREE PART SUPPLY OFFERS THAT ERCOT CREATES AT A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE APPROVED VERIFIABLE COSTS OR GENERIC COSTS.
UM, TECH DID VOTE TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THIS AT THE OCTOBER BOARD MEETING.
THERE WERE FIVE OPPOSING VOTES FROM THE COOPERATIVE AND INDEPENDENT GENERATOR SEGMENTS, AND TWO ABSTENTIONS FROM THE INDEPENDENT GENERATOR AND INDEPENDENT POWER MARKETER SEGMENTS.
THE OPPOSING VOTES ON THIS ONE DISAGREED THAT INCLUDING THE A HUNDRED PERCENT CLAWBACK WOULD INCENTIVIZE MORE RESOURCES TO SELF COMMIT IN REAL TIME, ESPECIALLY AFTER A RESOURCE HAS NOT BEEN COMMITTED IN THE DAY AHEAD.
BASICALLY, THEY, THE OPPOSITION DISAGREED THAT THIS NPRR WOULD LEAD TO A REDUCTION IN RCC, UM, BECAUSE THE UNITS WOULD STILL NOT HAVE THE ECONOMICS TO COMMIT IN REAL TIME IF THE DAY AHEAD MARKET DID NOT PROVIDE ADEQUATE PRICE SIGNALS.
UH, THE OPPOSING VOTES ALSO BELIEVE THAT THE CURRENT EXPANDED USE OF ROCK DOES NOT ALIGN WITH CURRENT MARKET DESIGN, AND THAT THE STAKEHOLDER FOCUS SHOULD BE ON BETTER MARKET DESIGN SOLUTIONS THAT ALIGN PRICE SIGNALS TO DRIVE SELF-COMMITMENT.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS ONE? ALL RIGHT.
UH, WE AND OUR SUBCOMMITTEES CONCLUDED THE ANNUAL STRUCTURAL AND PROCEDURAL REVIEW
[01:05:01]
AND ENDORSED THE FINDINGS PRESENTED.UM, AT OUR OCTOBER 24TH TECH MEETING, THE CURRENT STRUCTURE OF TAC AND SUBCOMMITTEES WAS DEEMED NECESSARY AND EFFECTIVE.
UM, AND WE DID REPORT THOSE FINDINGS YESTERDAY.
UM, AS I DISCUSSED THE ANCILLARY SERVICES METHODOLOGY, UM, WE, WE'VE BEEN OVER THIS AND, UM, IT'S A VOTING ITEM IN A MINUTE, BUT I'LL GO OVER IT QUICKLY.
UM, AT OUR DECEMBER 4TH MEETING, TAC DID VOTE TO ENDORSE THE 2024 ANCILLARY SERVICE METHODOLOGY AS RECOMMENDED BY ERCOT.
AND ON THE COMMITMENT FROM ERCOT TO BRING THE METHODOLOGY BACK UP.
FORT REVIEW, BY APRIL 30TH, 2024, THERE WERE THREE OPPOSING VOTES IN THE CONSUMER AND REP SEGMENTS, AND SIX ABSTENTION ABSTENTIONS AND THE COOPERATIVE GENERAT GEN INDEPENDENT GENERATOR REP.
AND, UM, I BELIEVE THE MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITY SEGMENTS.
AND SO I, I KNOW WE HAD A ROBUST DISCUSSION ON THIS THIS MORNING.
I'LL JUST GIVE SOME QUICK ADDITIONAL CONTEXT.
UM, WE DID HAVE A FIRST MOTION TO APPROVE THE AS METHODOLOGY WITHOUT THE QUALIFIER TO REVISIT, AND THAT DID FAIL.
UM, THE OPPOSING VOTES ON THAT WERE BASED ON THE BELIEF THAT WE'VE BEEN OVER PROCURING ANCILLARY SERVICES, UM, THE OPPOSITION TO THE HIGH COST OF ANCILLARY SERVICES AND SOME AGREEMENT WITH THE IMM OR AT LEAST WANTING TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH THE IMM ANALYSIS.
UM, AND THEN THE MOTION THAT PASSED WAS TO REVISIT THE METHODOLOGY DURING 2024.
IT DID RECEIVE A COUPLE OPPOSING VOTES, AND THOSE WERE DUE TO THAT UNCERTAINTY THAT THAT CREATES.
SO IF YOU'RE A, A RETAILER, THAT KIND OF IS HARDER TO HEDGE IF YOU ARE COMMITTING TO REVISIT THE ANCILLARY SERVICE METHODOLOGY DURING THE YEAR.
UM, WE ALSO APPROVE THE WEST TEXAS SYNCHRONOUS CONDENSER RPG PROJECT.
UM, WE VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO ENDORSE THAT.
UM, AND THE TNMP SILVERLEAF AND COW PEN 3 45 1 38 KV STATIONS RPG PROJECT AS WELL, WE RECOMMENDED OPTION ONE AS RECOMMENDED BY ERCOT.
UM, SO THE, THIS LAST ITEM WAS THE WITHDRAWAL OF NPRR 1203, UM, AND THERE ARE TWO ASSOCIATED OTHER BINDING DOCUMENT REVISION REQUESTS, OH, 49 AND OH 50 THAT WERE WITHDRAWN AS WELL.
UM, SO AFTER LETTERS FROM THE LEGISLATORS WEIGHING IN AND DISCUSSION FROM THE COMMISSION, ERCOT DID WITHDRAW THE REVISION REQUESTS THAT IMPLEMENTED DRRS AS A KIND OF REVAMPED NONS SPIND PRODUCT IN FAVOR OF CREATING A STANDALONE DRRS PRODUCT.
AND SO WE DISCUSSED THIS WITH WITHDRAWAL AND, AND FELT IT WAS APPROPRIATE.
I BELIEVE THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT UNLESS THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS.
ALRIGHT, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UH, IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION ON NPRR 1172.
DID, DID YOU WANNA GET THE FEEDBACK FROM, UH, BOB FLEXON FROM THE R AND M COMMITTEE? OH, YES.
I'M SORRY, BOB OUTTA SIGHT OUTTA MIND, I GUESS
YEAH, THAT'S, UH, THAT'S NOT A BAD STRATEGY.
SO YEAH, YESTERDAY THE COMMITTEE DID CONSIDER NPRR 1172.
WE DID VOTE TO RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD, UH, APPROVE THAT MR. ERCOT STAFF REVIEWED IT.
AND THEY AGREE WITH THE IMM IMM, THAT THE NPRR 1172 WILL HAVE A POSITIVE MARKET IMPACT ON INCENTIVIZING RESOURCES TO SELF COMMIT AND REDUCE R.
SO WITH THAT, UH, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF NPRR 1172 AS RECOMMENDED BY TAC.
ALRIGHT, SO THAT IS A MOTION BY BOB.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND, JULIE.
ANY, ANY OPPOSED? THAT PASSES.
[12. Finance and Audit (F&A) Committee Report]
THE COMMITTEE REPORTS.FIRST, BILL FLORES WILL REPORT, WILL PRESENT AGENDA ITEM 12, FINANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT, WHICH HAS TWO ASSOCIATED VOTING ITEMS. BILL, UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER.
UH, THE COMMITTEE HAD TWO VOTING ITEMS TO RECOMMEND FOR BOARD APPROVAL.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND TALK ABOUT THE, UH, THE FIRST ONE QUICKLY.
UH, WE RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD ACCEPT THE 2023 SYSTEM AND ORGANIZATION, OUR SOC AUDIT REPORT.
UH, LET ME TELL YOU A FEW THINGS ABOUT THE REPORT THAT WE REVIEWED YESTERDAY IN THE F AND A COMMITTEE.
THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, UH, EXCUSE ME, THE AUDIT OPINION IS, WAS DONE AS AN UNMODIFIED OR A CLEAN OPINION.
THERE WERE NO REPORTABLE EXCEPTIONS.
AND THE FULL AUDIT REPORT IS A, IS AVAILABLE IN THE EXECUTIVE SESSION MATERIALS.
[01:10:01]
SO ON BEHALF OF THE FINANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEE, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD, EXCEPT THAT 2023 AUDIT REPORT IS PRESENTED BY WEAVER AND TED BULL.ALRIGHT, MOTION BY BILL SECOND.
THE NEXT BIG ITEM WAS THAT, UH, THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ALSO VOTED TO ACCEPT, ADOPT, AND APPROVE THE PUCT APPROVED 20 24, 20 25 BIANNUAL BUDGET.
THE PUC APPROVED BUDGET INCLUDES $405.7 MILLION AND IN TOTAL SPENDING FOR 2024 AND 414,300,000 OF TOTAL SPENDING FOR A CALENDAR YEAR 2025.
THE PUC APPROVED BUDGET INCLUDES ALL DEPARTMENT AND PROJECT EXPENDITURES AS APPROVED BY THIS BOARD IN JUNE.
UH, NEXT THEY, OR SECONDLY IN THIS REGARD, THE PUCT APPROVED BUDGET ALSO INCLUDES AN INCREASE TO THE SYSTEM ADMIN FEE FROM 0.555 PER MEGAWATT HOUR, $2.63 PER MEGAWATT HOUR, EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1ST, 2024.
NOW THIS IS A DECREASE IN THE FEE RATE FROM THE ORIGINAL 71 CENT RATE APPROVED BY THE BOARD IN JUNE, UH, TO THE 63 CENT RATE, UH, WHICH WAS APPROVED BY THE PUC.
UH, NOW THIS WAS DRIVEN PRIMARILY BY TWO THINGS.
FIRST, THE REVISED 2023 FAVORABLE FINANCIAL VARIANCE THERE WAS FILED WITH A-P-U-C-T AT THE, AT THE BOARD'S REQUEST IN OCTOBER, UH, REDUCED THE FOUR YEAR FLAT FEE APPROACH BY THE 2 CENTS PER MEGAWATT HOUR FROM 0.71 TO 0.69.
NEXT, THE PUCT DECIDED TO APPROVE A TWO YEAR FLAT FEE APPROACH INSTEAD OF A FOUR YEAR FLAT FEE APPROACH.
DUE TO FUTURE UNCERTAINTY, UH, THE PUC APPLIED THE 2% RATE REDUCTION FROM THE FAVORABLE FINANCIAL VARIANCE, UH, TO THE 0.6652 YEAR FLAT RATE APPROACH.
AND THE BOARD APPROVED BUDGET AND ARRIVED AT A 0.63 RATE PER MEGAWATT HOUR.
NOW, WE IN THE FINANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEE SUPPORT THE 63 CENT RATE, BUT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE, THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO THIS, THAT WE GO INTO THIS WITH, UH, EYES WIDE OPEN.
THE 2024, UH, 25 BUDGET REQUIRE RELIES ON A MUCH HIGHER AMOUNT OF INTEREST INCOME THAN ANY BUDGET ERCOT HAS EVER HAD.
THE ASSUMED INTEREST INCOME IS NOT GUARANTEED.
SO WHILE WE'RE COMFORTABLE THAT WE HAVE A LOCKED IN BUDGET, INTEREST AMOUNT FOR 20 24, 20 25 IS STILL AT RISK.
AND THE PROJECTIONS IN THE PC APPROVED BUDGET INDICATE A SYSTEM ADMIN FEE RATE, UH, TO 0.74 PER MEGAWATT HOUR, EFFECTIVE JANUARY THE 26TH, WHICH WOULD BE AN 11 CENT RATE INCREASE, WHICH WOULD BE ONE OF THE LARGER RATE INCREASES THAT'S EVER OCCURRED IN ERCOT HISTORY.
UH, AND THAT DEPENDS ON MANY FACTORS INCLUDING FUTURE AND UNCERTAIN, UM, INCOME.
NOW, JUST FOR SAKE OF COMPARISON, EACH 1% CHANGE IN INTEREST RATES, UH, THAT DRIVES THE INTEREST INCOME THAT THE ORGANIZATION RECEIVES IS EQUIVALENT TO A $20 MILLION BUDGET IMPACT.
SO IF YOU HAD A 4% IN, UH, DROP IN INTEREST RATES BACK TO WHERE WE WERE IN SAY, 2022, WELL, UH, CLOSE TO ZERO, THEN YOUR INTEREST INCOME WOULD SHOW A REDUCTION OF SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 80 TO A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS AND EACH 1% UH, DROP AFFECTS THE SYSTEM MAN FEE BY SEVERAL CENTS.
SO, UH, JUST UNDERSTAND WE MAY WIND UP REVISITING THIS DEPENDING ON WHAT, AS SOON AS 2020, LATE 2024 FOR THE 2025 YEAR, UH, IF WE HAVE A BIG DROP IN INTEREST RATES.
I'M NOT SAYING WE WILL, BUT THERE IS UNCERTAINTY, UH, IN THIS PROCESS.
SO NEXT, THE, THE PUC ORDER APPROVING THE BUDGET ALSO INCLUDES SOME NEW REQUIREMENTS FOR ERCOT, WHICH I THINK ARE IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT.
FIRST, THE ERCOT MUST FILE AN OPERATING, UH, BUDGET RECONCILIATION.
BASICALLY BUDGET VERSUS ACTUAL REPORTS SIMILAR TO THE STATE'S PROCESS FOR THE 12 MONTHS INTO JUNE 30TH, 2024 BY SEPTEMBER 20TH, 2024.
AND ERCOT WILL BRING THAT BACK TO THE BOARD NEXT YEAR.
UH, NEXT ERCOT MUST MEET PERFORMANCE MEASURES, UH, FOR AND ON A QUARTERLY BASIS IT HAS TO REPORT HIS PROGRESS AND IMPLEMENTING THE FOLLOWING KEY COMMISSION PRIORITIES, THE RELIABILITY STANDARD.
SECOND, THE DISPATCH RELIABILITY RESERVE SERVICE OF WHAT WE REFER TO INTERNALLY AS DRR S3, REAL-TIME CO-OP OPTIMIZATION PLUS BATTERIES, RTC PLUS B AND FOUR PERFORMANCE CREDIT MECHANISM OR PCM.
FINALLY, ERCOT MUST REPORT TO THE COMMISSION RELATING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF APPLICABLE FOR PERFORMANCE MEASURES OF METRICS USED BY THE FEDERAL REGULATORY COMMISSION, UH, TO TRACK THE PERFORMANCE OF RTO SLASH IO OPERATIONS MARKETS.
[01:15:01]
NOW, ERCOT HAS ALWAYS LOOKED AT THOSE INTERNALLY, BUT HAS NEVER REPORTED TO THE PC.SO IT'S A GOOD PRACTICE TO REPORT IT TO THE, TO THE PHC.
SO I, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE NEW RATE OF 63 CENTS, I THINK IS A GOOD OUTCOME FOR RATE PAYERS IN TEXAS, BUT IT, THERE IS A RISK TO WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO THAT RATE AS SOON AS 20 25, 20 26, AND 2027.
SO, UM, SO ON BEHALF OF THE FINANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEE, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD ACCEPT, ADOPT, AND APPROVE THE PUC APPROVED 20 24, 20 25 BIANNUAL BUDGET.
AND WE HAD SOME NON-VOTING ITEMS. UH, THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ALSO, UH, DISCUSSED ITEMS ABOUT REQUIRING BOARD ACTION.
THE COMMITTEE REVIEWED THE RESULTS OF THE COMMITTEE'S SELF-EVALUATION SURVEY.
THE RESULTS ACROSS THE BOARD WERE PRETTY STRONG WITH RATINGS FOR 4.4 TO 0.2 5.0 OUT OF A POSSIBLE 5.0.
UH, THAT TELLS US THE COMMITTEE'S OPERATING EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY.
UH, NEXT COMMITTEE MEMBERS ALSO RECEIVE REGULAR REPORTS ON ERCOT FINANCIAL REPORTS AND INVESTMENT AND DEBT COMPLIANCE.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I WANNA HIGHLIGHT FROM THOSE MATERIALS IS THE RECENT CHANGE MAJOR TO ERCOT INVESTMENT STRATEGY.
UH, THE ERCOT TEAM HAS MOVED FROM INVESTING THE, THE APPROXIMATELY $2 BILLION OF HELD CONGESTION REVENUE RIGHTS, AUCTION RECEIPTS INTO LONGER TERM INVESTMENTS THAT BETTER MATCH EXPECTED CASH OUTFLOWS FROM, UH, THOSE FUNDS.
THIS HAS ALLOWED US TO ESSENTIALLY LOCK IN FUTURE INTEREST INCOME, AS I MENTIONED FROM THE BUDGET CONVERSATION, WHICH HELPED, YOU KNOW, AS I SAID A MINUTE AGO, ALSO HAD A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE, THE SYSTEM ADMIN FEE FOR 20 24, 20 25.
UH, AND THE, THE ERCOT TEAM IS MONITORING THIS CLOSELY INTENDS TO CONTINUE TO ADD, UH, TRANCHES OF LONGER TERM INVESTMENTS, UH, UH, BASED ON WHAT EXPECTED CASH OUTFLOWS.
AS WE MOVE FURTHER AND FURTHER IN 2024 AND 2025, THIS WILL ALLOW US TO LOCK IN MORE AND MORE INTEREST INCOME AND THEREBY REDUCE THE RISK AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UH, FINALLY WE RESERVE, WE REVIEWED THE COMMITTEE'S FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. THAT CONVERSATION INCLUDED REVIEWING THE SCHEDULE OF ALL ITEMS FOR THE FULL YEAR OF 2023 AND NOTING THAT THE COMMITTEE HAD CHECKED ALL ITS ITS BOXES, UH, FOR REQUIRED ACTIVITIES FOR THIS PAST YEAR.
ANY QUESTIONS? UM, NEXT PEGGY, HE WILL
[13. Human Resources and Governance (HR&G) Committee Report]
PRESENT AGENDA ITEM 13, WHICH IS THE R AND G COMMITTEE REPORT.UH, AT THE HR AND G GENERAL SESSION, UH, MEETING YESTERDAY, WE DISCUSSED FOUR NON-VOTING ITEMS. UH, THE FIRST WE RECEIVED THE SEMI-ANNUAL HR REPORT.
UH, WE WE FOCUSED ON ATTRITION RATES AND TRENDS IN ATTRITION.
WE ALSO, UH, HEARD FROM MAURA ABOUT THE DIFFERENT EFFORTS THAT THE COMM, UH, THAT THE STAFF IS UNDERTAKING TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN, UH, COMPETENT STAFF AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND WHAT THOSE CHANGING DYNAMICS COULD BE IN THE FUTURE, UH, FOR WHAT OUR NEEDS ARE FOR THE GRID OF THE FUTURE.
UH, SECOND, WE LIKE, UH, F AND A.
WE, UH, REVIEWED OUR HR AND G, UH, SELF-EVALUATION RESULTS.
AND, UH, THE RESULTS WERE OVERALL POSITIVE, RANGING FROM 4.17 TO FIVE OUT OF A A ONE TO FIVE SCALE.
UH, THIRD WE LOOKED AT AS A CHARTER ITEM.
WE LOOKED AT THE, UH, GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.
WE LOOKED AT THE, UH, COMMITTEE CHARTER REQUIRES US TO LOOK AT THE CERTIFICATE OF FORMATION AS WELL AS BYLAWS AND THE BOARD POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
NO CHANGES ARE RECOMMENDED, UH, TO THE CERTIFICATE OF FORMATION OR THE BYLAWS.
UH, THERE MAY BE SOME STAFF PROPOSALS ON CHANGES TO THE BOARD POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IN EARLY 2024.
AND THEN, UH, FINALLY WE LOOKED AT THE PERIODY, UH, MEETINGS THAT, UH, BOARD AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS WERE UNDERTAKE IN 2025.
UH, THE COMMITTEE DISCUSSED, UH, MOVING TOWARDS, UH, FIVE REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETINGS.
UH, THE COMMITTEE STRONGLY BELIEVES THAT WE NEED TO BE EFFICIENT IN OUR MEETINGS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE NEED TO HAVE AN SUFFICIENT NUMBER OF MEETINGS TO, UH, FULFILL OUR DUTIES.
AND WE'RE VERY FOCUSED ON GETTING THAT RIGHT BALANCE, RECOGNIZING THAT THERE IS A COST TO STAFF, UH, PREPARING FOR THESE MASSIVE MEETINGS AND THEY'VE GOT A LOT ON THEIR PLATE.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO JUGGLE THAT RIGHT BALANCE.
AND WE ARE, UH, RECOMMENDING THAT WE, WE'VE STAFF HAS LOOKED AT THE SCHEDULE THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT WE GO TO FI CONSIDER GOING TO FIVE MEETINGS, UH, FOR 2025, FULLY RECOGNIZING THAT DEPENDING
[01:20:01]
ON WHAT HAPPENS, WE MIGHT HAVE TO ADD A MEETING OR WE CAN ALWAYS DO SPECIAL MEETINGS.ALRIGHT, NO VOTING ITEMS THERE? NO.
[14. Reliability and Markets (R&M) Committee Report]
WILL PRESENT AGENDA ITEM 14, WHICH IS THE R AND M COMMITTEE REPORT, WHICH HAS FOUR ASSOCIATED VOTING ITEMS. BOB.UM, WE MET YESTERDAY AND WE, WE RECESSED FOLLOWING THE COMMITTEE'S STANDING BRIEFS THIS MORNING.
THE MEETING RECONVENED TO RECEIVE A REPORT FROM THE IMM FOLLOWED BY COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION OF 2024 ERCOT METHODOLOGIES FOR DETERMINING MINIMUM ANCILLARY SERVICE REQUIREMENTS THAT THE COMMITTEE VOTED TO RECOMMEND BOARD APPROVAL OF FOUR ITEMS. FIRST ONE IS DETERMINING THE METHODOLOGIES FOR THE ANCILLARY SERVICES REQUIREMENTS.
THE FULL BOARD WAS PRESENT FOR THIS MORNING'S DISCUSSION.
AND SO THAT IS UP FOR BOARD APPROVAL.
BOB, ARE WE TAKING THESE ONE AT A TIME OR INDIVIDUALLY? YEAH, JUST TAKE 'EM ONE AT A TIME.
I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE THAT AIRCO, WE ADOPT THE ERCOT METHODOLOGIES FOR DETERMINING MINIMUM ANCILLARY SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.
ALRIGHT, DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND, JOHN.
ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT, THE NEXT ITEM IS THE WEST TEXAS SYNCHRONOUS CONDENSER PROJECT IS THREE COMBINED TIER ONE PROJECTS THAT COMPLETED THE REGIONAL PLANNING GROUP REVIEW AND RECEIVED AN INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT FROM ERCOT STAFF AND UNANIMOUS ENDORSEMENT BY CAC.
SO THAT ALSO NEEDS APPROVAL BY THE BOARD, UH, WHICH THE COMMITTEE HAS RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL.
ALRIGHT, MR. CHAIRMAN, I RECOMMEND WE ADOPT THE WEST TEXAS SYNCHRONOUS CONDENSER REGIONAL PLANNING PROJECT AS RECOMMENDED BY ERCOT.
ALRIGHT, DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR? WAS IT SECOND BY COURTNEY? YES.
ANY OPPOSED? BOB? THE NEXT ITEM IS THE TNMP, THE SILVER LEAF AND COW PEN, UH, 3 45 AND 1 38 KV STATIONS, UH, REGIONAL PLANNING GROUP PROJECT, UH, THAT WAS BOARD AGENDA ITEM 14.3.
THE PROJECT COMPLETED THE REGIONAL PLANNING GROUP REVIEW AND RECEIVED AN INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT FROM ERCOT STAFF AND UNANIMOUS ENDORSEMENT BY TAT TO ADDRESS THE RELIABILITY.
UH, THE RELIABILITY VIOLATIONS IMPROVE LONG-TERM LOAD SERVING CAPABILITY AND IMPROVE OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY IN REEVES AND WARD COUNTY COUNTIES.
BUT THAT IS ALSO UP FOR APPROVAL.
MR. CHAIRMAN, I RECOMMEND WE APPROVE THE SILVERLEAF AND CAL PEN SUBSTATION RPG PROJECT AS DEFINED.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND SOMEBODY.
ANY OPPOSED? THAT PASSES, BOB.
THE NEXT ITEM IS WE HAVE A REAL-TIME MARKET PRICE CORRECTION, UH, AROUND THE SECURITY CONSTRAINT ECONOMIC DISPATCH ERROR, WHICH IS BOARD AGENDA ITEM 14.4, CERTAIN INTER INTERVALS ON THE OPERATING DAY, OCTOBER 22ND, 2023 FOR SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTED BY THE SECURITY CONSTRAINT ECONOMIC DISPATCH, FAILURE TO PROCESS THREE PART OFFERS AND CURRENT OPERATING PLANS.
SO THEY'RE RECOMMENDING TO THE BOARD THAT WE MAKE THAT MARKET PRICE CORRECTION.
MR. CHAIRMAN, I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE, UH, APPROVE THE REAL TIME MARKET PRICE CORRECTION.
ALL RIGHT, DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.
THE NEXT ITEMS ARE JUST MORE INFORMATIONAL, UH, ON HIGH PROFILE, UM, PROJECTS.
THE COMMITTEE HEARD UPDATES ON VARIOUS HIGH PROFILE PROJECTS INCLUDING SYSTEM PLANNING AND WEATHERIZATION UPDATE AS OF MID-DECEMBER, UH, JUST OVER 7,700 MEGAWATTS OF NEW DISPATCHABLE NATURAL GAS GENERATION HAS ENTERED THE GENERATION INTERCONNECTION QUEUE SINCE APRIL.
WEATHERIZATION INSPECTION PROGRAM REMAINS ON TRACK TO PPUC RULE REQUIREMENTS AS WINTER BEGINS AND THE FIRST FIVE ERCOT WEATHERIZATION INSPECTORS RECEIVE THEIR CERTIFICATIONS.
ERCOT CONTINUES WORKING WITH THE COMMISSION TO MAKE PROGRESS ON THE RELIABILITY STANDARD VALUE OF LOST LOAD AND COST OF NEW ENTRY STUDY ON REAL-TIME COOP CO-OP OPTIMIZATION, WE HAD AN UPDATE.
[01:25:01]
ERCOT REMAINS ON TRACK TO APPROVE THE RTC STATE OF CHARGE PROTOCOLS TO SUPPORT VENDOR DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY 2024.NEXT ITEM WAS THE AGGREGATE DISTRIBUTION ENERGY RESOURCES.
ERCOT HAS ACCEPTED AGGREGATION FORMS FROM NINE ADR TO OFFER ERCOT WIDE ENERGY, WHICH IS ABOUT 9.4 MEGAWATTS AND ERCOT WIDE NONS SPIN, WHICH IS ABOUT 3.1 MEGAWATT.
THE A DR TASK FORCE HAS BEGUN DISCUSSING NEXT STEPS SUCH AS ADDING ADDITIONAL ANCILLARY SERVICE PRODUCTS TO THE PILOT PROJECT AND IMPROVING VALIDATION AND PERFORMANCE METRICS.
UH, OTHER STANDING BRIEFS THAT WERE DISCUSSED AT THE COMMITTEE IS THE SYSTEMS OPERATIONS UPDATE THE
THEY'RE WORKING WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO REFINE A NODAL OPERATING GUIDE REVISION REQUEST 2 45 RELATED TO INVERTER BASED RESOURCE RIDE THROUGH REQUIREMENTS, WHICH IS EXPECTED FOR BOARD CONSIDERATION IN FEBRUARY.
THE COMMITTEE DISCUSSED MAXIMUM DAILY RESOURCE PLANNED OUTAGE CAPACITY AND THE FREQUENCY OF UPDATES TO THE MAXIMUM DAILY RESOURCE PLAN OUTAGE, UH, OUTAGES GOING FORWARD.
AND FINALLY, COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS.
THE COMMITTEE AND STAFF DISCUSSED RESERVES AND ANCILLARY SERVICES PRICES IN AUGUST AND OCTOBER OF 2023.
THE COMMITTEE ALSO DISCUSSED RETAIL TRANSACTION VOLUMES FOR OCTOBER, 2023 AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE COMPANY.
AND FOR MARKET CREDIT, THE COMPANY RECEIVED AN UPDATE REGARDING PENDING NPRR 1205, WHICH IS REVISIONS TO CREDIT QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS OF BANKS AND INSURANCE COMPANIES.
ON THE OTHER ITEM I WOULD REPORT IS THAT WE HAD AN EVALUATION OF THE COMMITTEE PERFORMANCE AND SIMILAR TO FNA CONCLUDES THAT THE COMMITTEE IS FUNCTIONING APPROPRIATELY.
AND WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES THE R AND M REPORT.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR BOB? OKAY, THANK YOU.
[15. Technology and Security (T&S) Committee Report]
WILL PRESENT AGENDA ITEM 14, WHICH IS THE TNS COMMITTEE REPORT, WHICH I BELIEVE HAS ONE ASSOCIATED VOTING ITEM, JOHN, IT DOES INDEED.UM, TECHNOLOGY AND SECURITY COMMITTEE MET YESTERDAY.
UM, WE HAVE ONE ITEM TO RECOMMEND TO THE BOARD AND THAT IS THAT OUR CHARTER BE APPROVED BY THE BOARD.
UH, WE'VE DONE QUITE A BIT OF WORK ON THIS AND, UH, REVIEWED IT AT SEVERAL MEETINGS AND I BELIEVE IT'S NOW READY FOR PRESENTATION.
SO I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE TECHNOLOGY AND SECURITY COMMITTEE CHARTER AS RECOMMENDED BY THE COMMITTEE.
UM, IN OTHER BUSINESS WE REVIEWED, UH, ESSENTIALLY FOUR ITEMS, UH, IN GENERAL SESSION.
UM, WE HAD A PROJECT UPDATE FROM GIANT ABOUT THE OKR PROJECTS THAT FALL INTO THE DOMAIN OF TECHNOLOGY AND SECURITY.
AND, UM, WE ARE ON TRACK WITH ALL OF THOSE.
UM, ONE PROJECT, WHICH I'LL DISCUSS IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, UH, WAS OVER TIME AND OVER BUDGET, BUT IS NOW COMPLETED.
UH, WE HAD AN UPDATE FROM JP ON THE CURRENT HIGH PRIORITY TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS UNDER UNDERWAY AT ERCOT AND, AND A SPECIFIC PROJECT UPDATE ON REAL-TIME CO-OP OPTIMIZATION.
THIS, AS YOU ALL HEARD, IS, IS A CRITICAL PROJECT FOR, FOR THE STATE, AND IT'S ONE THAT WE WILL BE REVIEWING AT EVERY MEETING.
UM, THIS IS A VERY LARGE PROJECT.
UM, IT'S BEEN CHARACTERIZED AS THE SECOND LARGEST PROJECT IN ERCOT HISTORY AFTER THE CONVERSION FROM ZONAL TO NODAL.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, ROUGH ORDER OF MAGNITUDE, ABOUT $50 MILLION OF SPEND.
UH, CURRENTLY IT HAS A SCHEDULED COMPLETION DATE OF THE FIRST QUARTER OF 26.
WE SPENT QUITE A LOT OF TIME WITH JP TALKING ABOUT WHAT COULD BE DONE TO IMPROVE THAT.
AND WE WON'T REALLY KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT UNTIL THE DETAILED DESIGN WORK IS COMPLETED IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF NEXT YEAR.
UM, BUT I THINK, UH, WE ALL WANT TO DO THIS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE FOR REASONS THAT WE'VE HEARD, UH, EXTENSIVELY THIS MORNING.
AND THEN LASTLY, WE HAD AN UPDATE FROM BETTY ON SECURITY AND WE HEARD SOME OF THAT IN THE, UH, GENERAL SESSION.
SO, UH, WITH THAT I'LL CONCLUDE MY REPORT.
[16. Other Business]
BEFORE WE MOVE INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION IS AGENDA ITEM 16, OTHER BUSINESS WITH ANY MEMBER, LIKE TO RAISE ANY OTHER BUSINESS.UH, HEARING NONE AT, UH, AT THIS TIME, THE BOARD WILL
[Convene Executive Session]
ADJOURN GENERAL SESSION AND CONVENE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION.THERE ARE FIVE VOTING ITEMS BEING DISCUSSED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION.
SO GENERAL SESSION WILL RECONVENE AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF EXECUTIVE SESSION.
GENERAL SESSION IS NOW RECESSED
[01:30:01]
AND THE WEBCAST WILL BE CONCLUDED.UM, THIS MEETING IS THE PUBLIC UTILITY OF COMMISSION OF TEXAS.
[Reconvene General Session]
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON.THIS IS PAUL FOSTER ERCOT BOARD CHAIR.
GENERAL SESSION OF THIS MEETING IS NOW RECONVENED.
[17. Vote on Matters from Executive Session]
HAVE FIVE VOTING ITEMS FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION.FIRST, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE SELECTION OF WEAVER AND TIDWELL LP AS THE 2024 INDEPENDENT SYSTEM AND ORGANIZATION CONTROL AUDITOR.
MR. CHAIRMAN, ON BEHALF OF THE FINANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEE, I MOVE THE SELECTION OF THE QUALIFIED INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTING FIRM.
DISCUSSED AN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO PERFORM ERCOT 2024 SYSTEM AND ORGANIZATION CONTROL AUDIT IT.
I WILL NOW ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE THREE PERSONNEL MATTERS DISCUSSED DURING EXECUTIVE SESSION.
AGENDA ITEM ES 2.2 0.1, ES 2, 2 2, AND ES 2.23.
UH, WE'LL TAKE ALL THREE OF 'EM TOGETHER.
DO I, DO I HEAR A MOTION? YES.
MR. CHAIRMAN, ON BEHALF OF THE R AND G COMMITTEE, I RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD APPROVE THE THREE ITEMS THAT YOU JUST REFERENCED.
AND I, SOMEONE ELSE SECONDED IT.
AND FINALLY, I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE LITIGATION MATTER DISCUSSED DURING EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER AGENDA ITEM ES 3.4 0.1.
THIS MEETING OF THE ERCOT BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS NOW ADJOURNED AND THE WEBCAST WILL BE CONCLUDED.