(a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to implement
Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA) §34.0105 and §34.0106
and establish:
(1) Procedures for submitting an application to be
eligible for a completion bonus grant award;
(2) The process by which an applicant may receive an
annual grant payment; and
(3) Performance standards for electric generating facilities
for which an applicant seeks a completion bonus grant payment.
(b) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this section, have the following meanings unless the context
indicates otherwise.
(1) Assessed hours--the 100 hours during the test period
with the least quantity of operating reserves, as determined by the
highest values of peak net load, where peak net load is calculated
as gross load minus wind, solar, and storage injection.
(2) Availability reliability factor (ARF)--a metric
calculated with ERCOT data for each generation resource for which
the commission awards a completion bonus grant under this section.
The ARF is computed as the proportion of time that each generation
resource was available (i.e., not in a planned outage) during the
assessed hours. The ARF is calculated as follows: "Total evaluated
period intervals" is equal to the total number of intervals during
the assessed hours, excluding any that occurred during an approved
planned outage of the generation resource. "Total period intervals"
is equal to the total number of intervals during the assessed hours.
Attached Graphic
(3) Interconnection date -- the resource commissioning
date, as defined in the ERCOT protocols, for the last generation resource
in an electric generating facility for which an applicant seeks a
completion bonus grant award. The new electric generating facility
or new generation resources at an existing electric generating facility
must meet the eligibility criteria described in subsection (c) of
this section.
(4) Performance reliability factor (PRF) -- a metric
calculated with ERCOT availability and real time (RT) telemetered
data for each generation resource for which the commission awards
a completion bonus grant under this section. The PRF is computed as
the average ratio of each generation resource's RT high sustainable
limit (HSL) and its obligated capacity over the assessed hours. Intervals
that occurred during an approved planned outage of a generation resource
are excluded. The PRF is calculated as follows: "RT Telemetered HSL"
is the HSL telemetered by the generation resource in real time. "Available
Flag" is a binary flag that is equal to the minimum of a current operating
plan (COP) available flag and a RT available flag. "COP available
flag" is a binary flag that equals one if each hourly check of the
generation resource's COP for the hour that includes the interval
in question indicates that the generation resource will be available
in that interval (i.e., any status other than OUT or EMRSWGR), with
such hourly checks starting at 14:30 on the day before the relevant
interval; otherwise, the flag equals zero. "RT available flag" is
a binary flag that equals one if the RT telemetered resource status
code indicates the generation resource is available (i.e., any status
other than OUT or EMRSWGR); otherwise, the flag equals zero. For a
generation resource that provides capacity to an industrial load or
private use network (PUN), obligated capacity is equal to the net
capacity that is dedicated to ERCOT, as of the interconnection date.
For all other generation resources, obligated capacity is equal to
the adjusted seasonal net max sustainable rating (defined as the registered
ERCOT Seasonal Net Max Sustainable Rating adjusted for planned derates).
"Total evaluated period intervals" is equal to the total number of
intervals during the assessed hours, excluding any that occurred during
an approved planned outage of the generation resource.
Attached Graphic
(5) Test period -- the one-year period starting on
June 1 of one year and ending on May 31 of the following year.
(c) Eligibility. To be eligible for a completion bonus
grant award under this section, an applicant must construct at least
100 MW of new nameplate capacity, either as new generation resources
in a new electric generating facility, or new generation resources
at an existing electric generating facility, and the generation resources
for which a completion bonus grant is sought must also:
(1) interconnect to and provide power for the ERCOT
region;
(2) be dispatchable with an output that can be controlled
primarily by forces under human control;
(3) not be an electric energy storage facility;
(4) participate in the ERCOT wholesale market;
(5) consist of one or more generation resources physically
capable of interconnecting to the ERCOT region through a single point
of interconnection;
(6) be eligible to interconnect to the ERCOT region
based on the attributes of the owners of the electric generating facility,
according to the requirements in the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection
Act (codified at Texas Business and Commerce Code §117.002);
(7) not meet the planning model requirements necessary
to be included in an ERCOT capacity, demand, and reserves report for
the ERCOT region before June 1, 2023 for the construction or addition
of any generation resource;
(8) operate in such a manner that the electric generating
facility that is serving an industrial load or PUN must meet the following
conditions: the portion of nameplate capacity that will serve the
maximum non-coincident peak demand of the industrial load or PUN must
be less than 50 percent of the facility's total nameplate capacity,
and the remaining capacity serving the ERCOT market must be greater
than 100 MW; and
(9) meet the interconnection deadlines described in
subsection (e)(2) of this section.
(d) Determination of eligibility for completion bonus
grant award.
(1) Eligibility application. No earlier than January
1, 2025, and no later than 180 days after the interconnection date
of the electric generating facility for which an applicant requests
a completion bonus grant award, an applicant must submit an electronic
application in the form and manner prescribed by the commission. The
application must include:
(A) the applicant's legal name and the proposed name
of each generation resource in the electric generating facility for
which it seeks a completion bonus grant award. A corporate sponsor
or parent may submit the application on behalf of its subsidiary applicant;
(B) information describing the applicant's quality
of services and management;
(C) information describing the applicant's efficiency
of operations;
(D) a record of the applicant's history of electric
generation operations in this state and this country, including information
demonstrating the applicant's experience operating and maintaining
dispatchable electric generating facilities;
(E) a description of the operational attributes of
the electric generating facility; if any generation resource in the
electric generating facility will serve an industrial load or PUN,
a description of the manner in which it will serve the industrial
load or PUN, how the electric generating facility will primarily serve
and benefit the ERCOT bulk power system given its relationship to
a PUN or industrial load, the total nameplate capacity of the electric
generating facility, the anticipated or actual maximum non-coincident
peak demand of the associated industrial load or PUN, whether the
electric generating facility's generation capacity would be available
to the ERCOT bulk power system during any Energy Emergency Alert,
and a copy of any information submitted to ERCOT regarding PUN net
generation capacity availability;
(F) a description of the electric generating facility's
ability to address regional and reliability needs;
(G) for electric generating facilities not yet interconnected
to the ERCOT region:
(i) a proposed project schedule with anticipated dates
for completion of construction, submission of registration documents
with ERCOT and the commission, and anticipated interconnection date;
(ii) the anticipated nameplate capacity of the electric
generating facility when commercial operations begin; and
(iii) the estimated construction costs of the electric
generating facility.
(H) for electric generating facilities already interconnected
to the ERCOT region:
(i) the actual construction costs of the electric generating
facility, listed by generation resource;
(ii) the interconnection date of the newly constructed
electric generating facility or of the last new generation resource
added to an existing electric generating facility;
(iii) the total nameplate capacity of each generation
resource in the electric generating facility that meets the eligibility
requirement described in subsection (c)(7) of this section; and
Cont'd... |