| (a) Procedures. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)
shall direct non-discriminatory emergency load shedding and curtailment procedures
for responding to emergencies on the transmission system in accordance with
ERCOT protocols.
(b) Congestion management principles. ERCOT shall develop and
implement market mechanisms to manage transmission congestion in accordance
with ERCOT protocols.
(c) Transmission constraints. During any period when ERCOT
determines that a transmission constraint exists on the transmission system,
and such constraint may impair the reliability of a transmission service provider's
(TSP's) system or adversely affect the operations of either a TSP or a transmission
service customer, ERCOT will take actions, consistent with good utility practice
and the ERCOT protocols, that are reasonably necessary to maintain the reliability
of the TSP's system and avoid interruption of service. ERCOT shall notify
affected TSPs and transmission service customers of the actions being taken.
In these circumstances, TSPs and transmission service customers shall take
such action as ERCOT directs.
(1) Service to all transmission service customers shall be
restored as quickly as reasonably possible.
(2) To the extent ERCOT determines that the reliability of
the transmission system can be maintained by redispatching resources, or when
redispatch arrangements are necessary to facilitate generation and transmission
transactions for a transmission service customer, a transmission service customer
will initiate procedures to redispatch resources, as directed by ERCOT.
(3) To the greatest extent possible, any redispatch shall be
made on a least-cost non-discriminatory basis. Except in emergency situations,
any redispatch under this section will provide for equal treatment among transmission
service customers.
(4) ERCOT shall keep records of the circumstances requiring
redispatch and the costs associated with each redispatch and file annual reports
with the commission, describing costs, frequency and causes of redispatch.
Costs for relieving capacity constraints shall be allocated in a manner consistent
with the ERCOT protocols.
(d) System reliability. Notwithstanding any other provisions
of this section, a TSP may, consistent with good utility practice and on a
non-discriminatory basis, interrupt transmission service for the purpose of
making necessary adjustments to, changes in, or repairs to its lines, substations
and other facilities, or where the continuance of transmission service would
endanger persons or property. In exercising this power, a TSP's liability
shall be governed by §25.214 of this title (relating to Terms and Conditions
of Retail Delivery Service Provided by Investor Owned Transmission and Distribution
Utilities). In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of this section,
ERCOT may cause the interruption of transmission service for the purpose of
maintaining ERCOT system stability and safety. In exercising this power, ERCOT
shall not be liable for its ordinary negligence but may be liable for its
gross negligence or intentional misconduct when legally due.
(1) In the event of any adverse condition or disturbance on
the TSP's system or on any other system directly or indirectly interconnected
with the TSP's system, the TSP, consistent with good utility practice, may
interrupt transmission service on a non-discriminatory basis in order to limit
the extent of damage from the adverse condition or disturbance, to prevent
damage to generating or transmission facilities, or to expedite restoration
of service. The TSP shall consult with ERCOT concerning any interruption in
service, unless an emergency situation makes such consultation impracticable.
(2) The TSP will give ERCOT, affected transmission service
customers, and affected suppliers of generation as much advance notice as
is practicable in the event of an interruption.
(3) If a transmission service customer fails to respond to
established emergency load shedding and curtailment procedures to relieve
emergencies on the transmission system, the transmission service customer
shall be deemed to be in default. Any dispute over a transmission service
customer's default shall be referred to alternative dispute resolution under §25.203
(relating to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)) and may subject the transmission
service customer to an assessment of an administrative penalty by the commission
under Public Utility Regulatory Act §15.023.
(4) ERCOT shall report interruptions to the commission, together
with a description of the events leading to each interruption, the services
interrupted, the duration of the interruption, and the steps taken to restore
service.
(e) Transition provision on priority for transmission service
and ancillary services. Subsection (b) of this section is effective upon implementation
of a single control area in the ERCOT region. Until that date, the current
rules for priority of planned transmission service will continue, as provided
by this subsection.
(1) Any redispatch under this section will provide for equal
treatment among transmission service customers, subject to the priorities
set out by this paragraph. Planned transmission service shall have priority
over unplanned transmission service, and annual planned transmission service
shall have priority over planned transmission service of a shorter duration.
(A) Subject to the foregoing priorities, for applications for
planned or unplanned transmission service, complete applications filed earlier
with the independent system operator shall have priority over applications
that are filed later. Timely requests for annual planned transmission service
will be accorded equal priority.
(B) Where a transmission service customer is using annual planned
transmission service for a resource that becomes unavailable due to an unplanned
outage or the expiration of a power supply contract, the transmission service
customer shall have priority, in using the same transmission capacity to transmit
power from a replacement resource, over other requests for unplanned transmission
service or planned transmission service of a shorter duration.
(2) The price for redispatch services for annual planned transactions
shall be based on the cost of providing the service, which shall be allocated
among transmission service customers in proportion to each customer's share
of the transmission cost of service, as determined by the commission under §25.192
of this title (relating to Transmission Service Rates). For redispatch required
to accommodate an annual planned transaction, the electric utility providing
the redispatch service shall provide information documenting the costs incurred
to provide the service to the independent system operator. This information
shall be available to affected persons.
(3) The cost of redispatch services for other transactions
(including planned transmission service of a duration of less than a year)
shall be borne by the transmission service customer for whose benefit the
redispatch is made. Electric utilities shall provide binding advance bids
for redispatch services for unplanned transactions. The participants in unplanned
transactions shall be promptly notified by the independent system operator
that their transactions may be or have been continued through redispatch;
shall be informed of the cost of the redispatch measures; and shall have the
opportunity to abandon or curtail their transactions to avoid additional redispatch
costs.
(4) Electric utilities that have tariffs for ancillary services
on the effective date of this section shall continue to provide services under
those tariffs until ERCOT implements a single control area in the ERCOT region.
(5) The following words and terms, when used in this subsection,
shall have the following meanings unless the context indicates otherwise:
(A) Planned resources - Generation resources owned, controlled,
or purchased by a transmission customer, and designated as planned resources
for the purpose of serving load.
(B) Planned transmission service - A service that permits a
transmission service customer to use the transmission service providers' transmission
systems for the delivery of power from planned resources to loads on the same
basis as the transmission service providers use their transmission systems
to reliably serve their native load customers.
(C) Unplanned transmission service - A service that permits
a transmission service customer to use the transmission service providers'
transmission systems to deliver energy to its loads from resources that have
not been designated as the transmission service customer's planned resources.
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