The new 10-year Capacity, Demand and Reserves (CDR) report by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) shows that, based on current information, planning reserve margins are expected to exceed 15 percent through 2018.
The report, released Dec. 1, reflects several changes since the last CDR report was released in May, including the addition of new generation resources and improvements to the method used to forecast wind generation availability during the hours when electricity demand is highest. It also continues to use a revised load forecasting methodology that ERCOT implemented in February 2014 to reflect the changing relationship between economic growth and peak electric demand.
The press release from ERCOT also noted that this CDR does not include potential impacts of several environmental regulations that are being implemented or have been proposed, including an update last week from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding its rules to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions associated with regional haze. At the time the report was released, ERCOT had not received new information from generation owners about future plans for those resources that could be affected. ERCOT recentlyreleased a report on potential impacts of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan and is developing a comprehensive study on the expected impacts of these and other regulations. The full study is scheduled for release in mid-December.
