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The Public Utility Commission of Texas met on June 30, 2022, to discuss regular agenda items and hear disputes from various parties listed on the agenda, found here. A recording of the hearing, when available, will be found here.

This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the various topics taken up. It is not a verbatim transcript of the discussions but is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.

Items not taken up: Items 5, 12, 14, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40

Consent Agenda: Items 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 17, 18, 19, 23, 27

  • Motion to approve the consent agenda; passes

Item 1: Public Comment

  • No public comment

 

Item 7: Docket No. 52707 – Petition of Sheryl Lynn Lane Dowell, Trustee of the Dan Dowell Credit Trust to Amend Culleoka Water Supply Corporation’s Convenience and Necessity in Collin County by Expedited Release. (Final Order) Austin Spraetz

  • Cobos – Straight forward, reject proposed order to obtain additional information on who owns County Road 398, factual issue we need to address
  • McAdams – Agrees, also issue of who has title below County Road 398
  • Motion to reject the motion and remand the case to determine who owns County Road 398 and the surrounding land around County Road 398; passes

 

Item 8: Docket No. 52758; SOAH Docket No. 473-22-1659.WS – Petition of McAllen Public Utility Appealing Wholesale Water Rates Charged by Hidalgo County Water Improvement District No. 3. (Appeal Order?) Ariadna Garcia

  • McAdams – Need to extend time on this case so Commission can take more time to act on the appeal
  • Motion to extend time on this case so Commission can act on the appeal; passes

 

Item 10: Docket No. 52892 – Application of East Houston Utilities for a Class D Rate Adjustment. (Final Order) Austin Spraetz

  • Water Code does not apply to a Class D Rate Adjustment, should remand for additional processing because it does not apply for Class D Rate Adjustment
  • Glotfelty – Agrees
  • Cobos – Need to reject the PFD and remand the case
  • Motion to remand the proceeding for additional processing; passes

 

Item 15: Docket No. 51665; SOAH Docket No. 473-22-1289 – Application of Southwestern Public Service Company to Change Its Fuel Factors and Related Relief. (Final Order) Ariadna Garcia

  • Cobos recuses herself
  • Glotfelty – We are approving something we have already decided, suggest approval
  • Motion to approve order consistent with conversation; passes

 

Item 16: Docket No. 52455; SOAH Docket No. 473-22-0768 – Application of Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC to Amend Its Certificate of Convenience and Necessity for the Old Country Switch 345-kV Tap Transmission Line in Ellis County. (Final Order) David Hrncir

  • Cobos – Should approve proposed order that adopts settlement agreement, believes the route from a reliability standpoint provides the same reliability as Route 54, little more expensive but the line is needed
  • Glotfelty – Agrees, we have an opportunity when parties settle to make it easier for everyone
  • McAdams – Feel like we are getting backed into a corner for reliability, we will need to build lines but are getting trapped with a settlement, should be sent back for review
  • Cobos – We have no guarantee they will come back with a cheaper line, more litigation will result in higher rate payer costs, always supportive of doing our due diligence but we must get transmission built in ERCOT
  • Glotfelty – Thinks there is reasonableness with this cost increase, drawing lines is complicated and parties came together in this case to assist
  • Cobos – Will be addressing additional planning criteria as we implement SB 1281
  • Glotfelty – Emphasizes these are estimates, we don’t know and must go with this process that has been laid out for us
  • Lake – Our job is to provide reliability as a reasonable cost, but getting connected sooner rather than later is always better, going forward costs will always be a concern,
  • McAdams – Will respect the will of the body, timeliness of the project is important
  • Glotfelty – Spent some time looking at the transmission reports, many are incomplete, final registration of costs are not done
  • Lake – Clean up needed on finding of fact
  • Motion to approve application; Include the deletion of finding of fact 148; Include the addition of finding of fact relating to memo; passes

 

Item 20: Docket No. 52992 – Petition to Revoke RES Nation, LLC’s Broker Registration Pursuant to Texas 16 TAC § 25.112. (Default Order) Cheri Hasz

  • Cobos – Recommends moving forward to approve petition
  • Motion to approve petition; passes

 

Item 21: Docket No. 53377 – Complaint of Engie Energy Marketing NA, Inc. and Viridity Energy Solutions, Inc. Against the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (Appeal of Order No. 5) David Hrncir

  • Lake – Is this administratively complete?
  • Glotfelty – Must listen to staff, seems there are some areas not complete, should overturn the ARJs and ask parties to complete application
  • Cobos – Viridity should come back and file another application with missing information to be considered sufficient, the role of discovery is to get additional information
  • Lake – Don’t think anyone wants to kick the complaints back endlessly, if parties do not have information, they need to be upfront and tell us
  • McAdams – Believes there is room to be filled in by complainants to grant the appeal, but after granting the appeal, what instruction is sent back down to fill out the evidentiary stage
  • Cobos – Trying to provide guidance to the parties with respect to filing complaints
  • Lake – Should provide guidance without being overly prescriptive
  • Motion to grant the appeal; passes

 

Item 22: Docket No. 53442; SOAH Docket No. 473-22-2353 – Application of CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC for Approval to Amend Its Distribution Cost Recovery Factor. (Interim Appeal) David Hrncir

  • Cobos – Made decision on May 26 meeting, would prefer not to make rulemaking and default to statute in HB 2483, remove references not addressed by decision
  • Lake – Agrees with amending draft order, but statute is clear that long lead facilities like this are included
  • Glotfelty – Will readdress in a future rule so other issue will be addressed then, agrees
  • McAdams – Agrees, was not in the original proceeding so should leave it out
  • Motion to approve draft order on May 26, as amended by Commissioner Cobos; passes

 

Item 25: Project No. 52373 – Review of Wholesale Electric Market Design. (Discussion and possible action)

  • McAdams – New update with DER pilot project, lays out three step plan:
    • Form informal workshop with stakeholders on July 11 to consider key goals, organize joint memorandum after feedback from stakeholders, take up on July 14 open meeting
    • Form taskforce to discuss implementation of pilot
    • Set target implementation date or season, come through feedback from stakeholders
  • Glotfelty – Believer in pilot projects instead of taskforces, happy with both being in parallel
  • Lake – ERCOT will be involved in this, as key metrics are identified the Commission and the public will be briefed on the scope and scale before anything is plugged in
  • McAdams – Parallel project of pursuing DGRs at distribution level, operational implications are becoming apparent, feeds into DER pilot as well, DGRs participating in ancillary services cannot be rotated, key condition that causes operational issues
  • McAdams – Would like to call up Liz Jones and Woody Rickerson to help answer some of these questions
  • Liz Jones, Oncor – Currently ancillary distribution resource construct must be exempt from load shed; has a burdensome cost consequence for my company and others
    • A bay would have to be dedicated to that
  • ERCOT has not answered yet, but at the transmission level commit to providing a certain amount of responsive reserve
    • Question becomes if there should be a similar policy for distribution resources
  • Rather than determining if a discount factor needs to be applied, pull back from dedicated feeder rule and turn to general principal resources to ensure they have the availability
  • Lake – Consistent with penalties?
    • Yes, is a history of enforcement accountability
  • McAdams – Bringing this up because this is a distribution problem
  • Woody Rickerson, ERCOT – Has been going on for several years; do not actively take data from distribution companies
  • Beginning this year started the DGR interconnection process
  • Lake – DGR batteries can be connected and deployed where?
    • On both levels; on distribution level can put power onto wholesale
  • On board with working through remaining problems, but feel like we have worked through a majority
  • Lake – Battery participating at distribution level, need a dedicated bay?
    • Jones – Not currently in rule; one population would like to access ancillary service markets, some note cost implications of an interconnected feeder are burdensome
    • Jones – Asking for ERCOT and batteries and others to consider an alternative to reduce time/money to interconnect in that way
  • Lake – Are only talking about batteries who want that special bucket of revenue?
    • Jones – Yes
  • Lake – You are saying DGR batteries are connected, at what level?
    • Rickerson – At the distribution and transmission level
    • Rickerson – Not only that, but we have also put together a small generator transmission process, on board to work through remaining problems
  • Lake – If a battery wants to connect at the distribution level and participate at the real time level, does it still need dedicated feeder?
    • Jones – Not under current ERCOT rules, ERCOT could conclude the dedicated feeder is only appropriate option, next discussion would be cost allocation, asking for ERCOT and battery companies to consider alternative that reduces time and money
  • Lake – This is only about batteries that want special access to a special pool of resources
  • Glotfelty – This small market is becoming what is important for grid reliability in the future, we need this, getting more in there lowers the cost and provides backup
  • Lake – Want to be clear there is nothing in place today that prevents batteries from accessing ERCOT market
  • McAdams – There needs to be Commission level focused workgroups on this issue
  • Glotfelty – “We all have our cost covered. All of us – the customer pays our cost (referring to government employees and TDUs). But when we have merchant generators out there or batteries who are trying to connect to the system, it is not their money. It is investor money.  And I believe we owe it to them to make these processes timely, understood…That’s risk capital…I know that some of the transmission owners have wanted to connect storage at the distribution level for many years that they would own. And I guarantee the issues would be resolved very quickly if they owned them…”
  • Liz Jones – “Just to clarify, our ability to run our company and successfully seek recovery of our costs is directly tied to meeting customer needs, and resources are customers, too…”

 

Item 33: Discussion and possible action on electric reliability; electric market development; power-to-choose website; ERCOT oversight; transmission planning, construction, and cost recovery in areas outside of ERCOT; and electric reliability standards and organizations arising under federal law.

  • Cobos – Provided an overview of progress on completed loop transmission line in RGV: Reliability need has been pushed back to 2036, have ordered a second line and a close the loop project, hope to have these facilities implemented by April 2026; should have all facilities ordered in place by 2026
  • Glotfelty – These three lines are critical in case of weather event in Gulf of Mexico
  • Lake – Hugely important project for ERCOT system

 

Item 35: Project No. 53353 – Request for Proposals to Provide Live Internet Video Coverage of All Public Hearings and Meetings Held by the Public Utility Commission. (Discussion and possible action with respect to delegation of authority to the Executive Director) Jay Stone

  • Staff filed memo to delegate authority to Executive Director
  • Motion to approve staff memo; passes

 

Item 41: Executive Session

  • Commission adjourns and enters Executive Session at 10:53 AM
  • Commission reconvenes at 11:11 AM
  • Motion pursuant to conversation in Executive Session to allow the Office of Attorney General office to join TCEQ in matter concerning Stonehenge Utility in Travis County; passes