According to new rules adopted by the PUC and new ERCOT market protocols approved by the ERCOT board in April, ERCOT’s Emergency Interruptible Load Service (EILS) program will change on June 1 to Emergency Response Service (ERS) and will add distributed generation to the resources ERCOT may call upon to help stabilize the grid during emergencies. Through EILS, some users previously have provided about 400 MW of capacity during emergencies. Under the new ERS rules designed to increase the potential benefits of the program, smaller loads also will be able to respond to calls for additional capacity.
In addition to the ERS rule, below is a list of the Public Utility Commission of Texas recent rule changes with an effective date of 4/18/12: