Summary: Members of the Sunset Advisory Committee met to decide on issues that will be placed in the new Sunset Bill.

Public Utility Commission

Issue 1.1

  • Issue: Authorize PUC to order restitution to market participants harmed by market power abuse.
  • Chairman Hegar thinks Sunset should not deal with this right now
  • It is more of a policy decision
  • Ruling: Severed

Issue 1.2

  • Issue: Increase PUC’s administrative penalty authority to $100,000 per violation per day for violations of ERCOT’s reliability protocols or PUC’s wholesale reliability rules.
    • Hinojosa believes the $100,000 penalty is not out of line and is relatively light compared to other states and the federal government
    • Penalties are now only on a per day basis and not per kilowatt hours
  • Modification: Only for electric industry and not telecommunication    
  • Ruling: Adopted

Issue 1.3

  • Issue: Authorize PUC to issue emergency cease-and-desist orders
  • Modification: Applies only to electric industry
  • Ruling: Adopted

Issue 1.4

  • Issue: Authorize PUC to require, by rule, renewal of registrations, certifications, and permits as it deems appropriate. 
  • Modification: Hinojosa: A simpler, free renewal application will be required by a time to be determined by the PUC  
  • Sunset staff feels they need a renewing of the book
  • Do not want to punish companies who do not register on time
  • Hinojosa “If we register them now then they go out of business. How do we know they went out of business?”
  • Lamont Jordan “Why do we care if whether or not they are on the books if they are not doing business?”
  • McMahen “We should not make these companies do reports unless they are vital to the advisory.”
  • Taylor, Hinojosa “Want to amend adoption so that companies are still required to re-register (time between registration is not determined yet) but now process is quicker and easier”
  • Ruling: Adopted (The PUC will now offer a simpler free renewal application. The time frame between renewal period is yet to be determined)

Issue 1.5

  • Issue: Give PUC the authority to set reasonable fees in rule for its licensing-related activities related to certifications, registrations, and permits.
  • Ruling: Can not change yet due to modifications of 1.4

Issue 1.6

  • Issue: PUC should publish additional complaint and enforcement data on its website.
  • Modification; Harper-Brown – Only applies to electric not telecommunications
  • Ruling: Adopted

Issue 2.1

  • Issue: Eliminate the statutory test for deregulating a telecommunications market with a population between 30,000 and 100,000, replacing it with a test developed by PUC in rule.
  • Ruling: Decided to leave in statute and leave to a policy bill

Issue 2.2

  • Issue: Eliminate PUC approval for customer specific items
  • Ruling: Adopted

Issue 2.3

  • Issue: Eliminate the requirement for telecommunications providers to routinely file contracts for private networks with PUC.
  • Ruling: Adopted

Issue 2.4

  • Issue: Eliminate the process for establishing new extended area service.
  • Ruling: Adopted

New Issue # 4

  • Issue: Add to current revolving door restrictions for PUC commissioners (PURA Sec. 12.155) a new restriction that prohibits PUC commissioners from being employed by ERCOT for two years after leaving PUC.
  • Ruling: Adopted

New Issue 39

  • Issue: Create an Energy Efficiency Coordinating Council composed of presiding officers  from PUCT, TCEQ, ERCOT, SECO, TDHCA, TDRA, public members, Texas A&M University Energy Systems Lab, and transmission and distribution utility efficiency managers.
  • Ruling: To be dealt with later

McMahen made a point to bring up the fact that rate-making decisions have exceeded their time limit.

  • 185 day time frame is not being adhered to
  • Smitherman (chairman of the PUC) suggested to “not allow the municipal interveners to recover their legal expenses”
  • Each member offered different opinions but the argument was left to be determined at a later date when all parties have more information
  • Ruling: No motion, separate bill to be voted on later

 

New Issue 45

  • Issue: Set better rules for renewable energy by setting a goal of 5,000 MW of non-wind by 2025 coupled with 20 percent of the state’s energy to come from renewables by 2025. Support the production of renewables by allowing for interconnection to the rest of the national grid through DC ties.
  • Harper-Brown: “Suggests this issue be brought up on a later date in an energy bill”
  • Ruling: To be determined on a later date in another committee

New Issue 82

  • Issue: Reintegrate the enforcement legal staff into the consumer protection division, or move PUC’s consumer protection and enforcement functions to the Office of Public Utility Counsel.
  • Harper-Brown wants “Consumers to not being negatively impacted, also wants an energy committee to look at this to protect the consumer”
  • Ruling: To be determined on a later date in another committee

ERCOT

 Issue 1.1

  • Issue: Require PUC to exercise additional oversight authority of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas by:
    • Annual review and approval of ERCOT’s entire budget; and
    • Prior review and approval of all uses of debt financing. Adopted
  • Modification: Cook “PUC exercise additional budget and debt financing oversight of ERCOT”
  • Ruling: Adopted

Issue 1.2

  • Issue: Establish that the System Administration Fee vary according to the revenues needed to fund the budget approved by PUC.
  • Modification: Cook “require ERCOT to provide PUC with quarterly reports detailing actual expenditures”
  • Ruling: Adopted

Issue 1.3

  • Issue: Create a Sunset clause providing for future Sunset reviews of ERCOT, concurrent with reviews of the Public Utility Commission.
  • Ruling: Adopted

Issue 2.1

  • Issue: Restructure the ERCOT Board to consist of nine directors, including seven directors unaffiliated with the electric market, and two non-voting, ex officio directors – the Chair of the Public Utility Commission or a designee, and the Public Utility Counsel.
  • Modification: Chairman Hegar “Maintain a hybrid ERCOT board instead of a completely independent board. Add one unaffiliated member with  financial expertise and remove PUC chair and replace with a unaffiliated voting member, also remove Public Utility Counsel and replace with someone to represent the small residential areas”
  • Ruling: Adopted

New issue 3

  • Issue: Change the operations and structure of ERCOT by amending the statute to require that:
    • the ERCOT Board of Directors formally initiate the development of new protocols or revisions to existing protocols;
    • the ERCOT staff develop new or revised protocols for Board approval
    • the Technical Advisory Committee and its existing responsibilities as outlined in the ERCOT Bylaws be sunsetted. The Board of Directors would be charged by statute with developing a representative advisory committee structure to support Board or staff initiatives. This structure would be reflected in ERCOT Bylaws and subject to PUC approval.
  • Ruling: Adopted