Texas power grid: ERCOT debates new state regulations as grid reliability remains in question

Texas power grid: ERCOT debates regulations

Battery power helped keep the grid out of emergency conditions last night. ERCOT had a debate yesterday about a new state plan to regulate the industry.

AUSTIN, Texas - ERCOT had a debate Thursday about a new state plan to regulate the power grid.

This comes as the reliability of the Texas power grid has been questioned as Texas continues to battle extreme temperatures and higher demand. Battery power helped keep the grid out of emergency conditions last night.

Stephanie Smith, representing a company that operates storage batteries for the grid, argued before ERCOT's board of directors that a policy known as 1186 will hurt the industry.

Smith said the proposal requires battery operators to have more power than needed at any given time.

ERCOT's vice president of system operations said the proposal simply requires operators to have the amount of power ready that they agree to sell.

"As a Texan, I grew up thinking over-regulation stifles market fundamentals that allow innovation," Smith said in the meeting. "That is a core Texas value and I think 1186 runs afoul of that value."

"We need to have confidence they will deliver, because we need to deliver to the consumer," Doug Lewin, consultant and author of the Texas Energy and Power Newsletter, said.

The ERCOT board voted to reexamine a portion of the 1186 rule.

The PUC also has to vote before the new regulation takes effect.