For Texas Power Grid, a Mixed Report
A report published Monday forecasts that the Texas power grid will be a little shakier next summer than previously projected, but that it will be a little less shaky in 2014 and beyond.
The state's chief grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, prepared the report and hailed it as showing an improvement in the future power outlook. But the changes from a report in May largely derive from projections of slower economic growth for Texas.
The Texas power grid, which covers 85 percent of the state's population, is under strain. It is caught between ...
Comments (7)
Neil Moyer via Texas Tribune on Facebook
ERCOT=oxymorons!
Robert Sheldon via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Will the grid weather NASA's predicted solar storms in 2013?
BurningFeet
"It is caught between a rapidly growing population and low natural gas prices, which limit operators’ incentives to build new power plants."
Exactly how is cheap natural gas, which means low fuel costs, which means low generation costs, from which generated electricity can be sold at higher than national average rates to a growing customer base, keeping operators from building what looks to me high profit power plants?
Howard Arey
Low nat gas prices aren't the reason for our lack of supply. Investors didn't build because of low constrained rates which PUC addresses when it TRIPLED the max rate from $3,000 to $9,000. Now when investors build new plants which will be majority nat gas, Texas will be subject to nat gas price volatility...especially as we export. We need to export this nat resource but know that there is near 100% correlation between nat gas and Texas electricity prices so when nat gas moves to $6 range (see EIA reports) will we be asking why we didn't complement our nat gas foundation with our solar resources that could at least take the "edge off" the rising prices. We can and must do both if Texas is to build on its economic growth and prosperity.
Howard Arey
...and one more thing Kate. Saying our grid is getting better because our peak demand requirements are coming down helps with the headline but is it really the solution? I hope the oversight committees asks the really hard questions: " tell us again why ERCOT used even less economic growth than the Moody's low economic forecast?"
Kim Feil
“urban” electric lift compressors needed for the aging 16,000 Barnett Shale gaswells could also increase grid strains....just saying.
Randle Taylor
New generation being built is being blocked by a two fold problem.
1) Lenders require a long term power purchase contract to fund a new power plant
2) The few credit worthy REPs that can issue a PPA are refusing to pay rates high enough to support the cost of building new generation.
3) The big REPs are wanting high prices and market CAPS to drive out the smaller REPs. The POLRs (Providers of last resort automatically get the entire customer base of smaller REPS if the default.
4) Existing generators have no incentive to build new generation as high market prices befit their bottom line.
Bottom line Texas consumers had better get ready for some high prices the next few years as demand outpaces capacity. The ability to build new generation is limited by EPA forcing coal to retire or retrofit and new gas generation takes years to bring online. Solar is the only quick and easily installed peak power source and it gets no help from our PUCT or ERCOT at this time. PUCT could have supported incentives already on the books that would have assured 500MW of solar would have been built immediately by simply making a voluntary REC program mandatory and increasing it to 2500MW would relieve some of the capacity issues almost immediately. PUCT continues to put the NG generators as the solution when they are only part of it and it will take years for them to respond.