ERCOT’s market structure needs a makeover, according to Texas’s top electricity regulator. (E&E News)
As data centers proliferate in the Lone Star State, PUC Chair Thomas Gleeson said the commission is rethinking how it spreads transmission costs among customers.
Currently, major power users get charged for transmission and distribution based on how much electricity they use during the grid’s busiest one-hour periods over June, July, August, and September. The issue? Over these times, large industrial users tightly limit power use to reduce costs.
The incoming wave of demand: Hyperscalers have asked to pull a combined 226 GW from ERCOT—nearly 3X its all-time peak demand of 85.5 GW. But wholesale forward prices don’t reflect that projected load growth. Gleeson said this makes it difficult for the market to incentivize the new generation Texas will need.