What does the ERCOT do?

As an Independent System Operator, ERCOT doesn’t own the assets nor does it make electricity. Instead, it monitors all the moving parts that keep electricity flowing from power creators – like companies that run wind turbines and natural gas plants – into Texans’ homes and businesses.

Who owns ERCOT in Texas?

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT) is an American organization that operates Texas’s electrical grid, the Texas Interconnection, which supplies power to more than 25 million Texas customers and represents 90 percent of the state’s electric load….Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

ERCOT headquarters in Austin, Texas
Website ercot.com

How does ERCOT make money?

ERCOT is funded by a System Administration Fee of 55.5 cents per MWh to cover its system costs. The cost to operate the electric grid and market for most of Texas averages about 50 -60 cents per month, or about $7 per year, for the average residential household.

Is ERCOT regulated?

ERCOT is regulated by the state government. ERCOT and electric utilities answer to the state Public Utility Commission, whose board is appointed by Gov. And everyone answers to the Texas Legislature, which can write laws to regulate any part of the system.

How does the ERCOT market work?

ERCOT provides both Day-Ahead Market (DAM) prices on a daily basis and Real-Time Market (RTM) prices on an interval basis. After the market prices are final, if ERCOT determines that prices are in need of correction, it shall notify Market Participants and describe the need for such correction.

How much does the CEO of ERCOT make?

Indeed, there are profits being made — including the personal profit of the ERCOT CEO, who is paid a whopping $883,000 annual salary to run an electric system that has proven it just doesn’t work.

Can ERCOT be sued?

ERCOT, the state’s power grid manager, claims it cannot be sued because it has “sovereign immunity,” a legal principle that protects some governmental agencies from lawsuits because allowing them would disrupt “key government services” when money is spent on litigation.

How much does CEO of ERCOT make?

Is ERCOT federally funded?

ERCOT is chartered by government, directed by government regulation, and governed by government entities. Its funding is from a tax on electric consumers on each monthly bill. There has been discussion a free-market circles about whether the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is a government agency.

Does ERCOT buy and sell power?

We do participate in the ERCOT wholesale market, which means we buy and sell power every day like the other market participants do. As a generator of power and a retail provider to customers, what happens in the wholesale market impacts CPS Energy and ultimately our customers.