Patrick vs Abbott proxy war: B&C Chair Schwertner blasts PUC vote on redesign of the Texas electricity grid
Following the unanimous vote of the Public Utility Commission of Texas to adopt the so-called " Performance Credit Mechanism " – aimed at the first redesign of Texas' electric grid since 1995 – Senate Business and Commerce Committee Chairman Charles Schwertner seemed ready to go to war with Gov. Greg Abbott 's appointees over it.
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Following the unanimous vote of the Public Utility Commission of Texas to adopt the so-called " Performance Credit Mechanism " – aimed at the first redesign of Texas' electric grid since 1995 – Senate Business and Commerce Committee Chairman Charles Schwertner seemed ready to go to war with Gov. Greg Abbott 's appointees over it.
"As the author of SB 3, the Performance Credit Mechanism adopted by the Public Utility Commission at today's open meeting represents a substantial departure from legislative intent," Chair Schwertner said.
"To be clear: SB3 did not direct the PUC to replace the state's energy-only market with an unnecessarily complex, capacity-style design that puts the competitive market at risk without guaranteeing the delivery of new dispatchable generation," he said in a letter addressed to the members of the commission.
But PUC Chair Peter Lake didn't agree with that assessment at all. "Adoption of the PCM market design meets the requirements of Senate Bill 3, as passed by the 87th Texas Legislature and signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott, which directs the PUCT to create grid reliability standards that ensure on-demand generation is available “during times of low non-dispatchable power production," Lake said in a written statement after the vote.
“We heard Texans loud and clear; they demand a reliable grid," Lake said. "Landmark reforms have proven effective in enhancing the reliability of the grid we have today by providing electricity during record heat and arctic blasts over the past year." Meantime some major stakeholders like the Texas Association of Manufacturers , for example, sounded disappointed in the PUC vote. "TAM is concerned with today’s action by the PUC to approve a novel proposal that is not well understood, and has not been modeled, but appears to be designed to ensure a certain profit level for existing generation," said TAM President Tony Bennett . "We remain committed to market design changes that will preserve our competitive market while improving incentives for additional dispatchable generation. We are hopeful that a version of the performance credit mechanism can be crafted that would encourage this type of new investment and provide enhanced reliability for consumers without excessive costs."' Developing...