Dive Brief:
- In a filing with the Texas Public Utilities Commission (PUC), independent power producers Calpine and NRG Energy have attempted to undermine a Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)-backed transmission line, the Houston Import Regional Planning Group Project.
- The companies argue the line's need has not been properly assessed, and that ERCOT is trying to solve issues with the grid's reliability in the wrong way. Rather than spend money on generating more power from new resources, the operator is hoping increased transmission will solve reliability problems.
- A major failing of the project, NRG and Calpine said, is ERCOT's assumption that building the line will result in more resource generation in the rest of the state. The operator doesn't have evidence to back up this claim.
Dive Insight:
Underpinning NRG and Calpine's complaints is a larger question about how to solve a lack of reliable generation resources in Texas. Both companies have thus far failed to get PUC approval for a forward-capacity market that could help boost stagnant electricity prices in the region.
Calpine and NRG were joined in their criticisms by CenterPoint Energy, who criticized ERCOT for how it divvied up the line's construction. CenterPoint was made a co-provider of the new line and the sole provider of the upgrades to the existing transmission line, but believes it should be the sole provider for both lines, arguing ERCOT policy says the operator of the end transmission station should automatically be made provider for a line.
The project would involve constructing a new line between substations at Limestone, Gibbons Creek, and Zenith, as well as an upgrade to another line. It is projected to cost $590 million and construction will be complete by end of 2018.