ERCOT to Build Two New Facilities, Hire an Additional 120 Employees

Construction begins on 45,000-square foot facility

Austin – The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT), the industry coalition that administers the state's power grid and serves approximately 85 percent of the state's electric load, today announced that construction has begun on its new 45,000-square foot facility at the Met Center in Austin, Texas, while an 85,000-square foot facility in Taylor, Texas is set to break ground this fall. Meanwhile, in order to meet the staffing needs created by the newly restructured electric market, ERCOT plans to hire an additional 120-130 employees by January 2002, including individuals with legal, communications, engineering, accounting, technical, economist, analyst, and clerical backgrounds (see: Job Listing).

Tom Noel, ERCOT's Chief Executive Officer who joined the organization on May 1, 2000, says that ERCOT has much work to do between now and the beginning of 2002. "We've got a full plate and the clock is ticking," Noel said, referring to the seventeen months that remain until the official open of the new market. "We've established priorities and goals and we've got a timeline in place to assure that we'll be ready when we need to be. Those priorities include building two new facilities and hiring over a hundred new employees."

In most cities in Texas, both individuals and corporations will be able to choose from whom they want to buy power when the Texas market becomes restructured in January 2002. The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has charged ERCOT with overseeing the purchases and sales that will result from the restructuring, and to guard against transactions that might jeopardize the overall reliability of the electrical grid. Currently, the ERCOT service area is administered by ten control areas that match power generation and electric demand, and that also operate transmission systems in 85 percent of the state. That expanse includes approximately 75 percent of the land area in Texas. Only the El Paso region, the northern panhandle, a small area around Texarkana, and a small portion of the region around Beaumont remain uncovered by ERCOT.

Beginning in 2001 when a trial "Mock Market" is instituted, the ERCOT coverage areas will be serviced by a single control center (called the ERCOT Independent System Operator, or ISO) located in Taylor, making it imperative for the 85,000-sqare foot facility to be constructed. An essential back-up ISO (necessary during times of unexpected failure experienced by the primary ISO) will be housed in the 45,000 square-foot facility currently under construction in Austin, and is scheduled to be ready for move-in by March of 2001. The completion of the primary ISO is tentatively scheduled for early winter in 2002. The power grid will be administered at the new Austin facility until the new Taylor facility is finished.

Noel says that the ISO at both facilities will be staffed by a crew 24-hours a day. "In the event that either a natural disaster or other debilitating event causes the Taylor ISO to become incapacitated, the back-up facility in Austin would immediately take over without us missing a beat. Maintaining and controlling the frequency of the power grid is critical enough that we knew we had to build a second facility to provide relief in cases of emergency." Dual power feeds (an uninterruptible supply system) as well as a diesel-powered generator (utilized as a secondary back-up system) will be installed to assure that the ISO is always operational.

In addition to housing the back-up ISO, Noel said that the building at the Met Center will also house the executive offices and provide training accommodations. He says its close proximity to Austin Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) made the Met Center very attractive to ERCOT officials, since so many of ERCOT's members frequently travel to Austin for necessary meetings, training, and workshops. Noel says that by 2002, he foresees that approximately 35-40 employees will work at the Austin facility, while 160-170 employees will be officed at the Taylor facility, just 45 minutes north of the Met Center.