PRESS RELEASE
July 17, 2001
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Electric Pilot Switch Slated for July 31

Testing Continues among ERCOT, Utilities, Retailers

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) announced on Tuesday that the switch to wholesale electricity operations from ten existing control areas to a single control area will occur on July 31.

ERCOT selected this date so it could verify that all market systems and processes are functioning properly to ensure a successful retail competition pilot program. Interactive testing with the utilities and new market competitors continues on a daily basis.

The Texas electric restructuring law establishes a pilot program that allows up to five percent of customers to switch providers. The pilot program provides an opportunity to test and fine-tune systems necessary for retail choice before the full opening of the retail electric market on Jan. 1, 2002. At the end of last week 84,434 Texas residential customers were enrolled in the pilot.

PUC Web Site: http://www.puc.state.tx.us

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power to 21 million Texas customers – representing 85 percent of the state’s electric load and 75 percent of the Texas land area. As the independent system operator for the region, ERCOT schedules power on an electric grid that connects 38,000 miles of transmission lines and more than 550 generation units. ERCOT also manages financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers customer switching for 6 million Texans in competitive choice areas. ERCOT is a membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation, governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature. ERCOT's members include consumers, cooperatives, independent generators, independent power marketers, retail electric providers, investor-owned electric utilities (transmission and distribution providers), and municipal-owned electric utilities.

Contact
Dottie Roark 512-225-7024