Altiris Project Provides Remote Installation, Instantaneous Back-up Recovery

Altiris is being installed this month on ERCOT computers. The recovery solution component of the software is an automatic backup process that will allow recovery of a crashed hard drive at a moment’s notice, rather than multiple days as previously required.  Altiris will also provide daily back-ups for all ERCOT hard drives and lap-tops. Previously, only servers and share-drives were backed-up.

Other benefits of Altiris include:

• Allows the IT department to “push” software to users remotely, instead of having to be physically present to install programs from a CD (and thus disrupting the user from work).
• Assists IT in standardizing desktop environments to Windows XP/2003 which will make it easier to do maintenance and troubleshooting.
• Provides capability to run audits and supporting reports to show license compliance.
• Includes a remote control feature which will allow IT to troubleshoot a problem without having to be physically present at the computer.
• Includes an asset management component which provides reports to indicate programs not being used so that unused software can be removed and licenses applied elsewhere.

Over 400 systems now have the standard Windows XP and Office 2003.  Both the standard image deployment and the recovery solution deployment should be completed by the end of September.

* For more information, contact Bart Coleman at x6510.

TNT Celebrates One-year Anniversary

Texas Nodal Team (TNT) celebrated its one-year anniversary at the August 26th TNT General Session.  Over the course of the year, TNT has completed the high-level design requirements for a possible new Texas Nodal market structure.  TNT has also completed the first draft of the Protocols for the new Nodal market, and continues to meet with stakeholders from all segments to refine the draft.  TNT's next milestones will be completing the draft Protocol collaboration, the Cost/Benefit Analysis and the filing of the final version of proposed Texas Nodal Protocols.

TNT is made up of ERCOT market participants, ERCOT staff, and PUCT staff.  The effort is facilitated by the TNT Facilitation Team led by independent consultants Trip Doggett and Vikki Gates-Cuddy.

* For more information, contact Jim Galvin at x3870

ERCOT Transmission Services Prepares October 1 Report

Development of the “October 1 Report,” is well underway. This document, prepared annually by ERCOT transmission services, describes ERCOT system constraints, major transmission projects under study to relieve those constraints, and existing transmission projects recommended by ERCOT that address some of those constraints. The report will be widely distributed to the ERCOT board, PUCT, media, legislators and other audiences on October 1. The new transmission projects discussed in the report are intended to ensure conformance to ERCOT Planning Criteria and North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) System Reliability Standards.

The Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA), as amended by Senate Bill 7 in 1999 states: “The ERCOT independent system operator shall submit an annual report to the Commission identifying existing and potential transmission and distribution constraints and system needs within ERCOT, alternatives for meeting system needs, and recommendations for meeting system needs.” The independent Report is prepared with the cooperation and assistance of ERCOT staff, transmission service providers, distribution operation companies, load-serving entities, and generation entities.

* For more information, contact Ken Donohoo at x3003

Market Survey Response Team Working on Action Plans

The response coordination team for the market participant survey met last week to hear reports from eight teams assigned to address 26 areas identified by the survey for improvement. Response to the survey (completed in June) was very strong and gave ERCOT excellent feedback on what the organization does well and what it could do better. The response coordination team, which includes Richard Gruber, Larry Grimm, Gary Stroud and Mark Walker, will review the recommendations and present action plans to the human resources governance committees in September.

* For more information, contact Richard Gruber at x3986

Operations Change Control Instituted for Improved Accountability

The IT department has modified the process to govern changes made to ERCOT systems.  The improved process, Operations Change Control (OCC), formerly known as Configuration and Change Management, will address roles and accountability by restating approval levels.  The key changes will be establishment of a single point of contact for changes (Console Operations), in addition to allowing all employees -- not just authorizing managers -- to provide input; establishing one OCC approving manager to be accountable in each operational area; and establishing two separate business process flows for non-emergency and emergency changes.  The standardized methods and procedures will allow for prompt handling of changes, assessment of risk and impact of changes, management of relationships among changes, and provide an audit trail for changes to production environments.

* For more information, contact Kevin Judice at x3134

ERCOT 101 Expanding to Two Days

ERCOT’s retail client services team is expanding "ERCOT 101: Understanding the Tools of the Texas Retail Market” to two days. The topics are similar to the previous one-day seminars except in an expanded format. The course is intended for new retail market participants (or those looking to enter the Texas retail market), new employees of existing market participant organizations, or anyone relatively new to the ERCOT retail market wanting to refresh their general knowledge of retail market tools.  Topics include:

• ERCOT History, Overview, Roles, and Communication
• Committees
• Renewable Energy Credit Trading Program
• Data Transport and Retail Transactions
• Approved Retail Market Work-Arounds
• FasTrak
• Reports and Extracts
• Texas Market Link

The deadline to register for the Sept. 28-29 course is Friday, Sept. 17. For more information or to register, interested persons may visit the ERCOT Web site.

* For more information, contact Jennifer Frederick at x6733

Legislative Updates

The Texas House Regulated Industries Committee held a hearing in Weatherford, Texas, on August 26 to hear testimony on how to encourage investment in the telecommunications and electric service industries in Texas. Testimony was provided by professional advisors to investor groups as well as industry representatives. The witnesses stressed that investors are looking for regulatory stability and reliable, predictable return on investments (i.e., stable and fair market rules, and adequate recovery and rate of return on investment in regulated activities). Chairman Phil King announced that the Committee will hold a joint hearing with the Senate Business and Commerce Committee in late September to discuss ERCOT issues.

The Texas Energy Planning Council also met on Aug. 26 as part of its year-long process of preparing a report to the Governor prior to next year’s session of the Texas Legislature.  ERCOT’s director of transmission services, Bill Bojorquez, has been an active participant and resource on transmission grid issues for the Council’s Infrastructure Subcommittee.  The Council was appointed by Governor Rick Perry and consists of elected and appointed officials, including PUCT Commissioner Julie Parsley, as well as industry representatives and stakeholders.

* For more information, contact Bill Bojorquez at x3036 or Paul Wattles at x7242

ERCOT Meeting Dates

• Wednesday, September 1 –PUBLIC MEETING, 2005 ERCOT Budget/Financial Policy ERCOT Austin 206A, 9:00am – 12:00 pm

* For more information, contact Brittney Albracht at x7027

ERCOT at a Glance is an electronic summary of the timely and topical events going on within the organization. ERCOT at a Glance will update employees on the newsworthy and noteworthy events and accomplishments related to the business of ERCOT. We are seeking milestones, accomplishments and everyday news. If you’ve got important stories or information to share with us, please provide us with your news in electronic summary format, after first coordinating with the managers and directors in your area. We welcome your summaries (due by 5 p.m. on Thursday of each week) and look forward to hearing from you. If you have questions, please contact Heather Tindall at 512-225-7023 or htindall@ercot.com.