PRESS RELEASE
August 01, 2005
 Print Version Print Version

ERCOT Media Advisory - August 1, 2005

Public Meeting on 2006 ERCOT Budget
1:30 - 4 p.m., August 3
ERCOT, 7620 Metro Center Drive, Austin

The public is invited to ERCOT’s annual meeting Aug. 3 to discuss the ERCOT 2006 budget draft before it is submitted to the ERCOT Board of Directors for approval. ERCOT will file a proceeding at the Public Utility Commission by Oct. 1, 2005, to justify the 2006 system administration fee.

Agenda

  • Introductory Comments
  • What ERCOT Does
    • Vision, Mission, Goals
  • How is ERCOT Performing
    • 2005 Dashboard
    • Cost Savings in 2005 Resources Required
    • Budget Schedule
    • Operating Budget Assumptions
    • Capital Project Assumptions
    • Organization
    • Operating Budget Overviews by Officer
  • Input, Questions and Wrap-up

ERCOT Budget Background

ERCOT Governance

ERCOT is a membership-based 501(c)(6) nonprofit corporation, governed by a board of directors, subject to oversight by the Texas Legislature, and fully regulated by the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas. ERCOT’s members include retail consumers, investor- and municipally owned electric utilities, rural electric co-ops, river authorities, independent generators, power marketers and retail electric providers.

The PUC’s Role

The PUC approves the ERCOT system administration fee in a manner similar to a regulated utility rate case. ERCOT will file a proceeding at the Public Utility Commission by Oct. 1, 2005, to justify the 2006 system administration fee at or below the current level of $.42 per megawatt-hour. A fee of $.42 would yield projected revenue of approximately $129.7 million, which does not include funding for new market monitoring functions or system enhancements related to a new wholesale market design.

System Administration Fee

The administration fee is assessed on wholesale energy transactions in the ERCOT market and, therefore, embedded in the overall cost of all electric energy. If the costs were passed straight through to the consumer, the fee would translate to about $.42 per month for the average residential customer. The system administration fee is not an item on a residential electric bill.

ERCOT Administrative Fee History

1999 $ 0.15
2000 $ 0.15
2001 $ 0.22
2002 $ 0.33
2003 $ 0.33
2004 $ 0.44
2005 $ 0.42

The 61-page budget presentation is posted on the ERCOT Web site as ERCOT 2006 Budget Public Meeting under Reports and Presentations 2005.

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