The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is holding a public meeting on Thursday, April 6, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. to receive comments from market participants and other interested persons concerning the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s newly adopted Rules Concerning Certification of the Electric Reliability Organization ("ERO Reliability Rule" or "rule"), which were issued on February 3, 2006.

ERCOT is considering the options provided by the rule for creation of a regional entity (RE) to propose and enforce reliability standards under the rule for the ERCOT market region. Interested persons are asked to come to the meeting prepared to address the following specific questions:

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages (legal, policy and practical) of the creation of a new legal entity, separate from ERCOT, to serve as an RE for the ERCOT region?
2. What kind of board should govern the RE if it is a new legal entity, separate from ERCOT, and how should board members be selected?
3. If ERCOT were to apply to be the RE, with only "functional" and not legal entity separation, what steps could be taken and what reporting structure could be implemented to ensure the RE’s independence from ERCOT sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the rule?

The ERO Reliability Rule was adopted by the FERC in compliance with requirements of Section XII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 16 U.S.C. 8240. The text of the rule may be accessed from a variety of public sources including the NERC website: ERO Implementation