NOTICE DATE: September 21, 2021

NOTICE TYPE: M-B081021-02 Legal

SHORT DESCRIPTION: Supplemental Notice of Intended Disclosure of Protected Information

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Qualified Scheduling Entities and Resource Entities

DAYS AFFECTED: August 28, 2021 and Ongoing

LONG DESCRIPTION: In connection with In re: Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Inc., Case No. 21-30725, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division and accompanying Adversary Proceeding No. 21-03863 (the “Brazos Bankruptcy Matter”), ERCOT received discovery requests from Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (the “Debtor”) and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (the “Committee”).  Tens of thousands of documents are responsive to the broad discovery requests.  Attached are the current discovery requests from the Debtor and the Committee.  Documents responsive to the requests include information that constitutes Protected Information under the ERCOT Protocols.  As reflected in the attached Scheduling Order, ERCOT is under Court Order to produce documents responsive to the discovery requests no later than September 30, 2021.  ERCOT intends to comply with the Court’s Order. 

As required by Protocols Section 1.3.5, Notice Before Permitted Disclosure, ERCOT hereby provides notice that it intends to disclose, no earlier than the close of business on September 28, 2021, the information identified and described in Market Notice M-B081021-01 (other than Emergency Operations Plans for Generation Resources), as well as other responsive documents that contain Protected Information under the ERCOT Protocols.  ERCOT does not have the time or resources required to segregate responsive information on an entity-by-entity basis in order to allow for additional review and redaction by Market Participants (primarily QSEs and Resource Entities). 

In order to fulfill ERCOT’s duty under Section 1.3.5 to “seek[] to protect . . . Protected Information from disclosure,” ERCOT has executed the form Confidentiality Agreement and Stipulated Protective Order entered in the Brazos Bankruptcy Matter (the “Protective Order”), a copy of which is attached to this Market Notice, and is negotiating an equally restrictive protective order that will be specifically applicable to the Adversary Proceeding initiated against ERCOT by the Debtor.  ERCOT intends to designate all responsive Protected Information identified during its document review “Highly Confidential” in order to preserve the confidentiality of Protected Information to the fullest extent possible.  However, due to the accelerated nature of the discovery process for this case, ERCOT cannot guarantee that every document that contains Protected Information will be identified as “Highly Confidential.”  If there are incorrect designations, then the protective order allows for reclassification into the proper designated confidentiality categories.

CONTACT: If you have any questions, please contact your ERCOT Account Manager. You may also call the general ERCOT Client Services phone number at (512) 248-3900 or contact ERCOT Client Services via email at ClientServices@ercot.com.

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