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PUCT Staff and EDP Renewables North America Reach Settlement Agreement
Generator Agrees to Pay Administrative Penalty of $199,000 for ERCOT Violations
The Staff of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and EDP Renewables North America LLC (EDPR), Mesquite Wind, LLC (Mesquite), Post Oak Wind, LLC (Post Oak) and Reloj del Sol Wind Farm LLC (RDS) (together, the EDPR Parties,) enter into a settlement and agreement that includes a proposed order for the Commission’s consideration.
The agreement resolves and concludes Commission Staff’s investigation of the EDPR Parties for violations of PURA1 § 39.151(j), 16 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) § 25.503(f)(2) and ERCOT Nodal Protocols2 §§ 3.15(4)(d) and 6.5.7.7(5), related to voltage support service (VSS).
Per the settlement agreement, Commission Staff recommends, and the EDPR Parties agree to pay, an administrative penalty of $199,000 for the violations detailed in this agreement, of which $55,000 is related to operations of Mesquite, $35,000 is related to operations of Post Oak, and $109,000 is related to operations of RDS.
As background, EDPR is a foreign limited liability company registered with the Texas secretary of state, Mesquite, Post Oak, and RDS are subsidiaries of EDPR, Mesquite is registered with the Commission as a power generation company (PGC), Post Oak is registered with the Commission as a PGC, and RDS is registered with the Commission as a PGC Each of the EDPR Parties is an ERCOT market participant. EDPR’s subsidiaries operate generation resources (GR), which generate electricity to be sold in the ERCOT region.
Violations include:
EDPR parties violated PURA § 39.151(j), and 16 TAC § 25.503(f)(2), and ERCOT Nodal Protocol §§ 3.15(4)(d) and 6.5.7.7(5), by failing to provide VSS within the tolerance band of the set point as directed by ERCOT on a total of 199 days from February 1, 2023 to May 31,2023.
Between February 1, 2023 and May 31, 2023, Mesquite, Post Oak, and RDS failed to provide the required VSS:
- Mesquite unit LNCRK.UN.G83 was noncompliant for 55 days.
- Post Oak units LNCRK2.UN.G871 and LNCRK2.UN.G872 were noncompliant for 35 days.
- RDS units RELOJ.UN.UNIT1, RELOJ.UN.UNIT2, RELOJ.UN.UNIT3, and RELOJ.UN.UNIT4 were noncompliant for 109 days. ‘
