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Staff of the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUCT) filed a memo that includes staff’s recommended proposal for publication in a rulemaking to update wholesale and IOU retail transmission cost recovery in the ERCOT region.

Specifically, Commission staff proposes amendments to existing 16 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §25.192, relating to Transmission Rates for Export from ERCOT and §25.193, relating to Distribution Service Provider Transmission Cost Recovery Factors (TCRF).

“The purpose of the proposed changes is to implement Senate Bill 6 enacted during the Texas 89th Legislature, Regular Session. Commission staff’s proposal replaces the four coincident peak (4CP) methodology with a 12 coincident peak (12CP) methodology for assigning transmission costs, codifies using a 30-minute interval to measure 12CP, requires non-opt-in-entity distribution service providers (DSPs) to provide ERCOT access to settlement-quality meter data for each large load customer in its service territory, and requires adjustments to the calculation of DSP-level billing determinants that maintain alignment between wholesale transmission cost recovery and retail transmission cost recovery. “

“Commission staff’ s proposal also requires the use of a minimum billing demand for large load customers and requires investor-owned utility DSPs to update class allocation factor values annually. These proposed changes present a comprehensive framework that will ensure that wholesale transmission charges appropriately assign costs for transmission investment and will ensure that transmission cost recovery appropriately charges the system costs that are caused by each customer class.”