Bill Text: TX SB1284 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the development of electricity demand response programs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-18 - Referred to Natural Resources & Economic Development [SB1284 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-SB1284-Introduced.html
| 84R8424 GRM-F | ||
| By: Watson | S.B. No. 1284 | |
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| relating to the development of electricity demand response | ||
| programs. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 39.101(b), Utilities Code, is amended to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| (b) A customer is entitled: | ||
| (1) to be informed about rights and opportunities in | ||
| the transition to a competitive electric industry; | ||
| (2) to choose the customer's retail electric provider | ||
| consistent with this chapter, to have that choice honored, and to | ||
| assume that the customer's chosen provider will not be changed | ||
| without the customer's informed consent; | ||
| (3) to have access to providers of energy efficiency | ||
| services, to on-site distributed generation, [ |
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| energy generated by renewable energy resources, and to | ||
| participation in demand response through demand response | ||
| providers; | ||
| (4) to be served by a provider of last resort that | ||
| offers a commission-approved standard service package; | ||
| (5) to receive sufficient information to make an | ||
| informed choice of service provider; | ||
| (6) to be protected from unfair, misleading, or | ||
| deceptive practices, including protection from being billed for | ||
| services that were not authorized or provided; and | ||
| (7) to have an impartial and prompt resolution of | ||
| disputes with its chosen retail electric provider and transmission | ||
| and distribution utility. | ||
| SECTION 2. Subchapter Z, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Section 39.9053 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 39.9053. DEMAND RESPONSE IN ERCOT. (a) The | ||
| legislature finds that electricity markets function most | ||
| efficiently when supply side and demand side resources both | ||
| contribute to the adequacy of the electric system. The legislature | ||
| also finds that ERCOT has not yet achieved its potential for demand | ||
| response, and, therefore, it is the policy of this state to promote | ||
| the development of demand response to its maximum potential and to | ||
| eliminate unnecessary barriers to demand response participation in | ||
| ERCOT. | ||
| (b) In this section: | ||
| (1) "Demand response" means changes in electric usage | ||
| by customers from their normal consumption patterns in response to: | ||
| (A) changes in the price of electricity use over | ||
| time; or | ||
| (B) incentive payments designed to induce lower | ||
| electricity use at times of high wholesale market prices or when the | ||
| system reliability is jeopardized. | ||
| (2) "Demand response provider" means a competitive | ||
| energy services provider that aggregates customer load reduction | ||
| capabilities, including reliability demand response capability, | ||
| and offers those capabilities into an electricity market or | ||
| program. | ||
| (3) "Reliability demand response" means demand | ||
| response to be dispatched by an independent system operator or a | ||
| distribution utility in response to an electric grid reliability | ||
| issue. | ||
| (c) The commission by rule shall: | ||
| (1) require the independent organization certified | ||
| under Section 39.151 for the ERCOT region to provide the commission | ||
| not less frequently than December 1 of each odd-numbered year with | ||
| an analysis of the potential demand response opportunity and | ||
| penetration in the ERCOT region; | ||
| (2) promote development of demand response | ||
| participation by customers in all customer classes; | ||
| (3) remove barriers to demand response participation | ||
| for demand response providers and for customers in all customer | ||
| classes; | ||
| (4) ensure that customers in all customer classes have | ||
| the option to contract for participation in demand response either | ||
| directly with one or more demand response providers, including | ||
| retail electric providers, with scheduling entities qualified by | ||
| the independent system operator, or with a combination of entities | ||
| consisting of the independent system operator and one or more | ||
| demand response providers; | ||
| (5) establish and encourage markets, products, | ||
| programs, or services for reliability demand response and other | ||
| forms of demand response in wholesale and retail markets; and | ||
| (6) provide opportunities for demand response | ||
| providers and customers to participate in wholesale energy markets | ||
| and ancillary services markets on a comparable basis with other | ||
| resources, while accommodating differences in operational | ||
| capabilities of various customer loads among customer classes, | ||
| including but not limited to differences related to availability, | ||
| dispatch notification timelines, curtailment response times, ramp | ||
| rates, curtailment duration, and times required to return to | ||
| service following an outage. | ||
| SECTION 3. The Public Utility Commission of Texas shall | ||
| adopt rules as necessary to implement Section 39.9053, Utilities | ||
| Code, as added by this Act, not later than May 1, 2016. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect September 1, 2015. | ||
