ERCOT: MAINTAINING GRID RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY TO MEET THE ELECTRIC NEEDS OF TEXAS

Each morning as the sun rises over the Lone Star State, Texans go to work, our businesses open their doors, students go to school, and electric load increases – everyone associated with the Texas grid works together seamlessly to deliver the most reliable and affordable electricity to more than 27 million hardworking Texas families and businesses. With Texas forecasted to experience tremendous economic and population growth in the next five to seven years, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is adopting a new era of planning to focus on ensuring all areas of system planning – from generation and load interconnections to transmission development – better serve the demands of the rapidly growing Texas economy.

ERCOT expects that demand for power will continue to increase in future years due to population growth, an increase of large loads (cryptomining and data centers), and electrifying oil and gas operations. As the grid operator for about 90% of Texas’ electric load, ERCOT understands the incredible responsibility it carries to manage a reliable, resilient electric grid for all Texans, now and in the future.

“As a result of Texas’ continued strong economic growth, new load is being added to the ERCOT system faster and in greater amounts than ever before,” said ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas. “ERCOT is working with the Texas Legislature, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), Market Participants, and other key stakeholders who are aligned in supporting this economy-driven growth while simultaneously bolstering the grid’s reliability and resiliency.”

Who is ERCOT?

Founded in 1970, ERCOT is the independent system operator (ISO) that manages the flow of electric power to more than 27 million Texas customers. The grid has over 85,000 megawatts of available generation capacity. ERCOT does not own transmission poles or wires and does not have direct control over which energy sources are used or prioritized in the grid.

ERCOT’s mission is to serve the public by ensuring a reliable grid, efficient electricity markets, open access, and retail choice. Governed by a 12-member Board of Directors, led by Chair Bill Flores and Vice Chair Peggy Heeg, ERCOT is subject to oversight by the PUCT and the Texas Legislature. All ERCOT Board members are Texas residents.

ERCOT operates much like a symphony conductor—it doesn’t own the instruments or the concert hall, but it coordinates all the moving parts to ensure everything plays in harmony and on time.

As the energy industry faces dynamic change, ERCOT is continuously evolving and making necessary improvements to the grid to support the needs of a growing population and robust economy. The generation mix that powers the grid has changed, and how ERCOT operates the grid has evolved with it.

Generation powering the grid

As demand for power in Texas continues to grow, ERCOT remains technology-neutral in the resources that generate electricity that serve the demand but does prioritize dispatchable generation (e.g., natural gas) in the interconnection queue to ensure it reaches commercial operations as quickly as possible. Texas’ energy fuel mix is diverse and includes nuclear, coal, gas, solar and wind, and battery storage.

ERCOT’s generation interconnection queue (as of March 31, 2025) shows 2,018 active requests awaiting connection to the grid made up of gas, solar, wind, and battery storage, and totaling 405 gigawatts. Solar (157 GW) and battery energy storage (172 GW) represent the majority of the current gigawatts within

the interconnection queue. Wind generation represents 40 GW. There is a growing need for more dispatchable thermal resources to balance out the intermittent nature of solar and wind.

Reliability and resiliency improvements

Following Winter Storm Uri in 2021, the Texas Legislature and the PUCT directed ERCOT to improve electric reliability and resiliency for Texans. Since 2021, ERCOT has implemented grid reliability and communications tools, including the ERCOT Contingency Reserve Service (ECRS), weatherization and inspections, and the Texas Advisory and Notification System (TXANS).

As part of these reliability efforts, in August 2024, the PUCT issued an order adopting a new rule to establish a Reliability Standard in the ERCOT region and a process for the regular assessment of whether the system is meeting that standard. The Reliability Standard serves as a performance benchmark for the region’s ability to meet consumer demand now and three years in the future. For the first time, customers in the ERCOT region

have a framework to measure the current and projected reliability of the grid. The Reliability Standard will allow policy makers to regularly evaluate the system and make informed decisions regarding costs and benefits of any improvements necessary to meet Texas’ growing demand for power. The work to determine the first Reliability Standard will begin in 2026 over a multi-year process.

Weatherization

In February 2021, during Winter Storm Uri, Texas was subject to freezing temperatures for more than 100 consecutive hours. Some power plants and natural gas infrastructure experienced availability problems and were not able to provide energy or gas due to the extreme cold temperatures and freezing precipitation, resulting in a prolonged period of customer outages. Following the storm, the Texas Legislature mandated that the PUCT require the weatherization of power facilities (generation and transmission) and that the Railroad Commission of Texas require the weatherization of natural gas infrastructure in the ERCOT region.

ERCOT oversees Texas' isolated power grid, which is separate from the two main interconnected grids that serve the rest of the continental U.S.

Since its inception in December 2021, the Weatherization Inspection Program successfully met the PUCT requirement to conduct 1,800 inspections over a threeyear period. As of the end of March 2025, ERCOT has completed 3,362 weatherization inspections, including 2,222 inspections of generation facilities and 1,440 inspections of transmission facilities. Weatherization inspections have had a positive impact on ensuring facilities operate reliably during extreme weather conditions; this work is vital to strengthening the ERCOT grid.

Texas Advisory and Notification System (TXANS)

In May 2023, ERCOT launched the Texas Advisory and Notification System (TXANS), a communications tool to keep Texans updated on grid conditions ahead of significant weather conditions where high demand on the grid is possible and to inform Texans of any action needed. TXANS communications are also available in Spanish, adding an additional level of transparency and awareness.

“ERCOT is passionate about our mission to serve the public,” said Bill Flores, ERCOT Board of Directors Chair. “As we continue to navigate the challenges facing the energy industry and the need to continuously evolve and make the necessary improvements to the grid to meet the demands of Texas’ growing economy and population, we remain dedicated and committed to our overall responsibility: delivering reliable and affordable electricity for hardworking Texas families and businesses.”

As the grid transforms, ERCOT continues to work on new, innovative ideas to meet the continued load growth, changes to the generation mix on the grid, digitization, and weather events. ERCOT will be increasing its efforts to better utilize innovation, transformation, and collaboration to address the challenges and opportunities facing future grid operations so that ERCOT can be positioned to meet the needs of this incredibly fast-growing state. n