Texas regulators have opted to keep, for now, the minimum required duration and real-time state of charge for non-spin reserve resources at four hours, dashing the hopes of some battery energy storage system operators for a reduction that could increase competition and profitability.
On July 31, the Public Utility Commission of Texas approved the rule, which the Electric Reliability Council of Texas adopted despite stakeholder opposition and the independent market monitor’s recommendation that it be reduced to one hour.
The four-hour requirement will benefit gas peaker plants owned by independent power producers like Vistra and NRG Energy at the expense of Tesla, Engie, Enel and other stationary storage operators, Capstone analysts Monica Chen and Sanjana Patel wrote. It could also push some BESS operators out of the state’s market, they said. But analysts with Aurora Energy Research told Utility Dive it’s unlikely to result in dramatic operational changes.
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