At the January 17, 2019 Open Meeting, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (Commission) addressed several highly contested issues, including storage, Operating Reserve Demand Curve, Real-Time Co-optimization, and Marginal Losses. First, in Project No. 48023, Rulemaking to Address the Use of Non-Traditional Technologies in Electric Delivery Service (the Battery Project), dealing with utility ownership of battery storage, the Commission decided to defer further action until Texas Legislature’s regular session concludes. This decision comes after 63 comments were filed with the Commission, expressing widely varying views on whether a transmission and distribution utility within ERCOT may legally own and operate battery storage facilities. The Commission previously submitted through its Scope of Competition Report a request for the Legislature to enact legislation clarifying this legal point.
PUCT Finalizes Recommendations for 2019 Scope of Competition Report
The Public Utility Commission of Texas has finalized the recommendations it will include in its upcoming 2019 Report on the Scope of Competition in Electric Markets in Texas to the 86th Texas Legislature, which goes into session January 8, 2019. The Commission voted on the recommendations at its December 20, 2018 meeting; the most significant…
Gov. Abbott Appoints New Public Utility Commissioner
The Texas Public Utility Commission has a new member with Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) appointment of Arthur D’Andrea to a six year term. D’Andrea currently serves as assistant general counsel to Gov. Abbott and was previously an assistant solicitor general for the Texas Attorney General’s office.
This makes Gov. Abbott’s second appointment of the year, having named
Hurricane Harvey Texas Electricity Update
As you are all aware, hurricane Harvey had a major impact on Texas and has left many residents without power. On August 28th, in order to facilitate the monitoring of the effects of the hurricane, the PUCT opened PUC Project 47552 – Issues Related to the Disaster Resulting From Hurricane Harvey. At…
Texas Legislature Passes Several Energy Bills
While the Texas 85th legislative session began with the filing of several bills on a diverse range of energy issues, few had made it into law when the session ended on May 29, 2017. The House and Senate passed legislation that impacts wind generation facilities, electric utility rate-setting and the General Land Office’s retail electricity…
NextEra Bid to Acquire Oncor Rejected by PUCT
During the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) open meeting today, the commissioners unanimously approved, with no substantive discussion, a proposed order finding that the sale of Oncor Electric to NextEra Energy is not in the public interest.
On October 31, 2016, NextEra and Oncor had filed a Joint Report and Application with the PUCT seeking the regulatory approvals required for NextEra to acquire Oncor. NextEra was hoping to acquire both the approximately 80% interest in Oncor indirectly held by Energy Future Holdings Corp. (EFH), which is currently in bankruptcy, and the 19.75% interest indirectly held by Texas Transmission Holdings Corporation. In addition,
Texas PUC Chairman Announces Early Departure
At the start of today’s Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) open meeting, Chairman Donna Nelson announced that May 15, 2017 will be her final day at the commission. This is a month before she was speculated to be leaving the commission. In order to fill her vacant space, the Governor must appoint a replacement.
While the…
Webinar: Solar Finance and the Investor Tax Credit
Husch Blackwell and the Texas Renewable Energies Industries Alliance have teamed up to produce a webinar series focused on the Texas solar industry, titled “On the Horizon”. Register here for the final webinar in the series, in which Husch Blackwell’s Chauncey Lane and Jason Reschly will focus on solar development finance and the investor tax credit. They’ll give advice on tax requirements to qualify for solar tax credits, discuss tax issues for structuring transactions, identify trends in
Texas Solar Webinar Series
Husch Blackwell and the Texas Renewable Energies Industries Alliance have teamed up to produce a webinar series titled, On the Horizon, focused on the Texas solar industry. The latest installment focused on solar leases and mineral right issues and is now available on-demand. The panelists discussed recommended provisions for solar leases including steps solar project developers can take to anticipate mineral estate operations and lessen the potential impact of right of access under the Texas’ Accommodation Doctrine.
Register here for the final two webinars of the year:
Motion for Rehearing Filed in Accommodation Doctrine Case
As discussed in our client alert, the Supreme Court of Texas issued an opinion on May 27, 2016, extending the accommodation doctrine to groundwater owners. The City of Lubbock (the City) filed a Motion for Rehearing on August 2, 2016 requesting clarification of certain language in the opinion. Specifically, the City argues that as written, the opinion would allow the limitations of the accommodation doctrine to govern a groundwater lessee’s rights to the surface to extract groundwater, in spite of the express rights granted by the deed between the parties, on the grounds that: