By: Turner of Harris H.B. No. 3343
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
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, [and] to providers of
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.