NPRR912  Settlement of Switchable Generation Resources (SWGRs) Instructed to Switch to ERCOT

This Nodal Protocol Revision Request (NPRR) addresses the Settlement of Switchable Generation Resources (SWGRs) that receive a Reliability Unit Commitment (RUC) instruction to switch from a non-ERCOT Control Area to the ERCOT Control Area. The NPRR provides a Make-Whole Payment for a SWGR when the SWGR’s Real-Time revenues in ERCOT are not sufficient to cover certain specified costs the SWGR may have incurred in complying with such a RUC instruction. As proposed in this NPRR, eligible costs include costs of starting up and operating, energy and Ancillary Service imbalance charges assessed by the non-ERCOT Control Area Operator, and additional fuel costs directly attributable to the switch. SWGRs may recover incremental startup and operating costs above those described below based on proxy costs created by ERCOT if the SWGR does not have approved verifiable costs. The SWGR Make-Whole Payment will include costs to shutdown in the non-ERCOT grid, start in ERCOT, shutdown in ERCOT, and re-start in the non-ERCOT grid, when the SWGR switches back to the non-ERCOT control area within 24 hours of being released from the RUC. To qualify for the Make-Whole Payment, the SWGR must be operating in the non-ERCOT Control Area at the time ERCOT issues the RUC instruction. Qualified Scheduling Entities (QSEs) representing SWGRs must file a Settlement and billing dispute to trigger the Make-Whole Payment calculation. Finally, ERCOT has included language that would codify ERCOT’s intention to issue a switch directive to an SWGR only in the limited circumstances in which both the SWGR is needed to address an actual or anticipated Emergency Condition and the non-ERCOT Control Area Operator has released the SWGR to ERCOT.