ERCOT accelerates initiative to streamline energy procurement and dispatch.

Efforts to improve energy procurement and dispatch efficiency in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market are now scheduled to launch by the end of 2025, about six months earlier than initially planned, according to grid officials.

“This is the most significant enhancement to the real-time nodal market design since 2010,” said ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas. He emphasized that the Real-Time Co-optimization (RTC) project marks a milestone in ERCOT’s ability to plan and track progress toward a more dynamic and efficient wholesale power market. RTC will enable the simultaneous dispatch of energy and ancillary services in ERCOT’s real-time market. Currently, ancillary services are procured in the day-ahead market and are not typically adjusted in real-time.

ERCOT announced that it has analyzed the RTC and battery program schedule, setting a launch date of December 5, 2025. Initially targeted for mid-2026, the timeline was expedited to address reliability concerns tied to delays in securing “infeasible or insufficient” ancillary services. The project will also enhance ERCOT’s capacity to manage the evolving resource mix within the region.

Testing of RTC is set to begin in May 2025. Once operational, ERCOT Vice President of Commercial Operations Keith Collins noted the improvements are expected to provide over $1 billion in annual wholesale market savings, benefiting Texas electricity consumers.

The RTC initiative began in 2019 under the direction of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), with batteries incorporated later as more capacity became available. By fall 2024, ERCOT anticipated about 9.5 GW of batteries to be online, which have already proven crucial in stabilizing the grid during extreme heat. According to Aurora Energy Research, ERCOT could utilize approximately 20 GW of battery storage by 2035.

Additionally, Texas regulators are advancing an 80-MW distributed energy resource (DER) pilot, launched in 2022 to aggregate customer batteries into a dispatchable resource. However, the program has yet to meet its target, prompting PUCT Commissioner Jimmy Glotfelty to recommend expanding the task force overseeing the project from 20 to 31 members.

Tesla Powerwall batteries were instrumental in launching the DER pilot, but participation is currently limited to Tesla’s retail provider. Glotfelty called for a policy change to allow consumers to choose their virtual power plant (VPP) provider, regardless of equipment. He urged the task force to outline a roadmap for reaching the 80-MW target and ensure aggregated resources become a permanent part of ERCOT’s system as its Energy Management System is upgraded.

Source: Utility Dive