Who controls the price of electricity?
Under the regulation of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC), the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) performs three main roles in managing the electric power and grid marketplace. • ERCOT monitors schedules submitted by buyers and sellers for the next day’s electricity supply. ERCOT ensures the system can accommodate those schedules and, if necessary, creates a new market to fill the gap. • ERCOT ensures electricity transmission reliability by managing the incoming and outgoing supply of electricity over the grid. ERCOT monitors the flow of power and issues instructions to generation and transmission companies to maintain balance. • ERCOT serves as the central hub for retail transactions. When a customer chooses a retail electric provider, ERCOT ensures the information related to the transaction is conveyed to the appropriate companies in a timely manner. ERCOT manages the flow of electric power to 22 million Texas customers—representing 85% of the state’s electric l
