How to Avoid a Rough
Summer in ERCOT

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If this summer sees a repeat of last summer's weather, blackouts are likely in Texas.

ERCOT had a healthy reserve margin last summer, but the hottest weather on record repeatedly pushed its system to the brink. Now the grid operator is forecasting a reserve margin just above its 13.75% target -- and that is dependent on a 1,200-MW plant Luminant would have mothballed without a judicial stay of an EPA rule.

The PUC, ERCOT and stakeholders have been working on rule changes to address the situation. So far they have tackled ancillary services' impact on scarcity pricing. Parties are also considering other changes, such as for generators that are able to cap in an effort to incent new generation. New generation takes years, so they are also looking at expanding DR and conservation. Another option is to bring mothballed generators back to the market for the summer.

The tight market could be a boon for generators, which are able to be online during scarcity pricing. But it could lead to losses for those who see units trip when prices are near the cap. In the past, retailers who were not properly hedged went out of business when prices hit the cap -- and history could repeat itself this year.

Order the 90-minute, multi-media webinar recording and listen as this panel provides expertise on how to avoid a rough summer in ERCOT:

Ken Anderson
Commissioner
Public Utility Commission of Texas

Anderson was appointed by Governor Rick Perry to the Public Utility Commission of Texas on September 2, 2008 for a term to expire on September 1, 2011. On September 17, 2011, Governor Perry reappointed Anderson for a six-year term ending August 31, 2017. He is an attorney with more than 20 years’ experience in private practice in the areas of corporate finance law and regulatory and administrative legal matters. He previously served as director of governmental appointments in the Office of Governor Rick Perry from 2001 to early 2008. Before assuming his position in the Governor’s office, he practiced law in Dallas, Texas, with several law firms in the area of corporate and securities law. From 1988 to 1990, he served as chief deputy director of governmental appointments in the Office of Governor William P. Clements, Jr.

Anderson has been active in civic and governmental affairs. From 1990 until 1994, he served as general counsel of a major state political party. In 1990, he was appointed by Governor Clements to serve as a member of the Texas Commission on jail standards, a position he held until 1995. He served as a member of the board of directors of the North Central Texas Health Facilities Development Corporation from 1990 to 1997, having been appointed by the Dallas County Commissioners Court. During 1993 and 1994, he served as a member of the rules advisory committee of the Texas Ethics Commission, during the overhaul of its rules and regulations. In May 1999, Governor George Bush appointed Anderson to a six-year term as a member of the Texas Securities Board, the state agency that regulates the securities and investment advisory industry in this state. He served on the board until December 2006.

Anderson is a member of the Business Law and Administrative and Public Law sections of the State Bar of Texas and a past member of the Securities Law and Corporation Law committees.
He received a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a law degree from Southern Methodist University.

Dan Woodfin
Director of System Operations
Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)

Dan Woodfin recently became director of system operations for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas where he is responsible for real-time system operations and operations engineering, planning and training activities for the ERCOT System. Dan previously served as director of system planning for ERCOT where he was responsible for transmission planning, generation integration and resource adequacy activities. Woodfin has almost twenty-five years of experience in the electric utility industry.

Prior to joining ERCOT in 2003, he was manager of transmission policy at Reliant Energy and manager of resource planning at Central and South West Services (now part of American Electric Power). He also worked in various engineering and management roles in the planning and telecommunications/EMS areas at West Texas Utilities. Woodfin earned both his BSEE and MBA degrees from Texas A&M University.

Robert Zlotnik
CEO
StarTex Power

Zlotnik has over 30 years of diversified business experience, primarily with service-related entrepreneurial businesses. He co-founded StarTex Power in 2004 with his wife, Marcie. StarTex Power has won numerous accolades since its inception. Its customer service has been ranked #1 in Customer Satisfaction by JD Power and Associates and has been the only retail electricity provider to be named as a Pinnacle Award Winner by the Better Business Bureau. In 2009, the company was ranked by Inc. Magazine as the #1 Fastest Growing Privately-Owned Energy Company in the US and one of the 40 Best Places to Work. The Company has been named by the Houston Business Journal as one of the 10 Best Places to Work for four consecutive years beginning in 2007 and the fastest growing privately held company in Houston in 2009. In 2010, Zlotnik was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist for the Gulf Coast region. He has also been featured in CEO Enterprise Magazine, Smart Business, Inc. Magazine, the Houston Business Journal and Get America Growing. Constellation Energy, a Fortune 500 company, recently purchased StarTex Power.

Prior to StarTex Power, Zlotnik held executive positions with PACE Entertainment, a $700 million international live entertainment company which was sold to Clear Channel; Lifeco Travel Services, an $800 million international corporate travel agency which was sold to American Express, and Integrated Roofing and Waterproofing. He currently serves on the McCombs School of Business Advisory Council, Pro-Vision board of directors and on the Advisory Board of Casa Esperanza. Zlotnik has a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and an Master of Business Administration in finance from the University of Texas at Austin.

Kenan Ögelman
Market policy director
CPS Energy

Ögelman is responsible for analyzing market activities occurring in ERCOT, formulating CPS policy and advising CPS Energy executive management on such activities. He also serves as chairman of the ERCOT Technical Advisory Committee. CPS Energy is one of the largest municipally owned electric and gas utilities in the US. He also participates on behalf of CPS Energy in both rulemakings and contested case proceedings before the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Ögelman has significant experience in the Texas electricity market both pre and post deregulation. Prior to joining CPS Energy, he worked for the Office of Public Utility Counsel as a senior economist. Kenan graduated from the Boston University in 1987 with a Bachelor's in international relations. Subsequently, he received a Master's in economics from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1991 and a Master's in middle eastern studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

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