Power Generation Company Requirements

A power generation company (PGC) is an Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market participant that (1) generates electricity that is intended to be sold at wholesale; (2) does not own a transmission or distribution facility in Texas other than an essential interconnecting facility, a facility not dedicated to public use, or a facility otherwise excluded from the Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA) definition of “electric utility;” and (3) does not have a certificated service area, although its affiliated electric utility or transmission and distribution utility may have a certificated service area.

Any generation resource that introduces energy into the ERCOT grid must be represented by a resource entity that is registered with the ERCOT independent system operator . Each resource entity must be represented by a qualified scheduling entity that is registered with the ERCOT ISO .

The sale of the generation produced is negotiated bilaterally with other market participants (with the exception of energy produced as ancillary services). The schedule of the power sale is communicated to the QSE, which communicates to ERCOT. PGCs that offer regulation service and responsive reserve services must be directly connected to the QSE in order to receive real-time regulation signals.

PGCs must comply with the following
ERCOT Protocols
ERCOT Operating Guides

PGCs must also register with the National Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) for applicable NERC functions, and comply with the following:
NERC standards

To assist PGC understanding of the ERCOT market, Texas Reliability Entity, Inc. (Texas RE) offers a summary of ERCOT Protocols and Operating Guides related to PGC responsibilities, as well as related NERC standards. It is each PGC’s responsibility to review ERCOT Protocols, ERCOT Operating Guides, and NERC standards to determine its compliance obligations. Included are the methods that Texas RE uses to assess compliance.

Assessment Method Key:

Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) Performance
Describes a generation unit’s AVR testing requirements
Assessment:	Five-year cycle or upon request
Protocol(s):	6.10.3.5
Operating Guide(s):	3.1.4.4
NERC Standard(s):

Black Start Procedures
Identifies the obligation to maintain and update black start plans annually
Assessment:	Annual
Protocol(s):
Operating Guide(s):	4.6, Attachment 4A.4
NERC Standard(s):	EOP-007-0

Black Start Service and Performance
Explains black start services and testing requirements
Assessment:	Annual
Protocol(s):	6.5.8, 6.10.3.6
Operating Guide(s):
NERC Standard(s):	EOP-009-0

Generator Modeling Requirements
Identifies information required for modeling
Assessment:
Protocol(s):
Operating Guide(s):	3.1.4
NERC Standard(s):	MOD-012-0

Generator Under-Frequency Relay Coordination
Details the operating characteristics of a generation unit’s protective relay system, as required by Operating Guide 2.9, Requirements for Under-Frequency Relaying
Assessment:
Protocol(s):
Operating Guide(s):	3.1.4.6
NERC Standard(s):	PRC-006-0

Net Dependable Capability Performance
Identifies the criteria for testing generators for net dependable capability in the ERCOT system
Assessment:	Seasonal
Protocol(s):	6.10.2
Operating Guide(s):	3.1.4.2, 6.2.2
NERC Standard(s):

Outage Scheduling Procedures, 12-Month
Identifies process of scheduling outages for generation resources
Assessment:	Seasonal
Protocol(s):	8.1.3
Operating Guide(s):
NERC Standard(s):	TOP-003-0

Reactive Testing
Identifies the requirements for testing reactive, both lead and lag
Assessment:	Biannual
Protocol(s):	6.10.3.5
Operating Guide(s):	3.1.4.3, 6.2.3
NERC Standard(s):

Reliability Must-Run (RMR) Generation Performance
Refers to technical requirements specified in protocol section 6.10, Ancillary Services Qualification, Testing, and Performance Standards
Assessment:
Protocol(s):	6.5.9(4)
Operating Guide(s):
NERC Standard(s):

System Operator Training
Describes training requirements for ERCOT-registered TOs and QSEs, as well as ERCOT ISO system operators
Assessment:
Protocol(s):
Operating Guide(s):	1.8(1.8.1 - 1.8.5)
NERC Standard(s):