Sec. 38.076.  INVOLUNTARY AND VOLUNTARY LOAD SHEDDING.  (a)  The commission by rule shall adopt a system to allocate load shedding among electric cooperatives, municipally owned utilities, and transmission and distribution utilities providing transmission service in the ERCOT power region during an involuntary load shedding event initiated by the independent organization certified under Section 39.151 for the region during an energy emergency.
(b)  The system must provide for allocation of the load shedding obligation to each electric cooperative, municipally owned utility, and transmission and distribution utility in different seasons based on historical seasonal peak demand in the service territory of the electric cooperative, municipally owned utility, or transmission and distribution utility.
(c)  The commission by rule shall:
(1)  categorize types of critical load that may be given the highest priority for power restoration; and
(2)  require electric cooperatives, municipally owned utilities, and transmission and distribution utilities providing transmission service in the ERCOT power region to submit to the commission and the independent organization certified under Section 39.151 for the region:
(A)  customers or circuits the cooperative or utility has designated as critical load; and
(B)  a plan for participating in load shedding in response to an involuntary load shedding event described by Subsection (a).
(d)  The commission by rule shall require electric cooperatives and municipally owned utilities providing transmission service in the ERCOT power region to:
(1)  maintain lists of customers willing to voluntarily participate in voluntary load reduction; and
(2)  coordinate with municipalities, businesses, and customers that consume large amounts of electricity to encourage voluntary load reduction.
(e)  This section does not abridge, enlarge, or modify the obligation of an electric cooperative, a municipally owned utility, or a transmission and distribution utility to comply with federal reliability standards.
(f)  After each load shedding event, the commission may conduct an examination of the implementation of load shedding, including whether each electric cooperative, municipally owned utility, and transmission and distribution utility complied with its plan as filed with the commission under Subsection (c)(2).
Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 426 (S.B. 3), Sec. 16, eff. June 8, 2021.