The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is the power grid operator in most of the state of Texas, managing the flow of electric power to more than 26 million customers, or about 90% of the state’s overall electric load.
Texas operates on a system of deregulated power generation and retail switching, but regulated transmission lines. ERCOT represents the regulated middle tier of the system. It schedules power on an electric grid that connects more than 46,500 miles of transmission lines and 680 generation units.
It also performs financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers retail switching for millions of customers.
ERCOT is a membership-based nonprofit corporation, subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature. Its members include electric cooperatives, generators, power marketers, retail electric providers, investor-owned electric utilities, and municipal electric utilities. It is governed by a board of directors.
As of 2021, about half of the electricity generated for the ERCOT grid came from natural gas power plants, while a quarter of the power came from wind generators.
ERCOT’s administrative headquarters is in Austin and its operations center is in Taylor.
