Jan. 30—AUSTIN — The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) hosted a workshop Thursday for electric industry representatives across the state to discuss emergency operations plans and ensure utilities have detailed plans in place for extreme weather and other threats that could impact their electric systems and consumers.
“The safety of all Texans is the top priority of the PUCT, so it is crucial that we ensure electric utilities are prepared for any threat and have put the appropriate attention and resources into emergency operations planning,” PUCT Executive Director Connie Corona said. “Workshops like this are crucial for utilities to come together, ask questions, and share best practices and PUCT standards.”
Representatives from electric utilities, power generators, retail electric providers, municipally owned utilities, and electric cooperatives attended the workshop, along with representatives from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
Staff from the PUCT’s Infrastructure Division led participants through a review of the biennial Weather Emergency Preparedness Report. The report’s findings recommend best practices that electric entities should incorporate into their annual Emergency Operations Plan, which they must file with the PUCT annually.
The workshop also included an overview of Texas’s emergency response operations, a review of the PUCT’s Hurricane Beryl Investigation findings related to emergency operations planning, and a panel discussion with industry representatives.
An archived recording of the workshop is available here. Additional information on emergency operations plans is available here on the PUCT website.