Some of the largest electricity buyers in the world have a message for Texas: charge us. The Texas Energy Buyers Alliance was the first organization to propose that large loads pay transmission charges tied to their approved capacity. The idea is to protect other customers as the grid builds out.

The scale explains why. ERCOT estimates up to 110 gigawatts of new large loads could seek to connect over the next five years, more than double today’s system peak of about 86 gigawatts. Before any of that generation arrives, about $37 billion in transmission costs are already baked into the system, pushing rates up roughly 3.5 percent a year for every customer. The open question is how much of the new bill supports the new demand.

On this episode of the Energy Capital Podcast, Matt Boms talks with Bryn Baker, senior director of policy for organized markets for the Clean Energy Buyers Association and leader of the Texas Energy Buyers Alliance, the state chapter representing large energy buyers. Baker walks through TEBA’s proposal: charge minimum demand charges on large loads at levels that studies suggest would leave other customers’ rates neutral or lower.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and who TEBA represents

02:47 The corporate buyer market and Texas' share

04:13 Why Texas beats PJM for large loads

06:45 What data centers offer the average ratepayer

10:02 The batch process and batch zero

12:25 Grading the compromise and the qualification problem

15:33 Transmission planning and the case for 765 kV

19:13 4CP vs 12CP and who pays for the wires

23:05 Energy attribute certificates: the sleeper story

26:54 EACs and unlocking demand flexibility

28:19 The EAC program: process, timeline, and what's novel

30:10 What makes Baker optimistic

32:13 The real mood in the market

35:16 Renewables, batteries, and keeping costs down

37:09 Rethinking economic transmission planning

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Why some large loads insist on paying their way

Energy Capital Podcast (private feed for [email protected])

Why some large loads insist on paying their way