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Denton staff to research buying existing power plants after council discussion
Summary
Board heard staff say City Council directed them to explore acquiring existing generation facilities in the ERCOT market to close a gap in dispatchable capacity; staff will return with a work session or memo.
Denton Public Utilities Board members on June 23 discussed a recent City Council direction to research whether acquiring existing electric generation facilities in the ERCOT market could help the city address a shortfall in dispatchable generation.
A staff member told the board the same presentation given to council on June 3 was discussed again with council on June 17, and council asked staff to explore acquiring an existing facility or evaluating proposed projects. The staff member said there is no specific lead at this time but noted there are "over 100 existing natural gas facilities in the market" and that acquiring an existing plant could get capacity on the ground faster than building new generation.
Why it matters: staff described the idea as a potential way to reduce the city eficit between peak load and dispatchable resources. The staff member said costs and environmental remediation could be substantial for some older facilities (for example, coal or lignite plants) and that the city would weigh those costs against the benefit of faster acquisition. He cited CPS Energy s an example of another utility that converted an acquired facility.
Board members asked procedural and policy questions about how deeply to discuss the matter at this meeting; the city attorney advised limiting substantive deliberation and advised that follow-up material be returned in a memo or at a work session. Several board members requested the presentation the council received and asked staff to return with information on scale, timeline and how this option fits the planning process the board discussed in May.
No formal board action or decision to acquire a facility was taken; the board directed staff to return with a work session item or memo that includes the council presentation and answers to the board bout scope, timing and potential costs.
Ending: Staff said they will bring the full presentation and additional analysis to the board at a future work session; board members signaled interest in examining any opportunity to accelerate dispatchable capacity but asked for more detail before any recommendation to council.
