SCOTX Hears Arguments in APA Challenge to PUC’s OK of Post-Uri Pricing Rule

An attorney for the Public Utility Commission of Texas told the state’s supreme court during oral arguments Tuesday that if the Third Court of Appeals in Austin was correct in holding PUC’s adoption of a new load shed price-setting protocol was invalid, the detrimental ripple effect will be vast.

At issue in the case that pits PUC against RWE Renewables Americas is whether the PUC ran afoul of the Administrative Procedure Act in July 2021 when it approved an Electric Reliability Council of Texas protocol, called the Nodal Protocol Revision Request 1081. NPRR 1081 requires setting electricity prices at the $9,000/MWh maximum anytime an inadequate electricity supply cuts off consumers from power in an emergency. It was enacted after PUC directed ERCOT during 2021’s Winter Storm Uri to temporarily set electricity prices at the statutory maximum of $9,000/MWh.