Electric Reliability Cost Survey

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Frequently Asked Questions Electric Reliability Cost Survey The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) conducted a survey of Texas electricity customers to study the costs they may incur from power interruptions. The survey was conducted in Spring 2024 and is now closed. The survey was developed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and has been used nationally by utilities and electricity regulators to develop innovative grid reliability policy and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of grid infrastructure improvements. Below you'll find answers to frequently asked questions about the survey. If your question is not answered here or you need additional information, please contact the PUCT's Consumer Protection Division by calling 1-888-782-8477 or emailing consumer@puc.texas.gov. General Questions Why was this study conducted? Were consumers required to take the survey? How did the PUCT get consumer contact information for this study? Why did the PUCT ask consumers for their feedback? How were invited participants selected? Did customers receive anything for participating in the survey? Were consumers' electricity service or bills impacted if they did not participate? Project Background Who sponsored the study? Who conducted the study? What was the purpose of this study? Why did the PUCT conduct this survey in 2024? Data Usage Who saw participants' responses? Were the survey responses shared with anyone? Was any personal and/or identifying information be included in consumer responses? Why was this information collected? What was done with the information collected in consumer survey responses? Why was this study conducted? The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) directed the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to survey electricity customers in Texas to determine customers' costs that could result from a power interruption. The survey has been widely used nationally and was created by the U.S. Dept. of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. ERCOT contracted with survey company PlanBeyond to distribute the survey. Were consumers required to take the survey? No. Participation was voluntary. How did the PUCT get consumer contact information for this study? Electricity providers are required to share certain customer contact information with ERCOT. This information is not shared publicly. ERCOT uses this information to ensure all customers continue to receive electric service in the event something happens that impacts a customer's current service provider. For customers in areas without Retail Competition Electricity providers contacted their customers directly and invited them to participate in this survey. Costomer information was not shared publicly. Why did the PUCT ask consumers for their feedback? Experience with studies on electric reliability show collecting information from customers about their experience and opinions through a controlled survey is a best practice to understand the economic impact of power interruptions. How were invited participants selected? To ensure the survey findings were representative of Texas residents and electric customers, a wide range of customers were being asked to participate. A consumer's selection was based on a number of factors, including historical energy consumption and geographic location, as part of a representative sample of customers. The closer respondents in the survey reflected the broader Texas population, the more accurate the survey's findings will be for understanding the economic impact customers may experience during a power interruption. Did customers receive anything for participating in the survey? No. Participation in the survey was voluntary and there was not payment or compensation. Were consumers' electricity service or bills impacted if they did not participate? No. Participation in the survey was voluntary. There are no penalties for non-participation. Who sponsored the study? ERCOT facilitated the study at the instruction of the PUCT. ERCOT is the organization that oversees the majority of the electric grid throughout Texas and works with electricity providers to ensure residents and businesses have access to electricity. Who conducted the study? ERCOT contracted with survey company PlanBeyond and The Brattle Group, an economics consulting company, to administer the survey and analyze results. The survey itself was developed by the U.S. Dept. of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and has been used nationally. The Brattle Group is responsible for analyzing the results of the survey. What was the purpose of this study? This survey collected information to inform the PUCT and ERCOT on the costs residential, commercial, and industrial power users experience as a result of a power interruption. It can also be used to determine the value of investments in energy generation and other infrastructure to enhance electric grid reliability. Surveys of this nature are regularly used by electric utilities across the United States and the world for research purposes. Why did the PUCT conduct this survey in 2024? The PUCT is working to establish standards for reliable and affordable generation and delivery of electricity to customers. Conducting this survey is essential to understanding how residential, commercial, and industrial electric customers value the electricity they use and the costs they incur during a power interruption. Who saw participants' responses? Were the survey responses shared with anyone? Individual survey responses were collected digitally by PlanBeyond Research using a secure survey platform provided by Qualtrics. Responses were analyzed by The Brattle Group. Both PlanBeyond and The Brattle Group provided data security verifications. Responses were also be shared with LBNL to add to its research into the costs of reliability and power interruptions. All responses were anonymized before sharing with LBNL to respect customer privacy while allowing LBNL to have the benefit of survey input from customers in Texas. Was any personal and/or identifying information be included in consumer responses? Email addresses, which were used to invite consumers into the study, were associated with responses. This was solely done to track whether a consumer completed the survey and ensure the same person did not take the survey more than once. Some information about a consumer's electricity service, such as service area and usage patterns, were linked to responses for research purposes. Why was this information collected? This information was used to relate response patterns to customer characteristics and usage behavior and to ensure that the survey included a representative sample of different customers. All data was anonymized before the responses were shared with LBNL and no personally identifiable information was disclosed in the final study. What was done with the information collected in consumer survey responses? All responses were collected and combined into a complete data set for analysis. This data allowed the PUCT to identify broader trends regarding electricity outages and how customers are impacted by such outages.