Emergency Response Service

ERCOT procures Emergency Response Service (ERS) by selecting qualified loads and generators (including aggregations of loads and generators) to make themselves available for deployment in an electric grid emergency. ERS decreases the likelihood of system-wide load shedding by paying qualified scheduling entities (QSE) to make arrangements with residential, commercial and industrial participants to either reduce consumption or increase generation across the grid when called upon by ERCOT. These participants are required to provide an agreed-upon amount of megawatts (MW) within ten to thirty minutes to help prevent or alleviate an actual or anticipated Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) event.

ERCOT procures ERS four times during the ERS calendar year which begins with December and ends in November.  The Standard Contract Terms (SCT) are as follows: December-March, April-May, June-September and October-November.  For each SCT ERCOT procures ERS according to two different response times—thirty minutes ("ERS-30") and ten minutes ("ERS-10").  

ERS is authorized by Public Utility Commission Substantive Rule §25.507.