Load Serving Entities

Load Serving Entities (LSEs) provide electric service to individual and wholesale Customers. LSEs include Competitive Retailers (CRs) and Non-Opt-In Entities (NOIEs).

CRs sell electricity at retail in the competitive market, and can be:

1. a Retail Electric Provider (REP), which contracts with Qualified Scheduling Entities (QSEs) to provide scheduling services for their load Customers, or
2. a Municipally Owned Utility (MOU) or Electric Cooperative (EC) that opts to offer Customer Choice (an opt-in entity).

NOIEs are:

1. MOUs and ECs that do not operate as CRs, and
2. do not plan to offer Customer Choice.

Registration

The LSE Application for Registration can be found in Section 23 of the Protocols.

Qualification/Certification

CRs must be certified by ERCOT. Please refer to Texas Retail Market Testing for more information.

CRs operating as REPs must also be certified by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT). Please refer to the Retail Electric Providers Certification and Reporting  section of the  PUCT website for more information.

Recommended Training

Please visit the Course Recommendations page to locate the recommended training for LSEs.