Utilities Code limits how the PUCT may direct ERCOT, and bars verbal directives
Texas law restricts the channels through which the Public Utility Commission may order ERCOT to act. A verbal directive is prohibited outright. An official action may be directed only by contested case, by rulemaking or by a written order or memorandum adopted on a majority vote. The ERCOT board selection committee picks ERCOT's directors and designates its chair. The governor does not.
How to take part
A directive to ERCOT must run through a contested case, a rulemaking or a majority vote taken in a meeting. Each of those routes carries its own way in for the public. PUCT open meetings are listed on the agency calendar feed and are open to the public in Commissioners Hearing Room 7-100.
Where
Statewide. This decision applies across Texas rather than to a named county.
Timeline
- effective
SB 2 (87R) added the board selection committee
- Today
How this decision moved
One dated line per check, oldest first. A line that says nothing changed means somebody looked and it had not.
- 2026-08-18
Checked and unchanged. The statute still bars a verbal directive and still limits an official action to a contested case, a rulemaking or a written order.
- 2026-08-21
Checked and unchanged. The statute still bars a verbal directive and still limits an official action to a contested case, a rulemaking or a written order. It is state law binding a statewide agency, so its reach is the whole state rather than a list of counties, and the record now says so.
- 2026-08-25
Checked and unchanged. The decision still stands as decided.
- 2026-08-28
Checked and unchanged. The prohibition on a verbal directive still stands. The commission may still reach ERCOT only through a contested case, a rulemaking or a written order adopted on a majority vote.
- 2026-09-01
The written-order and majority-vote limits on commission directions to ERCOT remain in the Utilities Code.
- 2026-09-02
Checked and unchanged. The decision still stands as decided.
- 2026-09-05
The Utilities Code still holds the commission to written direction of the grid operator. The bar on verbal directives is unchanged.
- 2026-09-08
The Utilities Code still holds the commission to written direction of the grid operator, and the bar on verbal directives is unchanged.
- 2026-09-09
The Utilities Code still holds the commission to written direction of the grid operator. The bar on verbal directives is unchanged.
- 2026-09-12
Checked and unchanged. The decision still stands as decided.
- 2026-09-13
Checked and unchanged. The decision still stands as decided.
- 2026-09-16
The limit on how the commission may direct the grid operator still reads as it did, and the bar on a verbal directive is intact. Nothing has been added to let an instruction travel any other way.
- 2026-09-19
The limit on how the commission may direct the grid operator is unchanged, and a verbal directive is still barred.
- 2026-09-23
The limit on how the commission may direct the grid operator is unchanged, and the bar on verbal directives still stands.
- 2026-09-26
The statute still limits how the commission may direct the grid operator, and a verbal directive is still barred.
- 2026-09-29
The Utilities Code still bars the commission from directing the grid operator by word of mouth, and the limits on how it may direct it are unchanged.
The evidence
Every fact above rests on one of these. The words are the source's own.
(a) The commission may not use a verbal directive to direct an independent organization certified under Section 39.151 to take an official action. The commission may direct the organization to take an official action only through: (1) a contested case; (2) rulemaking; or (3) a memorandum or written order adopted by a majority vote.Texas Utilities Code Sec. 39.1514, Commission Directives to Independent Organization Primary source, official · tcss.legis.texas.gov
(a) The ERCOT board selection committee is composed of: (1) one member appointed by the governor; (2) one member appointed by the lieutenant governor; and (3) one member appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.Texas Utilities Code Sec. 39.1513, ERCOT Board Selection Committee Primary source, official · tcss.legis.texas.gov
(d) The committee shall select members eligible under Section 39.151 to serve on the governing body of an independent organization certified under that section for the ERCOT power region and shall designate the chair and vice chair of the governing body from those members.Texas Utilities Code Sec. 39.1513, ERCOT Board Selection Committee Primary source, official · tcss.legis.texas.gov
Questions about this decision
Answered from the record itself. Every answer is assembled from stored fields, so an answer the record has no basis for is left out rather than guessed.
What is this decision?
Texas law restricts the channels through which the Public Utility Commission may order ERCOT to act. A verbal directive is prohibited outright. An official action may be directed only by contested case, by rulemaking or by a written order or memorandum adopted on a majority vote. The ERCOT board selection committee picks ERCOT's directors and designates its chair. The governor does not.
Who decides it?
Texas Legislature decides. The record names the deciding body for every entry it carries.
Can the public take part?
A directive to ERCOT must run through a contested case, a rulemaking or a majority vote taken in a meeting. Each of those routes carries its own way in for the public. PUCT open meetings are listed on the agency calendar feed and are open to the public in Commissioners Hearing Room 7-100.
Where in Texas does it apply?
It is a statewide body's action and it governs the ERCOT region rather than every county.
Has it been decided?
It has been decided. The dates on the item page carry when.
What happens next?
No future date is on the record. The last dated step on it was effective on June 8th.
When did it start?
The earliest date on its record is June 8th, 2021.
What kind of decision is it?
It is filed under power and the grid.
What sources back it?
One source backs it. It is primary.
Is it on the ERCOT grid?
Yes. It sits inside the ERCOT interconnection.
When was it last checked?
Every fact on it was last verified against its source on September 29th, 2026.
Cite this
Texas AI Docket, Utilities Code limits how the PUCT may direct ERCOT, and bars verbal directives. Tracked since June 8th, 2021. Last verified September 29th, 2026. https://texasaidocket.com/item/tx-2026-0007/. Reuse permitted under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. The same entry is in the docket JSON as item tx-2026-0007.
Beat
Filed under Power and the grid, with every other decision on that beat.