LP&L concludes phase 1 migration to ERCOT

UPDATE: At 12:09 p.m. on Sunday, May 30, Lubbock Power & Light (LP&L) finished connecting 70% of its system (approximately 83,000 customers) to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). This interconnection is the first in Lubbock’s history and the first in the state in 25 years.

Saturday’s work began at 8 a.m. and concluded at 6:10 p.m. with LP&L connecting 11 substations to ERCOT. Crews proceeded smoothly throughout the day with all but one substation staying within the estimated 30 minute outage window.

Over Saturday and Sunday, the average outage time for all 17 substations was 16.6 minutes.

LP&L has been working to make infrastructure updates to connect with the ERCOT system since March 2018.

“This is a historic day and weekend for our entire community,” said David McCalla, Executive Director for LP&L. “It’s been a massive undertaking, and I want to thank our staff and crews, City staff, local authorities and everyone that worked together to ensure a safe and smooth transition. I especially want to thank our customers for their patience throughout the holiday weekend.”

Following this first phase of connecting to ERCOT, the City can now seek approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas for the second phase, connecting the remaining 30 percent of LP&L’s system (about 24,000 customers).

LP&L customers can expect to see savings in power costs with the removal of expensive fixed capacity charges that aren’t required in ERCOT. Joining ERCOT also eliminates the need to build a new power plant at an estimated cost ranging from $350 million to $700 million.

To learn more about LP&L connecting to ERCOT, visit LPandL.com/ERCOT.

Customer Resources

· Check to see if and when your meter is affected at LPandL.com.

· Check outages in progress at https://lpandl.com/powering-lubbock/power-outages

· Track completed phases at //mylubbock.us/ERCOT

· Monitor progress and project updates by following LP&L and the City of Lubbock on social media.

What to Expect

· Affected customers can expect a planned outage lasting an average of 30 minutes.

· In the event a customer’s outage is located in an area marked complete on the Progress Map, they can call customer service for assistance.

· The City of Lubbock Utilities call center will be available Sunday (6 a.m. – 12 p.m.) at 806-775-2509

· The City’s Emergency Operations Center will be up and running to ensure all City departments are coordinated.

Please Note

· Traffic lights and railroad crossings may be affected. Lubbock Police Department will be assisting with traffic control through intersections.

· If you are affected by a planned outage, please do not call 9-1-1 to report it. With advanced meters, LP&L is aware of power outages. While not necessary, if a customer wishes to report an outage, they may send an email to lightsout@lpandl.com with their name, address and nature of outage. They may also call 806-775-2509.

Helpful Tips

Any time there is a planned outage, LP&L has the following tips for customers:

• Unplug sensitive electronic equipment, such as computers and televisions.
• Keep food as cold as possible by keeping your refrigerator and freezer closed.
• Notify any security companies you use to monitor your business.
• Utilize a backup power supply as necessary.

The goal is to move substation-by-substation as safely and efficiently as possible in order to finish all work by midday Sunday.

To learn more about LP&L connecting to ERCOT, visit LPandL.com/ERCOT.

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LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - There are some ways to prepare before the majority of Lubbock Power & Light customers will be without power before this weekend’s planned outages.

The main point is to protect any homes or business equipment when the power comes back on. Power going off may not be as much trouble.

“We don’t usually have the luxury of knowing when an outage is going to occur,” Scott Hall, managing director of IT Help Central at Texas Tech said.

The first step is to unplug before. That would include TVs, computers and other electronics.

In a workplace, backing up data is also suggested. That would include using USBs or hard drives.

Using cloud-based storage would also be ideal.

“Whether that be Microsoft’s OneDrive for Business, there’s DropBox, there’s Google Drive,” Hall said. “Any of those services that are in the cloud, they are automatically backed up.”

Just in case any outages last longer than the anticipated 15-to-20-minutes, it is also suggested to fully charge any mobile devices.

To keep up with where the outages will be, head to the LP&L website and look in the ERCOT section. There is a schedule page, all customers need after that is their meter number.

“To be able to prepare for it is a large advantage of this particular maintenance,” Hall said.

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