Texas Rep. Byron Cook, Chair of the House State Affairs Committee, said during a hearing yesterday on HB 962, a bill which would prohibit introduction of a capacity market, that he is "fully supportive" of the energy-only market.

However, Cook had concerns with the bill, stating it would limit the PUC's options and address a highly technical issue.

A committee substitute has been drafted (though not laid out before the committee yesterday due to its late drafting) to address some of these concerns. The committee substitute would explicitly provide that the PUC would have "ancillary" powers to address emergencies.

Additionally, the committee substitute would eliminate the provisions in the filed version of HB 962 which had previously proposed to eliminate the 20% cap on generation market share (now making the bill more similar to a Senate version, which has not yet been scheduled for a hearing).

HB 962 was left pending in committee