Load Management for Irrigators

Medina Electric Cooperative’s load management program offers irrigation accounts the opportunity to operate with lower power costs when enrolled.

By participating in this program, irrigators allow Medina EC to shut off power to irrigation equipment, generally from June through September. The wholesale power cost Medina EC pays for electricity is based on our system demand at the time of the state’s peak demand during these months. The irrigatiors' participation in the load management program can help reduce the cooperative’s overall demand, thereby lowering our future power costs. In exchange for their participation, irrigators receive a reduced rate on demand and energy charges. About 75 percent of irrigation accounts are enrolled in this program.

 

Enrollment

Members with irrigation rates interested in participating in the program must enroll by April 20 for each summer's program. You can enroll your account(s) by completing this form for each account. You can also download a PDF version of the agreement here.

Notifications

Load management members receive notification via text or phone call, based on their preference.

You can sign up for text notifications about irrigation related load control events by texting LM to 1-855-429-1119. To be put on the notification list for weekly load control forecasts during the load management season, text FORECAST to 1-855-429-1119.

If you have previously opted out of text messages from this number and want to re-enroll, you must text START to 1-855-429-1119. Medina EC cannot re-enroll you after you've stopped messages from this number.

You can sign up for one or both lists. You can also sign up by filling out the form below:

Load Management Notifications
How would you like to be notified?
*Mobile number must be included.
If you've previously opted out of text messages or phone calls, submitting this form will re-enroll you in notifications.

FAQs

The load management program exists to reduce power costs for irrigation accounts. By participating in this program, irrigators allow Medina EC to shut off power to irrigation equipment during key times from June through September. Since our wholesale power cost is based on our system's demand at the time of the state's peak during these months, this program reduces Medina EC's overall power demand, thereby lowering our wholesale power costs. Irrigation loads were identified as a prime candidate due to the amount of load that can be controlled versus the cost of the equipment needed to control the load when compared with residential loads and other types of accounts.  Irrigation accounts enrolled in this program receive a reduced rate on demand and energy charges. 

The reason load management helps reduce costs is because one component of Medina EC’s wholesale power cost is based on the cooperative’s share of the ERCOT peak demand, determined by the highest ERCOT use during a single 15-minute interval, during the months of June, July, August and September. By implementing the load management program and decreasing the cooperative’s share, Medina EC’s wholesale power costs are lowered. In exchange for the inconvenience of allowing the cooperative to control irrigation load, participating irrigators receive the bulk of the savings through a reduced rate.

Decisions to implement or not implement the load management program each day in June, July, August and September are driven by the likelihood of a monthly peak 15-minute interval occurring in the load management window.  It is not because the ERCOT market is under stress due to generation supply issues as we saw in February 2021. If that occurred again, any forced outages resulting from those types of supply and demand issues would impact all members, not just irrigation accounts.

The ERCOT market has seen significant changes over the last few years due to the changing market dynamics in ERCOT. More utilities are adding load management systems while other utilities are participating in ERCOT market functions aimed at reducing load. These changes are causing the peak days and intervals to be even more unpredictable than they were in the past. That is why the cooperative provides a “restore by” time and then sends out an additional text message when the load has moved away from its peak.

Decisions to implement a load management event are made by Medina EC staff with the goal of reducing demand at the monthly peak 15-minute intervals. With the market continuing to change, Medina EC will continue to work to keep you informed of any changes to the load management program.

Medina EC's load management program is not the same as an ERCOT load shed/forced outage event.

Just as in the past, load management events can occur any day and time during June to September, including holidays and weekends. It generally occurs between 2 and 7 p.m. The cooperative will make every effort to notify you 30 minutes prior to load management events. However, because of how quickly conditions can change, last minute decisions are sometimes needed, and it is possible in those cases that little or no notice could be given.

You can enroll to be notified with a forecast for the likelihood of load management events that week. It is the cooperative’s hope that this information will help participating irrigators in their planning for various processes.  Forecasts will be based on the data available at that time and will be posted at MedinaEC.org/LM around 2 p.m. each Monday. A link to that information will also be sent to all members who opt in to those notifications. It is important to remember that just like a weather forecast, load management forecasts can change. You can sign up to receive those notifications by texting FORECAST to 1-855-429-1119 or by completing this form.

We continue to analyze and evaluate the load management program to maximize savings to Medina EC and passing 100% of those savings to the irrigators that caused the savings. 

In exchange for their participation in the program, irrigators receive a reduced rate on demand and energy charges. You can compare those rates at MedinaEC.org/Rates by reviewing irrigation rates 310 and 311.

If you have an irrigation account and would like specific information or comparisons for your account on rate 310 vs. 311, please contact us. Offering the load management program is a business decision for Medina EC and we recognize participating in it is a voluntary business decision for irrigators as well.  We want to be sure you have all available data to make that decision.

You can choose to be notified by text message or automated phone call or both.

You can sign up for text notifications about irrigation related load control events by texting keyword LM to 1-855-429-1119. To be put on the notification list for weekly load control forecasts during the load management season, text keyword FORECAST to 1-855-429-1119.

If you have previously opted out of text messages from this number and want to re-enroll, you must text keyword START to 1-855-429-1119. Medina EC cannot re-enroll you after you've stopped messages from this number.

If you want to receive call notifications must complete this form by checking “I want to receive Load Management notifications.”

 

 

Irrigators are allowed a One-Time Opt Out for load management events for maximum of one (1) calendar month during the load management season.

The opt out option enables you to designate meter(s) to opt out of load management events in the day, week, or month of your choosing (June, July, August, or September). All load control decisions are made with the goal of reducing demand, and the associated costs, at key peak times each month. For that reason, irrigators that choose to opt out will be required to pay all related power costs associated with the demand on the account during the Electric Reliability Council of Texas coincident peak (ERCOT 4CP) for the opt out month. The ERCOT 4CP is determined at the end of the month. The cooperative is not able to predict which day the ERCOT CP will be set.

If you would like to see how opting out of load management for one calendar month during this season could impact the bill for your meter(s) based on historical demand, please call to discuss it with one of our staff members.

If you choose to opt out, you will be required to come to a Medina EC office and sign a document acknowledging the opt out for each meter in person. Please call ahead of time so we can have all your account information prepared for you to review and sign. 

Load Management Logs

2023 Load Management Log
Date Load Shed MW Shed Load Restored
June 15 3:30 p.m. 30 6:15 p.m.
June 19 3:30 p.m. 29.7 6:15 p.m.
June 20 2:30 p.m. 32.1 7:00 p.m.
June 21 3:00 p.m. 32.4 6:00 p.m.
June 26 3:00 p.m. 28.9 6:30 p.m.
June 27 3:00 p.m. 34.5 7:00 p.m.
June 28 3:00 p.m. 33.7 6:30 p.m.
July 12 3:00 p.m. 27 6:30 p.m.
July 13 3:00 p.m. 28.1 6:30 p.m.
July 14 3:00 p.m. 30.3 6:30 p.m.
July 17 3:30 p.m. 28.8 7:00 p.m.
July 18 3:30 p.m. 29.9 7:00 p.m.
July 19 3:30 p.m. 31.5 6:45 p.m.
July 20 3:30 p.m. 31.4 6:30 p.m.
July 31 3:30 p.m. 29.7 6:30 p.m.
August 1 3:30 p.m. 32.6 6:15 p.m.
August 2 3:30 p.m. 34.2 6:15 p.m.
August 3 3:30 p.m. 32.2 6:15 p.m.
August 4 3:30 p.m. 35.7 6:45 p.m.
August 7 3:00 p.m. 30.2 6:15 p.m.
August 9 3:30 p.m. 32.7 6:45 p.m.
August 10 3:30 p.m. 33.5 6:30 p.m.
August 11 3:30 p.m. 34.3 6:15 p.m.
August 14 3:30 p.m. 31.6 6:15 p.m.
August 17 3:30 p.m. 35.3 7:00 p.m.
August 18 3:30 p.m. 32.6 6:00 p.m.
August 21 3:30 p.m. 29.7 6:00 p.m.
August 24 3:30 p.m. 1.2 6:15 p.m.
August 25 3:30 p.m. 4.5 6:00 p.m.
September 7 3:00 p.m. 24.9 7:00 p.m.
September 8 3:00 p.m. 22.7 6:15 p.m.

 

2022 Load Management Log
Date Load Shed MW Shed Load Restored
June 6 3:30 p.m. 33.273 6:30 p.m.
June 7 3:30 p.m. 38.216 6:30 p.m.
June 9 3:30 p.m. 40.333 6:30 p.m.
June 10 3:30 p.m. 38.235 6:30 p.m.
June 11 4:30 p.m. 39.777 6:30 p.m.
June 12 4:00 p.m. 37.451 6:30 p.m.
June 13 3:30 p.m. 39.221 6:30 p.m.
June 16 3:30 p.m. 39.173 6:30 p.m.
June 20 3:00 p.m. 32.744 6:45 p.m.
June 21 4:30 p.m. 37.964 6:30 p.m.
June 23 3:30 p.m. 37.834 6:45 p.m.
June 24 3:30 p.m. 38.965 6:30 p.m.
July 5 4:00 p.m. 27.116 6:45 p.m.
July 6 3:30 p.m. 31.959 6:45 p.m.
July 7 3:30 p.m. 34.995 6:45 p.m.
July 8 3:30 p.m. 34.417 6:45 p.m.
July 11 3:00 p.m. 33.890 6:15 p.m.
July 12 3:00 p.m. 35.739 6:15 p.m.
July 13 3:00 p.m. 36.698 6:45 p.m.
July 18 3:00 p.m. 30.381 6:45 p.m.
July 19 3:00 p.m. 32.829 6:30 p.m.
July 20 3:30 p.m. 35.667 6:45 p.m.
August 3 3:30 p.m. 36.180 6:15 p.m.
August 4 3:30 p.m. 35.201 6:15 p.m.
September 1 3:00 p.m. unknown 3:45 p.m.
September 2 3:30 p.m. unknown 4:45 p.m.
September 6 3:00 p.m. 8.008 6:15 p.m.
September 7 3:00 p.m. 7.402 5:15 p.m.
September 19 3:30 p.m. 13.050 5:15 p.m.
September 20 3:30 p.m. 16.032 6:30 p.m.
September 21 3:45 p.m. 18.757 6:45 p.m.
September 22 3:45 p.m. 17.585 6:00 p.m.
September 23 3:45 p.m. 19.249 5:00 p.m.

 

2021 Load Management Log
Date Load Shed MW Shed Load Restored
June 9 3:00 p.m. 8.679 6:00 p.m.
June 10 3:00 p.m. 12.807 6:00 p.m.
June 11 3:00 p.m. 14.541 6:00 p.m.
June 13 3:00 p.m. 18.408 6:00 p.m.
June 14 3:00 p.m. 20.625 5:30 p.m.
June 15 2:45 p.m. 26.452 5:30 p.m.
June 17 3:15 p.m. 24.7 5:30 p.m.
June 23 4:05 p.m. 27.456 6:00 p.m.
June 24 2:30 p.m. 28.661 6:15 p.m.
June 25 2:30 p.m. 27.721 6:00 p.m.
July 23 3:00 p.m. 6.732 6:30 p.m.
July 24 3:30 p.m. 10.553 6:45 p.m.
July 25 3:30 p.m. 10.528 6:45 p.m.
July 26 2:30 p.m. 16.367 6:30 p.m.
July 27 3:30 p.m. 20.896 6:30 p.m.
July 29 3:30 p.m. 22.771 5:30 p.m.
July 30 3:30 p.m. 23.436 5:15 p.m.
August 9 3:30 p.m. 5.2 6:15 p.m.
August 10 3:30 p.m. 13.576 5:45 p.m.
August 12 3:30 p.m. 24.324 5:45 p.m.
August 20 4:00 p.m. 21.965 6:00 p.m.
August 23 3:45 p.m. 28.613 6:30 p.m.
August 24 3:00 p.m. 28.099 6:30 p.m.
August 25 3:00 p.m. 28.605 6:30 p.m.
August 31 3:30 p.m. 24.576 6:15 p.m.
September 1 2:30 p.m. 27.742 6:00 p.m.
September 2 3:30 p.m. 29.701 5:30 p.m.
September 20 3:30 p.m. 18.424 5:45 p.m.

 

2020 Load Management Log
Date Load Shed MW Shed Load Restored
June 8 3:15 p.m. 18.9 6:00 p.m.
June 9 3:15 p.m. 24.6 6:00 p.m.
July 1 3:15 p.m. 24.5 6:00 p.m.
July 2 3:15 p.m. 24.4 6:00 p.m.
July 13 3:15 p.m. 27.3 6:00 p.m.
August 6 3:15 p.m. 24.6 6:00 p.m.
August 7 3:15 p.m. 25.2 6:15 p.m.
August 11 3:15 p.m. 29.3 6:15 p.m.
August 12 3:15 p.m. 28.7 6:15 p.m.
August 13 3:15 p.m. 27.9 6:15 p.m.
August 14 3:15 p.m. 30.0 6:15 p.m.
August 28 3:15 p.m. 23.8 5:30 p.m.
September 1 3:00 p.m. 21.8 6:00 p.m.
September 7 3:15 p.m. 9.5 5:45 p.m.
2019 Load Management Log
Date Load Shed MW Shed Load Restored
June 19 3:15 p.m. 20.7 6:00 p.m.
June 20 3:15 p.m. 24.1 6:00 p.m.
July 9 3:15 p.m. 23.9 6:00 p.m.
July 10 3:15 p.m. 25 6:00 p.m.
July 16 3:15 p.m. 23.5 6:00 p.m.
July 18 3:15 p.m. 24.7 5:20 p.m.
July 30 3:15 p.m. 29 6:00 p.m.
July 31 3:15 p.m. 27.8 6:00 p.m.
August 7 3:15 p.m. 26.4 6:00 p.m.
August 12 3:15 p.m. 22.8 6:00 p.m.
August 13 3:15 p.m. 25.5 6:00 p.m.
August 26 3:15 p.m. 19.3 6:00 p.m.
September 5 3:15 p.m. 18.8 6:00 p.m.
September 6 3:15 p.m. 19.3 6:00 p.m.

 

2018 Load Management Log
Date Load Shed MW Shed Load Restored
June 1 3:30 p.m. 28.9 5:45 p.m.
June 6 3:30 p.m. 28.1 5:50 p.m.
June 22 3:30 p.m. 25.5 6:00 p.m.
June 26 3:30 p.m. 27.7 5:25 p.m.
June 27 3:30 p.m. 26.7 5:45 p.m.
June 29 3:30 p.m. 25.5 5:10 p.m.
July 2 3:30 p.m. 28.1 6:00 p.m.
July 3 3:30 p.m. 28.5 6:15 p.m.
July 17 3:15 p.m. 23.5 6:00 p.m.
July 18 3:15 p.m. 24.4 6:10 p.m.
July 19 3:15 p.m. 28.5 6:00 p.m.
July 20 3:15 p.m. 32.2 6:00 p.m.
July 23 3:15 p.m. 32.2 5:15 p.m.
August 6 3:15 p.m. 20.8 6:00 p.m.
August 7 3:15 p.m. 32.9 6:00 p.m.
August 9 4:00 p.m. 24.4 5:45 p.m.
August 15 3:15 p.m. 9.4 6:15 p.m.
August 16 3:15 p.m. 9.2 6:00 p.m.
August 17 3:15 p.m. 14.2 6:00 p.m.
August 22 3:15 p.m. 15.2 6:00 p.m.
August 23 3:15 p.m. 17.5 6:00 p.m.
August 24 3:15 p.m. 13 5:50 p.m.
September 1 3:15 p.m. 14.3 6:00 p.m.
September 17 3:15 p.m. 0 6:00 p.m.
September 18 3:15 p.m. 0.1 6:00 p.m.
September 19 3:15 p.m. 1.2 6:03 p.m.

 

2017 Load Management Log
Date Load Shed MW Shed Load Restored
June 15 3:30 p.m. 19.7 5:20 p.m.
June 16 3:15 p.m. 21 5:20 p.m.
June 23 3:15 p.m. 22.4 6:00 p.m.
July 19 3:15 p.m. 18.8 6:00 p.m.
July 20 3:15 p.m. 19.8 6:00 p.m.
July 21 3:15 p.m. 23.1 5:20 p.m.
July 27 3:15 p.m. 25.6 6:00 p.m.
July 28 3:15 p.m. 25.6 6:00 p.m.
August 22 3:15 p.m. 18.5 5:15 p.m.
September 1 3:15 p.m. 18 6:00 p.m.
September 2 3:15 p.m. 16.35 6:00 p.m.
September 4 3:15 p.m. 16.29 5:55 p.m.
September 5 3:15 p.m. 16 4:55 p.m.
September 14 3:15 p.m. 16 6:00 p.m.
September 18 3:15 p.m. 14 5:05 p.m.
September 19 3:15 p.m. 17.9 5:05 p.m.
September 20 3:15 p.m. 16.6 6:00 p.m.

 

2016 Load Management Log

Date Load Shed MW Shed Load Restored
June 15 3:45 p.m. 20.3 5:15 p.m.
June 16 3:45 p.m. 25.2 5:00 p.m.
June 17 3:45 p.m. 17.2 5:15 p.m.
June 27 3:45 p.m. 13.0 4:40 p.m.
July 6 3:45 p.m. 20.0 5:30 p.m.
July 7 3:45 p.m. 20.6 5:30 p.m.
July 13 3:45 p.m. 19.0 5:30 p.m.
July 14 3:45 p.m. 21.7 5:30 p.m.
July 21 3:45 p.m. 20.0 5:30 p.m.
July 22 3:45 p.m. 16.6 5:30 p.m.
August 2 3:45 p.m. 20.9 5:15 p.m.
August 3 3:45 p.m. 14.3 5:15 p.m.
August 4 3:30 p.m. 21.5 6:00 p.m.
August 8 3:30 p.m. 20.3 6:00 p.m.
August 9 3:30 p.m. 20.7 5:30 p.m.
August 10 3:30 p.m. 20.5 6:00 p.m.
August 11 3:30 p.m. 22.1 5:30 p.m.
September 1 3:30 p.m. 8.9 5:15 p.m.
September 6 3:30 p.m. 10.4 5:30 p.m.
September 7 3:30 p.m. 7.1 5:05 p.m.
September 8 3:30 p.m. 11.5 4:55 p.m.
September 19 3:30 p.m. 8.7 5:30 p.m.

 

2015 Load Management Log
Date Load Shed MW Shed Load Restored
June 8 3:45 p.m. 7.6 5:15 p.m.
June 9 3:45 p.m. 8.6 5:15 p.m.
June 10 3:15 p.m. 10.8 5:15 p.m.
June 25 4:15 p.m. 2.5 5:15 p.m.
June 26 4:00 p.m. 4.9 5:15 p.m.
July 13 3:45 p.m. 14.2 5:15 p.m.
July 14 3:45 p.m. 16 5:15 p.m.
July 20 4:00 p.m. 18.3 5:15 p.m.
July 23 4:00 p.m. 21.5 5:15 p.m.
July 27 4:00 p.m. 19.8 5:15 p.m.
July 28 4:00 p.m. 20.9 5:15 p.m.
July 29 3:45 p.m. 20.2 5:15 p.m.
July 30 3:45 p.m. 23.1 5:15 p.m.
August 5 4:00 p.m. 21.4 5:15 p.m.
August 6 4:15 p.m. 22.2 5:15 p.m.
August 10 3:30 p.m. 20 5:15 p.m.
August 11 3:30 p.m. 20.5 5:15 p.m.
September 2 4:00 p.m. 20.8 5:15 p.m.
September 4 3:45 p.m. 21.5 5:00 p.m.
September 8 3:15 p.m. 21.7 5:15 p.m.