What is metering?
The majority of meters measure accumulated consumption between meter-read dates, and are typically read once per month. An estimate of the energy consumption for each 15-minute period is needed to properly perform “initial” settlement. To manage this, ERCOT utilizes standard load profiles (or shapes) to estimate how monthly consumption breaks down into 15-minute intervals for the different customer segments in the region. Consumers of 1,000 kW or greater are metered with interval data recorders that provide 15-min data. This data takes the place of profiled data once received by the TDSP.