ERCOT Seeks Quotes for Network Core Hardware Replacement

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, known as ERCOT, has issued a request for quote (RFQ) for vendors to replace several of its older Cisco campus and data center switches.

For context, ERCOT is responsible for managing the flow of electric power to more than 26 million customers throughout the state, representing approximately 90 percent of the state’s electric load. To achieve this, the council schedules power on an electric grid that connects more than 46,500 miles of transmission lines and 710-plus generation units.

To date, the council has operated as a membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation that is governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the state’s Legislature.

Regarding the request, ERCOT has three data center facilities, TCC1, TCC3 and BCC1, at two independent sites in Taylor and Bastrop.

“Each site is intended to be a seven-days-per-week, 24-hours-per-day Data and Command Center,” the RFQ states. “The Taylor site serves as the main hub location with outlying facilities linked via long-haul fiber using IP trunking to achieve point-to-point connectivity. The Bastrop site serves as a fully redundant hub location.”

To share data among these sites, ERCOT uses network switches, including Cisco campus and data center switches. The council also uses the following switches to share data:

• Data center access switches
• Campus access layer switches
• Campus access IDF (intermediate distribution frame) switches
• Data center core and management switches

The goal is to switch out older switches with newer options to continue the flow of information to each site, so customers continue to have uninterrupted access to electricity.

More information about the RFQ can be found online. The due date for vendors to submit information is April 14.