On June 17, 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced a public technical conference, scheduled for September 25, 2013, on centralized electric generating capacity markets for Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs).
FERC noted that the nation’s generation resource mix has been evolving in response to low natural gas prices, federal and state renewable energy policies and the retirement of older generation assets, and that this changing resource mix could result in electric grid reliability and operational needs that are different than those of the past. In addition, some states have implemented their own resource adequacy policies to foster the development of specific types of generation resources, raising concerns as to how such policies can be reflected and accommodated in the RTO/ISO capacity markets. The conference will examine how centralized capacity market rules and structures (1) support the procurement and retention of generation resources necessary to meet reliability and operational needs in light of evolving resource mixes and market conditions and (2) square with state efforts to foster—and sometimes require—generation resource development. The technical conference is intended to enable capacity market stakeholders to learn more about how market rules and structures achieve resource adequacy, proper long-term price signals and fixed-cost recovery.
FERC will issue a supplemental notice providing additional details and an agenda for the conference.