Gaming

FERC last Monday signed off on a settlement agreement reached over the summer by several California parties, Commission staff and a joint venture of Dynegy and NRG Energy, which will hand over a total of $281.5 million resolving numerous contested claims stemming from western electric energy market transactions that occurred between January 2000 and June 2001.

California’s Attorney General Bill Lockyer last week continued his long-running campaign against the competitive energy market, issuing a report warning that market abuse remains a threat and suggesting legal and regulatory remedies to prevent it.

Noting that FERC’s proposed rule to bar manipulation of wholesale electric markets “may chill pro-competitive behavior,” the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has called on the federal energy agency to focus its sights on creating “structurally competitive markets” instead.

Noting that FERC’s proposed rule to bar manipulation of wholesale electric markets “may chill pro-competitive behavior,” the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has called on the federal energy agency to focus its sights on creating “structurally competitive markets” instead.

If PJM Interconnection and the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) can fully implement protocols related to seams-related coordination efforts, those protocols will likely minimize the potential to game the differences between locational prices, the market monitors for both regional transmission organizations (RTOs) conclude in a new joint report filed at FERC.

The state-chartered, nonprofit California wholesale spot powermarket (Cal-PX) concluded this week that the state’s market isflawed but has not been gamed. The power exchange intends to makeits results public Nov. 1 in a filing to the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission, a Cal-PX spokesperson said Tuesday.

The state-chartered, nonprofit California wholesale spot powermarket (Cal-PX) concluded this week that the state’s market isflawed but has not been gamed. The power exchange intends to makeits results public Nov. 1 in a filing to the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission, a Cal-PX spokesperson said Tuesday.

Admitting the possibilities for market abuse in its currentsystem, California’s Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) lastweek responded to federal regulators’ criticism of its congestionmanagement approach. The ISO suggested interim changes for the restof this year while it works out a broadly based congestion plan.Both the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Cal-ISO agreedthere is “a serious flaw in the existing intra-zonal managementscheme” for the California grid operations.

Admitting the possibilities for market abuse in its currentsystem, California’s Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) thisweek responded to federal regulators’ criticism of its congestionmanagement approach. The ISO suggested interim changes for the restof this year while it works out a broadly based congestion plan toaddress the admitted shortcomings in its zonal pricing approach.Both the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Cal-ISO agreedthere is “a serious flaw in the existing intra-zonal managementscheme” for the California grid operations.