Ever wanted to gain a better understanding of capacity markets? The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) will provide the perfect opportunity. On September 25, 2013, the Commission’s staff will hold a technical conference to consider how current centralized capacity market rules and structures in the regions served by ISO New England Inc. (ISO-NE), New York Independent System Operator, Inc. (NYISO), and PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM) are supporting the procurement and retention of resources necessary to meet future reliability and operational needs.
To provide a common foundation for the conference, the Commission’s staff has released a report Centralized Capacity Market Design Elements. Representatives from ISO-NE, NYISO, and PJM will provide a brief overview of the goals and basic structure of their respective centralized capacity markets, including a discussion of why each region chose key market design elements and how each market is achieving its stated goals. There will also be a discussion about basic design elements of centralized capacity markets, such as the forward commitment period, the demand curve and the establishment of locational and regional planning requirements, as well as the interaction among these design elements with energy and ancillary services markets. Some of the issues that will be addressed include:
- What are the metrics used to measure the success of the centralized capacity market?
- What design elements are key to the functioning of the centralized capacity market in your region?
- What are the key challenges facing centralized capacity markets in your region?
- How is each RTO/ISO going about addressing those challenges?
The conference on September 25, 2013, will be held at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426. It is expected to run from 9:00 a.m. to approximately 5:00 p.m. It is free and open to the public. Additionally, there will be a free webcast that will allow you to listen to the conference, but not participate. Additional details can be found in the Notice and Agenda.