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Mixed Reactions to FERC’s Recent MOPR Order from Power Generators

December 28, 2019

The post Mixed Reactions to FERC’s Recent MOPR Order from Power Generators appeared first on POWER Magazine.

On Dec. 19, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) directed PJM Interconnection to dramatically expand its Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) to nearly all state-subsidized capacity resources. It’s the latest of a series of dramatic revisions to the grid operator’s rule, which essentially functions to provide a minimum offer screening process to bar new market entrants from artificially depressing capacity auction clearing prices.

See why the recent order is significant here, “The Significance of FERC’s Recent PJM MOPR Order Explained.”

The barrage of news reports about the order that followed its release focused heavily on the divided vote, noting it fell along the commissioners’ political affiliations: Chairman Neil Chatterjee and Bernard McNamee are Republicans, and Richard Glick is a Democrat. As Cheryl LaFleur, a commissioner who left FERC in August, told POWER, FERC—an independent regulatory government agency that is officially organized as part of the Department of Energy—has increasingly been mired in partisanship and politicization.…

Competitive Generators Look to the Supreme Court After Seventh Circuit Declines Rehearing on Nuclear Subsidies

October 12, 2018

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The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has declined to rehear a case that challenges nuclear subsidies in Illinois, effectively dealing a blow to a group of competitive generators, which have fought the measure for several years.

In an order issued on October 9, the appellate court said its full judicial panel had voted to deny a September 29–filed petition from the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), a national trade association representing independent power producers and marketers, that urged it to rehear a case challenging the state’s zero emissions credit (ZEC) program under the Illinois Future Energy Jobs Act. In its petition, the group argued that the court erred or overlooked significant aspects of its case when the court issuedits final judgment on September 13.

The court’s decision, which essentially left the door open for states to subsidize nuclear generation, was hailed as a victory for Exelon Corp., which lobbied for the measure to protect its financially flailing nuclear assets.…

Generators Sue to Block Lifeline for New York Nuclear Plants

October 21, 2016

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A group of generators including Dynegy and NRG Energy filed suit in federal court on October 19 seeking to block an incentive program that would help three New York nuclear power plants remain economic over the next decade.

An August decision by the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) approving New York’s Clean Energy Standard included a provision requiring the state’s investor-owned utilities and other energy suppliers to pay for the intrinsic value of carbon-free emissions from nuclear power plants by purchasing “Zero-Emission Credits” (ZEC). Those credits are added to the wholesale price each plant receives for its power, and the costs are passed on to ratepayers.

Subsidies for New York Nuclear Plants Unlawful, Suit Says

The plaintiffs argue that the plan interferes with wholesale power prices in violation of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) authority over interstate power sales. In particular, they point to a case the U.S. Supreme Court decided earlier this year, Hughes v. Talen Energy Marketing, which struck down a subsidy program in Maryland on the same grounds.…