|
|
|
|
|
Texas PUC Commissioner Suggests Cap Needed On Make-Whole Payments To Generators If Market-Wide Emergency Price Cap Under New Emergency Pricing Program Activated
The following story is brought free of charge to readers by VertexOne, the exclusive EDI provider of EnergyChoiceMatters.com
During today's Texas PUC open meeting, Commissioner Will McAdams said that a limit is needed on the amount of make-whole payments that would be made to generators in ERCOT for situations in which the proposed new Emergency Price Cap is applied
The PUC was considering the issuance of a proposal for publication, for public comment, concerning the creation of Emergency Price Cap. See background on the emergency pricing program (EPP) here
As previously reported, under the proposal for publication, the Emergency Price Cap in the market, which would be triggered after so many hours of emergency conditions (more fully described in our prior story), would be the LCAP.
The proposal for publication also includes a make-whole process, stating, "While the EPP [emergency pricing program] is active, ERCOT must reimburse resource entities for any actual marginal costs in excess of the larger of the ECAP [emergency price cap] or the real-time energy price for the resource."
McAdams noted that the price of power is influenced by commodity prices over which the PUC has no control
"In my view, we cannot allow seemingly arbitrary price changes to be borne by ratepayers without some limiting factor," McAdams said
McAdams "urge[d]" the Commission to consider language setting an upper limit to the reimbursable costs under the EPP make-whole process
McAdams stressed that he is not pre-judging what that limit would look like, but, for discussion purposes, McAdams said that the limit could reference the HCAP
McAdams said that, without such limit, the program could be construed as: gas [prices] could be whatever gas suppliers want, and generators have to pay it, and thus load has to pay it. McAdams noted that the HCAP has served as leverage against gas prices, such that no costs above HCAP can be bid into the system
Staff noted that the current make-whole process under the LCAP, to the extent the LCAP is triggered, does not include any limit, and suggested that the emergency price program and LCAP processes be considered together
McAdams did not seek to have any changes included in the proposal for publication, but set the matter for stakeholder comment and discussion
The PUC issued the Staff proposal for publication for public comment without modification
Project No. 54585
ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Copyright 2010-23 Energy Choice Matters. If you wish to share this story, please
email or post the website link; unauthorized copying, retransmission, or republication
prohibited.
September 14, 2023
Email This Story
Copyright 2010-23 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
NEW Jobs on RetailEnergyJobs.com:
• NEW! -- Electricity Pricing Analyst
-- Retail Supplier
• NEW! -- Business Development Manager -- Retail Supplier
• NEW! -- Call Center Manager -- Retail Supplier
• Senior Billing Subject Matter - (Remote) -- Retail Supplier
|
|
|
|