FERC Adopts Changes to ISO New England Credit Policy Opposed by Retail Supplier

FERC approved as filed ISO New England's proposed revisions to align the timing for suspending market participants that fail to cure a financial assurance default, with recently-accepted timing changes to the Day-Ahead Energy Market schedule, including the proposed revisions to impose additional consequences for market participants that receive more than one notice of a financial assurance default in a rolling 365-day period.

Specifically, if a Market Participant receives notice that its credit test percentage exceeds 100% and that Market Participant has received one to five similar notices within the previous 365-day period (not including the most recent notice), under the adopted revision, the Market Participant must provide sufficient financial assurance to lower its credit test percentages to less than or equal to 90% by 8:30 a.m. Eastern time the next business day to avoid suspension. If a Market Participant has received six or more such notices within the previous 365-day period, it will be required to maintain sufficient financial assurance to keep its credit test percentages at less than or equal to 90% until it no longer has six or more such notices within the applicable 365-day period. Market Participants with no such notices in the applicable 365-day period are only required to maintain sufficient financial assurance to keep their credit test percentages at less than or equal to 100%.

This change had been protested by retail supplier Twin Cities Power, which had argued, among other things, that the changes are unrelated to the likelihood of future defaults and create new and different classes of Market Participants for credit purposes

See prior story for full discussion of protest

FERC dismissed such protests.

Docket ER13-1257