FERC Asks Whether Offer Caps Should "Float" With Gas Prices, Whether Shortages Pricing Should Be More Locational

FERC has issued a series of questions for stakeholder comment stemming from its various organized market price formation workshops.

Among the questions are whether the $1,000/MWh offer caps in RTOs should be modified, and if the offer cap is modified, what form should the offer cap take?

"For instance, should a modified cap be set at a level greater than the current $1,000/MWh cap and apply even if a resource has costs greater than the new cap or should the offer cap be replaced with a structure that allows offers at the higher of marginal cost or the existing $1,000/MWh cap? Should it be a fixed cap or a floating cap that varies with the price of fuel (e.g., natural gas)? If a modified cap were set as a fixed offer cap, what should the new offer cap be? What should be the basis for determining the fixed offer cap," FERC asks

FERC also observes that a lack of "sufficiently granular" reserve zones could be muting efficient price signals, and asks whether additional or reconfigured reserve zones are needed.

Docket No. AD14-14