An LS Power subsidiary agreed to pay nearly $2.7 million to settle allegations a battery storage system it owns violated California Independent System Operator rules, according to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decision issued Tuesday.
FERC enforcement office staff contend that Vista Energy Storage — owned by REV Renewables, which itself is majority-owned by LS Power — submitted bids to CAISO when its 40-MWh battery system in Vista, California, was not reasonably expected to be available and capable of performing at the levels specified in the bids, FERC said. The period at issue spanned 33 days in the summer of 2022.
Vista agreed to pay a $1 million penalty and return about $1.7 million it received as a result of bids to CAISO. It agreed to the facts outlined in the settlement agreement, but neither admitted nor denied the enforcement office’s allegations.
FERC staff contends Vista submitted inaccurate “initial state of charge” values — the amount of energy available from a battery at a given time — as part of its “regulation down” bids from a resource that was not “reasonably expected to be available and capable of performing at the levels specified in the bid,” based on its actual expected initial state of charge.
FERC’s investigation grew from a referral from CAISO’s Department of Market Monitoring, according to the agency.
REV Renewables, which owns about 2.8 GW in the United States, was formed in 2021 by LS Power. Its affiliates own about 87% of REV Renewables, according to FERC. SK E&S, based in Seoul, South Korea, agreed to invest up to $400 million in REV in October 2021.
REV Renewables owns 615 MW of battery storage — all in California — and is developing about 1,300 MW of battery storage, according to the company.
