Dive Brief:
- The Northwest Power Pool has asked FERC for several declarations related to its development of a 15-minute voluntary power market, including a finding from regulators that an entity's refusal to sell power into the market would not be considered manipulation.
- The group is proposing an automated 15-minute market overseen by a market operator, which would perform centralized clearing of voluntary bids and offers
- The group of utilities say they need FERC's assurances on several points in order to move ahead with the development of the market.
Dive Insight:
A group of utilities and other entities, the Northwest Power Pool, are working to develop a 15-minute voluntary regional market but say they need assurances from federal regulators on several points before work can move ahead.
The group wants FERC to clarify that a company's decision not to bid power into the market will not, in itself, constitute manipulation, and that the market will be all-voluntary and participants can decide whether or not to join. The declarations are "critical to the structure of the [Centrally Cleared Energy Dispatch] Market," the group said, and FERC's decision will determine "whether to proceed with further development and implementation."
Earlier this year the Northwest Power Pool Members’ Market Assessment and Coordination Initiative committed to developing the market's final design, including the Centrally Cleared Energy Dispatch 15-minute market and a Regulation Reserve Sharing Group, designed to enable marked participants to
manage to a single Area Control Error for the NWPP footprint.
The group told FERC it is "at a critical stage in their development of the CCED Market," and that they expect the market to offer substantial regional benefits. "But their ability to keep the diverse coalition of utilities at work on the market model depends on the assurances requested in this petition," NPP told FERC.
It is not the only new energy market in the region, however: The Energy Imbalance Market launched recently is designed to allow western utilities to trade power in a larger geographic footprint. That market is being led by Warren Buffet's utilities and the California ISO.
