FERC Begins Correcting Course on Market Design, Grid Resilience

February 18, 2021

 

FERC Begins Correcting Course on Market Design, Grid Resilience

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In its first meeting under Chairman Richard Glick, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released a series of decisions today that begin to shift the direction of FERC policy. Following is a statement from Gregory Wetstone, President and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE):

“We commend Chairman Glick for cleaving off elements of the renewable-depressing Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) in PJM by clarifying that state default service auctions do not fall under the policy. We encourage this new FERC majority, which includes Commissioners Neil Chatterjee and Allison Clements, to continue this progress by wiping away the rest of the MOPR through substantive capacity market reform.

“ACORE and its members look forward to the newly announced March technical conference on potential capacity market reforms in PJM, the first in a series which will also build a record on NYISO and ISO-NE. Commonsense resource adequacy policy that avoids undermining state policies designed to accelerate the transition to pollution-free, renewable power will lead to increased project investment, lower consumer costs and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. ACORE will continue its court challenge of the underlying MOPR until the full threat of this misguided policy, which improperly infringes on state policy decisions, is eliminated.

“We are also pleased to see the Commission close its long-lingering proceeding on so-called ‘grid resilience,’ the euphemistic remains of a Trump-era effort to bail out uneconomic fossil fuel generators, and instead focus on targeted efforts to enhance grid reliability. Recent events have shown this effort is sorely needed. The renewable energy industry looks forward to engaging the Commission in these more appropriately tailored proceedings, so we can continue to provide Americans with the reliable, clean power they want and deserve.”

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About ACORE:
Founded in 2001, the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is the nation’s premier pan-renewable organization uniting finance, policy and technology to accelerate the transition to a renewable energy economy. For more information, please visit www.acore.org.

Media Contact:
Alex Hobson, Vice President of Communications, ACORE
hobson@acore.org | 202.777.7584 (o) | 202.594.0706 (c)