Exelon and Invenergy Ask FERC to Rework Capacity Markets
Exelon wants PJM to hold capacity auctions two months before delivery, while Invenergy says MISO wrongly bars HVDC lines from capacity payments.
A capacity market pays power suppliers to be available when the grid needs them, not only for the energy they sell. Two complaints filed at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this week challenge how such markets work at PJM Interconnection and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO.
An 800-mile line without a product to sell
Invenergy's Grain Belt Express is the line at the center of its complaint. The 5-GW, 600-kV high-voltage direct-current line would span roughly 800 miles between Kansas and Indiana. Invenergy has planned two construction phases for a project costing about $11 billion, and the first would run from southwest Kansas to central Missouri.
Invenergy Transmission told FERC on Wednesday that MISO improperly bars merchant lines of this type from its capacity market. With a "direct loss of load" accreditation method, Grain Belt could provide more than 1,800 MW of accredited capacity, according to the complaint.
Merchant line owners do not recover costs through FERC-approved cost-of-service rates. They use rates negotiated with their customers. Invenergy says such lines are paid only when there is a product to trade, and that without MISO capacity payments "there is no product or service that can be the basis of a merchant-based transaction in MISO."
The complaint adds a second charge. MISO counts the capacity value of HVDC lines when it decides how much capacity to buy, which reduces what it acquires. Its rules still keep those lines from being accredited or paid for that value, so the operator benefits for free, Invenergy said.
Exelon's push at PJM
Exelon wants FERC to decide by Jan. 31. That is the last day before PJM releases planning parameters for the 2030/31 base auction, which is set for May.
Its complaint, filed on Tuesday, asks for a "prompt" auction. PJM now holds annual base auctions to secure supply three years ahead. Exelon would move them to two months before the delivery year, starting with 2030/31.
The December auction for 2029/30 would go ahead as planned, and the next one would follow in early 2030. The pause would give PJM time to overhaul a market that Exelon says is no longer working properly.
Exelon says a prompt auction would rest on more accurate load forecasts, resource availability data and capacity accreditation levels. It would also improve market signals for resources entering and leaving. Exelon's utilities have about 10.7 million customers in PJM's Mid-Atlantic and Midwest footprint.
PJM's own reform track
PJM spokesman Jeffrey Shields said the complaint is under review. PJM is already taking stakeholder papers through its Power Reliability Through Market Design initiative. More than 30 responses have come in, and a Nov. 13 workshop will discuss them.
The effort began in May with three broad paths. One keeps the current capacity market stable. Another rations grid reliability among customer classes or regions. The third moves toward a market built around energy and ancillary services instead of capacity.
Source: Utility Dive