Sweating the Deadline: What Consolidation Means for Traders and Vendors

 

Interviews with software middlemen.

Lawrence Oliva
Partner, Utility Practice Group
Andersen

Q: What sort of work have you been doing with RTOs [regional transmission organizations]?
Oliva: We've been working in four basic areas: [1] Business strategy, [2] market design and monitoring, [3] budgeting and program management, and [4] outsourcing of various financial back-office and settlement functions.

Q: What do you think about a forced marriage of RTOs in the Northeast and Southeast? Can they still meet the December deadline imposed by the FERC [Federal Energy Regulatory Commission] for RTO start-up?
Oliva: I seriously doubt that it [agreement on RTO structure] can be done now in 45 or 60 or even 90 days. I don't see why the FERC cannot extend the deadline. In fact, I think we may have lost ground in the short run, by forcing New England to halt its work on its proposed standard market design [SMD] and agree to mediation on the PJM version. There is clearly some backtracking that will occur now.