State Priorities vs. Regional Differences
Christine Tezak is a Managing Director of ClearView Energy Partners, LLC, an independent research firm based in Washington, DC. She leads ClearView’s coverage of electricity markets, interstate pipelines, energy infrastructure and U.S. environmental policy. Timothy Fox is a Vice President of ClearView, leading the Firm’s alternative power and energy efficiency coverage.
Recently adopted state programs to foster existing nuclear generation are being challenged in the courts for potentially infringing on FERC’s wholesale market jurisdiction.
Over the last ten years, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has encouraged best practices in the restructured regional markets it oversees, along with some standardization. The goal has been to respect key regional differences.
However, 2017 could prove to be the year when state policy priorities began to elbow aside voluntary regional market constructs.
On March 29, the U.S. District Court for Southern New York heard oral argument on motions to dismiss the legal challenges to the state’s Zero Emissions Credit (ZEC) Program. New York’s Public Service Commission had finalized the program in August 2016, creating an incremental revenue stream for three nuclear power plants located upstate.
If the motions to dismiss are granted, the New York ZEC program could prove to be a harbinger of significant change in the prices and functioning of regional wholesale power markets across the United States.