FERC Boosts Natural Gas in Lieu of Alternative Fuels

摘要

An order issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in December against state subsidies for nuclear and renewable energy - called "out-of-market subsidies" - apparently gives a big boost to electric utilities using natural gas and the pipelines that feed them. The "capacity order" issued by FERC allows PJM, the largest regional transmission organization (RTO) in the U.S., to essentially disregard state "clean energy" subsidies. This includes the increased use of alternative energy sources to ameliorate climate change, as it considers prices of energy sources when administering its wholesale capacity market covering 13 states. In capacity markets, generators bid for supply three years before that supply is needed. RTOs and their sister Independent System Operators (ISOs) in other regions, such as New England, are charged with assuring electricity is available at a reasonable cost and when needed in the states they cover.