Transmission

Texas’ competitive electricity market, hailed by some as the most mature market in the nation, is on the verge of instituting a new system to improve electric grid performance and increase transmission efficiency to provide the lowest possible costs for consumers. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ (ERCOT) transition from a “zonal” market to a “nodal” market will take place on December 1st.
 

Maine’s competitive electricity market is thriving, evidenced by several recently announced economic and environmental initiatives creating benefits for the state’s consumers.
 

A combination of hotter summers, an aging electrical grid and uneven adoption of smart grid technology has increased the need for electric infrastructure investment, according to a University of Minnesota research study cited by CNN reporter Thom Patterson.
 
COMPETE agrees significant investment is needed in our national grid to reach our nation’s sustainable energy goals and maintain electric reliability needs. But CNN missed an important opportunity to highlight how competitive electricity markets are helping ensure reliability and encourage innovation and investment while protecting consumers from the financial risk of poor or failed investment decisions.
 

Average wholesale electricity prices in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) have once again dropped, providing even more benefits for consumers coping with the economic downturn, according to ERCOT’s 2009 State of the Market Report. Prices fell 56 percent from 2008’s average price to $34.03 per megawatt-hour (MWh), the lowest price experienced by any U.S. electricity market.
 

The benefits of competition were a key topic at a recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) oversight hearing by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy and Environment Subcommittee.

“Organized wholesale electric markets create opportunities and encourage innovations that benefit consumers,” FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff said.

Wellinghoff noted that one of the largest benefits of these markets is the ability to level the playing field between traditional generation resources and a wide range of resources including renewable energy, demand response, energy efficiency and distributed generation. “Removing barriers that keep renewable energy resources from competing in wholesale markets must be part of our strategy to move toward energy independence.”