April 23, 2019

GCPA Panelists Contemplate Balkanized Energy Policies ($)

Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions

The Gulf Coast Power Association’s annual Spring Conference on April 16-17 began the day after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear challenges to Illinois’ and New York’s zero-emission credit programs. The court’s decision was a stark reminder that individual states are driving changes to the country’s electric generation mix, often to the frustration of the grid operators charged with operating competitive, economically efficient markets, reports RTO Insider.

"Implementing a uniform carbon price would be very difficult" in the PJM capacity market given all the different politics, said Jennifer Chen, senior counsel at Duke's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, during a panel discussion on evolving market designs for regional transmission organizations. Chen said that PJM's software would need significant upgrades to account for different state prices.