The eight utility members of the New York Power Pool have asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to approve their proposals for a competitive electric industry structure by the end of March and allow a competitive New York market for electricity by 30 June. So far, the New York Public Service Commission has reached final restructuring agreements only with Orange & Rockland Utilities Inc and Consolidated Edison Co of New York.
The power pool proposal calls for creation of a New York power exchange closely tied to a state Independent System Operator (ISO). The ISO would manage the state’s transmission grid and the power exchange would provide a competitive wholesale generation market. A separate reliability council would ensure that competition in the industry did not erode current standards of reliability.
The power pool members had submitted a similar filing last January that evoked concern from FERC that the ISO was not truly independent. Their January filing was intended to address that and other issues. Under the new proposal, the ISO would have an independent board of directors, no member of which would be affiliated with any market participant.
The new proposal also contained more operational details of ISO scheduling and pricing.