Problems in Electricity Market Governance: An Assessment - R Street

This insightful, thought-provoking analysis by Travis Kavulla got me thinking about the "Tale of Two Cities" by Dickens, "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times". The turmoil in today's electricity markets pales in contrast to circumstances that led to the French Revolution, nevertheless, we are experiencing significant changes in the way electricity is planned, produced, administered and consumed. Using Travis' observations, I come down firmly in the camp that believes " The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the nation's energy regulator, should assume leadership on important policy questions. Even if it cannot resolve them alone, FERC should not outsource important policy functions to an RTO. Instead, it should work with state officials or task its own advisory committee with resolving them. " 

FERC could leverage an Industry Standards development initiative using NAESB's highly successful, transparent, consensus-based stakeholder process to tackle some of the difficult challenges cited in this report.