US FERC to hold briefing on Southeast cost/benefit study

Fuente: Platts

US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff will hold a briefing next Thursday to discuss a recent cost/benefit study that concluded the Southeast would see few benefits from FERC's landmark standard market design proposal. In a notice issued Nov 22, staff said the Dec 5 briefing would also touch on regional transmission organization development in the region, including RTOs in Florida and the Carolinas.

But the bulk of the briefing will revolve around the cost/benefit study performed by Charles Rivers Associates that claimed most southeastern states will likely see cost increases if FERC imposes its SMD proposal nationwide. The study, requested by the Southeastern Assn. of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, said that the Carolinas would be hurt the most by the SMD proposal, while states included in the SeTrans RTO -- Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Arkansas -- could see slight benefits.