Summary:  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently opened a docket in which interested parties may submit comments addressing the impacts of the recent winter weather events on grid reliability and electricity market prices.  During January 2014, PJM Interconnection experienced seven record-setting peak demand days, in which 22 percent of generating capacity experienced forced outages, representing three times the winter average.

On May 15, 2014, the Commission submitted comments in this proceeding, urging FERC to evaluate several issues as they relate to overall grid reliability, including forced outages, fuel resource adequacy, and the market impacts that resulted from cold winter weather and high natural gas prices.  In its comments, the Commission recommends the establishment of a generation auditing process and a further review of capacity price suppression, including the role of demand response resources.  The Commission also requests for FERC to examine the causes and actual costs associated with “uplift” charges.  The Commission’s encouragement to FERC to examine and review these topics in depth belies the Commission’s focus on these issues, and its interest/concern with the response to the winter weather events in early 2014.