On August 28, 2020, FERC issued a supplemental Notice of a Commission-led Technical Conference on state pricing for carbon dioxide emissions, commonly referred to as carbon pricing, in FERC-jurisdictional wholesale electric markets (“Conference”). The Conference is free and will take place online on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST.

The Conference will address the specifics for state-adoption mechanisms for carbon pricing in regions that have Commission-jurisdictional organized wholesale electricity markets. The Conference will also address carbon pricing approaches where states set explicit carbon prices, and how those carbon prices intersect with RTO/ISO administered markets.

The Conference will include three panels. The first panel entitled, “Legal Considerations for State-Adopted Carbon Pricing and RTO/ISO Markets” will discuss potential legal issues that may arise when balancing the mandates of the Federal Power Act with a state’s proposal to integrate state-established carbon pricing into an RTO/ISO market design. The second panel entitled, “Overview of Carbon Pricing Mechanism and Interactions with RTO/ISO Markets” will cover: (1) how RTO/ISO markets incorporate state and regional carbon pricing initiatives; and (2) carbon pricing mechanisms that contemplate a greater role for RTOs/ISOs in administering state or regional carbon pricing, and how such mechanisms intersect with RTO/ISO markets. The third panel entitled, “Considerations for Market Design,” explores operational and market design issues that arise when RTOs/ISOs integrate carbon pricing in their energy and ancillary services markets.  The Conference will conclude with a roundtable discussion on the topics and issues explored throughout the Conference.

Additional information about this technical conference, including a link to the webcast and transcription information, may be found on the Conference’s event page.

Click here to read the Notice.