Groups ask Congress for first-of-its-kind cost analysis of RTOs amid market expansion debate
- The letter, sent Thursday, was spearheaded by the Electricity Consumers Resource Council (ELCON) and includes a wide array of groups including Public Citizen, Energy Choice Coalition, R Street Institute, state-level consumer advocates and others. It asks Congress to direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a detailed cost analysis of organized markets that are under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s jurisdiction.
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“The evidence should always drive the policy decision, and there’s a need for higher quality evidence to understand how different RTO functions and structures affect benefits and costs,” said Devin Hartman, director of Energy and Environmental Policy at the R Street Institute in an email. “Better evidence will delineate a more accurate value proposition for states considering joining or forming an RTO, as well as helping regulators and stakeholders prioritize how to improve RTO performance. The most productive forums for weighing RTO expansion have been preceded by prospective net benefits studies.”
