Overheard at the NARUC Winter Policy Summit
From RTO Insider:
Former Montana Public Service Commissioner Travis Kavulla, a member of the Governing Body, said he is seeking feedback from transmission-dependent utilities, independent generators and power marketers. “Clearly we can’t have a market design solely intended to benefit big vertically integrated utilities that have both big power fleets and a lot of transmission,” said Kavulla, now director of energy and environmental policy for think tank R Street Institute. “We need to be fair and equitable to all of the participants.”
Kavulla also said he is concerned about CAISO’s role.
“I’m just very conscious that we can’t let RTO management become a kind of Hal 9000 which is saying, ‘I can’t let you do that, Dave,’” he said, in a reference to the malevolent A.I. in “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
“It’s become a real problem in other parts of the country where RTOs somehow have, by default, or by delegating powers under themselves, become de facto policymakers. That’s not appropriate, and it’s not the role that was envisioned for them. They’re there to ensure economic efficiency and make sure the market works, but ultimately to accommodate the desires of stakeholders, including the foremost among the stakeholders: consumers and their government representatives,” he said. “I have lots of opinions on whether policymakers are making wise decisions about energy policy. I do know, though, that RTOs should not be the referee in that particular situation.”
