The tension between aggressive state-level carbon reduction goals and wholesale competitive electricity markets looks like it may to come to a head in 2020. Connecticut is expressing displeasure with the New England grid operator concerning some natural gas plants it doesn’t want, while there is also discontent in the mid-Atlantic (PJM) power grid. There, a number of states are considering at least partial defection from PJM, in response to a Federal Energy Regulatory (FERC) decision addressing the impact of state-level subsidies in the market. A number of actors, including PJM itself, have filed requests for a re-hearing with the FERC on the issue. Things could get pretty unstable if some of PJM’s 13 participating states decide to take their toys and go home, procuring their own energy generating capacity in future years. There is some speculation this issue could go all the way to the Supreme Court.
