FERC accepted the results of ISO-NE’s Forward Capacity Auction (FCA) 17 on Tuesday, ruling that the issues raised by a group of climate activists are outside the scope of the proceeding (ER23-1435).
ISO-NE held FCA 17 in March of this year, procuring resources for the capacity commitment period that extends from June 2026 through May 2027. A group of climate and environmental organizations including No Coal No Gas, 350 Mass, Lexington Climate Action Network and the Berkshire Environmental Action Team, along with 149 individuals, submitted comments protesting the auction, arguing that the design of the auction favors fossil fuels over renewables.
“ISO-NE’s Forward Capacity Market structure, particularly the continued payments to fossil fuel generators, poses extreme risk to ratepayers, the climate and grid reliability,” No Coal No Gas wrote in its initial comments. “FCA 17 awards hundreds of millions of ratepayer dollars to keep the oldest, dirtiest, least economical fossil fuel powered generators online for use as peaker plants. By propping up these failing fossil fuel powered generators as stand-by peaker plants and sending bonus payments to base load generators, ISO-NE is preventing a just transition on our dime.”
Meanwhile, ISO-NE argued that it conducted the auction in accordance with its tariff with no preference toward any type of resource, and that complaints about the structural design of the FCM are outside the scope of the FERC proceeding.
“We’re governed by federal law that requires our markets to be open to all resources that can provide the required services,” an ISO-NE spokesperson told RTO Insider. “These payments are not subsidies, but rather the result of a competitive market in which all resources compete to provide grid services at the lowest cost.”
Answering ISO-NE’s arguments, No Coal No Gas wrote that the public has not been provided with adequate opportunity to engage with and give input on the FCA process. No Coal No Gas disputed the results of the prior two auctions (ER21-1226 and ER22-1417), while FERC ruled both times the issues raised are beyond the scope of the proceedings.
“Community stakeholders have an extremely limited ability to contribute to the Commission’s responsibilities regarding the administration of our electric grid, and the ISO wishes to bar comments appropriately filed through one of our only opportunities to so contribute as outside the scope of the proceedings,” the No Coal No Gas coalition wrote, adding that the one ISO-NE forum dedicated to public engagement, the Consumer Liaison Group, has no direct effect on RTO policy.
FERC again sided with ISO-NE for FCA 17, agreeing with the RTO that the issues raised about payments to fossil fuel resources are outside the proceeding’s scope.
“No party has argued or provided evidence that ISO-NE failed to conduct FCA 17 in accordance with its Tariff,” FERC wrote. “The protests of NCNG, other organizations and Pro Se Commenters raise issues that are outside the scope of this proceeding because they do not bear on the sole question here — namely, whether ISO-NE conducted FCA 17 in accordance with its own Tariff rules. Instead, these protests focus on the FCM market design, as NCNG itself recognizes when it urges ISO-NE and the Commission to redesign the FCM to focus primarily on climate change in its decision-making.”
