RENSSELAER, N.Y. — NYISO stakeholders are being asked to weigh in on how effectively the external Market Monitoring Unit (MMU) is performing its duties before the ISO considers whether to renew its contract.

The ISO’s Management Committee (MC) on Wednesday received the annual solicitation of market participant input on the MMU’s performance. Shaun Johnson, NYISO director of market mitigation and analysis, said the three-year MMU contract with Potomac Economics runs through March 31, 2019. The ISO’s Tariff calls for the Board of Directors to oversee and review the MMU’s performance.

The MMU’s duties include attending meetings with stakeholders; ensuring wholesale markets function efficiently and appropriately; and identifying market violations, design flaws and power abuses. The unit also evaluates significant proposed revisions to NYISO’s market rules.

The Monitor must additionally produce annual and quarterly state of the market reports assessing the performance of New York’s electrical markets. (See “Potomac Economics 2017 State of the Market Report” in NYISO Business Issues Committee Briefs: May 16, 2018.)

As presented at the Sept. 11, 2017, Budget and Priorities Working Group, the MMU budget for this year is $4.1 million, a $600,000 increase over the previous year to cover added cybersecurity costs and support capacity market enhancements.

Potomac Economics also monitors the ERCOT and MISO markets.

NYISO will accept stakeholder comments on the MMU’s performance until June 21, 2018. They can be submitted to Johnson at sjohnson@nyiso.com and Leigh Bullock at lbullock@nyiso.com. All written comments will be treated as confidential to protect commercially sensitive matters.

— Michael Kuser