Exelon has asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn two FERC orders that reaffirmed the zero-price offer requirement in ISO-NE’s new entrant pricing rule (16-1042).

FERC last month again rejected complaints by Exelon and Calpine that the rule unreasonably suppresses capacity prices and discriminates against existing resources. The commission upheld the rule in January 2015 and denied rehearing last month. (See FERC Again Rejects Challenge to ISO-NE New Entry Pricing.) ISO-NE’s rule allows new resources to lock in their first-year clearing price for up to six subsequent delivery years by offering as a price taker with a price of zero.

Exelon and Calpine argued that the rule creates a discriminatory two-tiered pricing scheme, with existing resources receiving lower prices than new ones if clearing prices fall in subsequent Forward Capacity Auctions.

The commission had acknowledged that the existence of the lock-in option “may result in lower capacity clearing prices” but said this was part of “a reasonable balance between incenting new entry through greater investor assurance and protecting consumers from very high prices.”

In the FCA 10 auction this month, capacity prices dropped for the first time in four years, as new resources more than offset generation retirements. (See Prices Down 26% in ISO-NE Capacity Auction.)

— William Opalka