A meeting among the New England congressional delegation, ISO-NE and FERC Chairman Cheryl LaFleur ended the way that it started: with LaFleur and the RTO defending rising capacity prices and the delegation unhappy.

The ninth Forward Capacity Auction in ISO-NE saw prices increase by about one-third as 1,400 MW of new resources cleared to replace retiring coal plants.

The mild winter that has moderated energy prices in New England shouldn’t lull policy makers into complacence, ISO-NE CEO Gordon van Welie said.