Re:Texas power emergency heat wave
by replygirl on Sunday September 10, 2023 @04:09PM
(#37459525)
on the contrary, texas has some of the highest bulk rates in the world, only for short bursts
energy pricing is ostensibly all market-based here, with only spot and day-ahead markets whereas most (all?) other ISOs have year-ahead capacity auctions. the upshot for producers is that peak rates are capped much higher, around $10k here vs around $2k elsewhere. this worked for a while but renewables can often sell at near zero thanks to tax credits, so there's more volatility and destructive competition now. dispatchable producers stay competitive with a poor state of repair and a more selective approach to generation that favors peak hours. this is why in the summer we are constantly getting conservation notices but rarely have wide blackouts, as spikes to $1500+ are ordinary and we've hit $4000+ more than once this year
energy pricing is ostensibly all market-based here, with only spot and day-ahead markets whereas most (all?) other ISOs have year-ahead capacity auctions. the upshot for producers is that peak rates are capped much higher, around $10k here vs around $2k elsewhere. this worked for a while but renewables can often sell at near zero thanks to tax credits, so there's more volatility and destructive competition now. dispatchable producers stay competitive with a poor state of repair and a more selective approach to generation that favors peak hours. this is why in the summer we are constantly getting conservation notices but rarely have wide blackouts, as spikes to $1500+ are ordinary and we've hit $4000+ more than once this year