Article from Platts Megawatt Daily, January 7, 2013, by Tom Tiernan
The retail choice market in California can grow only in small steps, but retail suppliers are hopeful that some recent regulatory changes and possible legislative efforts will improve market conditions in 2013 and beyond.
The retail choice load in California is limited by the cap that has been in place for several years, though a pair of retail suppliers have commented on the positive signs for competitive suppliers.
For those of you that are part of the Texas market this comes as no surprise, but for those of you in other parts of the country it may be of interest to you. The Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has worked diligently over the course of the last year to develop plans to help alleviate the shrinking reserve margins in Texas as well as incent investors to build new generation in the ERCOT market. The issue was exacerbated in the summer of 2011 as Texas experienced a severe drought and the hottest summer in the last 117 years. That’s awfully hot. Continue reading