The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today remanded the Commission’s approval of a 2015 capacity auction for a portion of the wholesale electric market in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator that covers much of Illinois, finding that the Commission failed to justify its finding that the auction results were not tainted by market manipulation.
FERC Chairman Glick said that today’s decision once again reaffirms the importance of the Commission taking a vigorous approach to protecting wholesale markets from manipulation.
“As I said in my dissents from the underlying orders, there was no excuse for the Commission’s failure to grapple with Public Citizen’s serious allegations of manipulative conduct or the ‘unusual magnitude of the rate increase and its incongruity with other rates within the same auction,’” said Chairman Glick.
“I continue to believe deeply in competitive markets, but those markets can produce just and reasonable results and deliver fair rates for customers only if they are free from manipulation. Accordingly, protecting those markets must remain one of the Commission’s paramount responsibilities,” he said.
“The D.C. Circuit has told the Commission, on several recent occasions, that it needs to do a better job interpreting its statutory responsibilities, and I intend for the Commission to follow that directive.”
R21-52