January 5, 2017
On November 17, 2016, FERC issued a final rulemaking notice to all grid operators “to more effectively integrate electric storage resources into organized wholesale markets to enhance competition and help ensure that these markets produce just and reasonable rates.”
The rules that govern US electricity markets categorize energy resources squarely as Generators or Loads. A big battery is neither, and becomes sometimes trapped into an uncertain grey area that can make project approval difficult. FERC sees the immense value that storage can deliver to the US electric grid as it equates to a controllable source of power supply or demand. Vox.com has written a brilliant plain English summary of the proposed rule and its implication.
For IG, the rule means faster, simpler interconnection rules for our customers and a healthier, richer wholesale market.