Blu Power fifth retail marketer to quit ERCOT

subscribe

Blu Power of Texas has become the fifth retail marketer in recent weeks to quit the Electric Reliability Council of Texas's market.

ERCOT said Blu Power asked it July 1 to begin moving its roughly 2,000 residential customers to providers of last resort.

The recent exodus of marketers from ERCOT's retail market has been blamed largely on high wholesale electricity prices that marketers, who see power to retail customers at fixed rates, are unable to cover.

For much of May and the first part of June, power prices in ERCOT frequently moved well above the $2,250/MWh offer cap in the balancing energy market, where retailers have to purchase power if they are caught short on supply. On at least one occasion, prices in the market soared to as high as $4,000/MWh.

In June, ERCOT implemented protocol changes designed to improve how congestion in the region is resolved. The move was one supporters, including Potomac Economics, ERCOT's market monitor, said would help relieve some of the extreme prices. The grid operator also implemented system software changes aimed at guaranteeing prices do not exceed the $2,250/MWh offer cap in place in the balancing energy market.

Since the changes were put in place, ERCOT's balancing energy market has seen a dramatic decline in prices, with few exorbitant spikes being seen and prices mostly hitting their highs when demand in the region reaches it peak, a common characteristic of the market.

Related News

maine hydro lines

New England takes key step to 1.2 GW of Quebec hydro as Maine approves transmission line

BANGOR - The Maine DEP reviewed the Clean Energy Connect project for more than two years, before issuing permits that included additional environmental mitigation elements.

"Collectively, the requirements of the permit require an unprecedented level of environmental protection and compensatory land conservation for the construction of a transmission line in the state of Maine," DEP said in a May 11 statement.

Requirements include limits on transmission corridor width, forest preservation, culvert replacement and vegetation management projects.

"In our original proposal we worked hard to develop a project that provided robust mitigation measures to protect the environment," NECEC Transmission CEO Thorn Dickinson said in…

READ MORE
California Halts Energy Rebate Program Amid Trump Freeze

California Halts Energy Rebate Program Amid Trump Freeze

READ MORE

spain electricity towers

Electricity in Spain is 682.65% more expensive than the same day in 2020

READ MORE

weed zapper

A robot is killing weeds by zapping them with electricity

READ MORE

In 2021, 40% Of The Electricity Produced In The United States Was Derived From Non-Fossil Fuel Sources

READ MORE