Nov. 9, 2017 – Midwest Energy News – Dynegy again seeks changes to keep Illinois coal plants running
Illinois legislators are currently considering legislation that would help Dynegy’s financially precarious fleet of coal plants continue operating.
The measure, which had its first hearing in a veto session that ends this week, would change how power plants downstate are paid to provide capacity…
Dean Ellis, Dynegy executive vice president for regulatory and government affairs, said the bill is not a subsidy and would ensure that Dynegy’s plants remain open and available to provide power in coming years. “The existing design is artificially suppressing prices, artificially triggering the retirement of otherwise economically competitive plants,” he said.
Since power plants in deregulated Illinois are competing to sell their power on the open market, where demand is roughly flat and prices are low, power plants are increasingly reliant on payments for capacity — the promise to be ready to provide power if needed.
Dynegy argues that its plants, in Zone 4 of the MISO regional transmission organization’s territory, are unfairly competing in capacity market auctions with power plants in nearby regulated states that can recoup their costs from ratepayers and offer lower bids into the auction.