ERCOT's RMR decision jeopardizes market

At ICF, we help clients by applying data-driven insights and lessons learned over time to the issues of today. Our specialists across the energy spectrum can unpack complex issues to explain market activities and trends.

In this paper, ICF energy experts explore the recent Reliability Must Run (RMR) contract awarded by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to NRG’s Greens Bayou unit 5. The announcement of the RMR contract for Greens Bayou brought criticism from stakeholders who argued that the way RMR capacity is dispatched unfairly depresses real-time pricing for other generators. While ERCOT considered a proposal that purported to help fix the problem with energy pricing, it was ultimately rejected.

Download the paper now to learn more about the market implications of ERCOT’s decision, its impact on reliability, and the outlook for buyers and sellers. ICF examines how RMR contracts, as currently implemented by ERCOT, distort proper market signals and ultimately may undermine rather than enhance reliability.