Capacity Markets

This paper examines carbon tax design options in the United States using an intertemporal computable general equilibrium model of the world economy called G- Cubed. Four policy scenarios explore two overarching issues: (1) the effects of a carbon tax under alternative assumptions about the use of the resulting revenue, and (2) the effects of a system of import charges on carbon-intensive goods (“border carbon adjustments”).

Klein, Abram W. "Competitive Electricity Markets: Weening Markets from Rent-Seeking Subsidies and Capacity Markets," presented at Nodal Trader Conference, New York, NY, October 26, 2017

Bushnell, James; Flagg, Michaela; Mansur, Erin. Working paper: Capacity Markets at a Crossroads. Energy Institute at Haas, April 2017.

Bushnell, James; Flagg, Michaela; Mansur, Erin. Working paper: Capacity Markets at a Crossroads. Energy Institute at Haas, April 2017.

Kelly, John. Dynamic Pricing." Presentation to the Harvard Electricity Policy Group's 83rd Plenary Session. Cambridge, MA, June 2, 2016."

Centolella, Paul. The Impact of Missing Price Signals." Presentation to the Harvard Electricity Policy Group's 83rd Plenary Session. Cambridge, MA, June 2, 2016."

Terry, Cheryl. Hidden Value, Missing Money, and Electricity Markets." Presentation to the Harvard Electricity Policy Group's 79th Plenary Session, Washington, DC, June 2015."

EXCERPT FROM THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

 

This paper is part of an effort to evaluate matters affecting price formation in the energy and ancillary services markets operated by Regional Transmission Operators (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs) subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission). It focuses on operator-initiated commitments in the RTOs and ISOs and the challenges in internalizing all relevant physical and operational constraints in the day-ahead and real-time market processes. This paper defines an operator-initiated commitment as a commitment that is not associated with a resource clearing the day-ahead or real-time market on the basis of economics and that is not a self-schedule. Deeming an action to be “operator-initiated” is not intended to confer any judgment that the action is not appropriate or necessary to maintain reliability.

 

This paper describes a 3 Party Covenant financing and regulatory program aimed at reducing financing costs and providing a risk-tolerant investment structure to stimulate initial deployment of five to ten Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) coal generation power plants during this decade. The 3 Party Covenant is an arrangement between the federal government, state Public Utility Commission (PUC), and equity investor that serves to lower IGCC cost of capital by reducing the cost of debt, raising the debt/equity ratio, and minimizing construction financing costs. The 3 Party Covenant would reduce the cost of capital component of energy costs from new IGCC facilities by 34 percent and the overall cost of energy about 20 percent, making the technology cost competitive with pulverized coal (PC) and natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) generation.

The article examines the potential impacts of new mobility services such as ride sharing and ride hailing on the speed and depth of electrification of personal transportation. The article explores how a shift of transportation towards shared mobility services might accelerate electrification of transportation if mobility service providers switch to EVs more rapidly than individual car owners.

In California there are 16 different climate zones, as defined in the California Energy Code (Title24). The code requires slightly different types of buildings in each zone. These different building code requirements make it important for people who are designing, building, or maintaining these buildings to understand the unique attributes of their climate and how it will influence the design and performance of their buildings. In this UCEI project we developed a simple, free, easy-to-use, graphic-based computer program called Climate Consultant 3, and we have posted it on the State of California’s Flex Your Power web site and on the UCLA Energy Design Tools web site. Our objective is to make it freely accessible to architects, builders, contractors, and homeowners, etc., to help them understand their local climate and how it impacts their building’s energy consumption.

Kelly, James. Distribution Infrastructure and Electricity Transformation. Presentation to the Harvard Electricity Policy Group, Fifty-Eighth Plenary Session. Santa Monica, CA. February 25, 2010. 13 pages.

"Schmalensee, Richard. Getting Microeconomic Policy WRONG: How to Break Economists Rules. Presentation to the Harvard Electricity Policy Group, May 28-29, 2009, Cambridge, MA. 6 pages."

HEPG Virtual Session:  Constructing an HEPG Agenda, Taking Stock -- Cambridge, MA --October 14, 2022