News Release: April 21, 2011 Docket No. RM10-12-000

FERC proposes rule to facilitate electricity market transparency

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today proposed to enhance electricity market transparency by requiring certain market participants that are not subject to Section 205 of the Federal Power Act to file electric quarterly reports (EQRs).

The proposal would give FERC and the public a more complete picture about how prices are established or formed by bilateral transactions in the wholesale electricity markets. It also would improve FERC's ability to monitor wholesale electricity markets for market power and manipulation. FERC is taking this step under authority granted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Currently, public utilities must file EQRs summarizing contractual terms and conditions in their agreements for cost-based and market-based rate sales and transmission service, as well as transaction information for cost-based and market-based rate sales and transmission capacity reassignments. Today's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) would extend those requirements to non-public utilities with annual wholesale sales of more than 4 million megawatt hours (MWh) and to non-public utility balancing authorities with 1 million MWh or more in annual wholesale sales.

In addition to proposing that these non-public utilities file EQRs, the NOPR would refine the reporting requirements by directing all filers to, among other things: report the transaction date, time and type of rate; indicate whether the transaction was reported to an index publisher; identify any broker or exchange used for a sales transaction; and report electronic tag ID data.

Comments on today's NOPR (RM10-12-000) are due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

R-11-27