Kennedy files bill to close loophole in electricity auction process, aims to reduce energy costs
A bill filed Wednesday by U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III, D-Massachusetts, would close a loophole, which after the New England wholesale electricity auction last year left four federal regulators deadlocked and no remedy to stop massive rate increases from going into effect, Kennedy said.
“It allows for a rehearing in the case of a deadlock,” Kennedy said in a phone interview. He said the bill, under the Fair Rates Act, would better allow “consumers to hold federal regulators accountable.”
That Forward Capacity Auction 8 wholesale auction in 2014, conducted by electrical grid operator ISO New England, resulted in wholesale electricity prices tripling from $1 billion to $3 billion — which will be passed onto future ratepayers, Kennedy said.
This year’s auction pushed future prices up another $1 billion. New Englanders already have the highest electricity prices in the county, Kennedy said.
