FERC needs to review capacity market performance, GAO recommends
Capacity markets may or may not be functioning properly, but FERC can’t adequately make that determination, according to the GAO report.
“Available information on the level of resource adequacy … and related costs in regions with and without capacity markets is not comprehensive or consistent,” the report found. “Moreover, consistent data on historical trends in resource adequacy and related costs are not available for regions without capacity markets.”
The review concluded that FERC collects some useful information in regions with and without capacity markets, but GAO said it “identified problems with data quality, such as inconsistent data.”
GAO included three recommendations, including calling for FERC to take steps to improve the quality of data collected, and regularly assess the overall performance of capacity markets by developing goals for those assessments.
