Overview of FERC Order 841
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued its landmark, unanimous, bipartisan Order 841 on February 15, 2018, in which it directed regional grid operators to remove barriers to the participation of electric storage in wholesale markets. By directing the regional grid operators to establish rules that open capacity, energy, and ancillary services markets to energy storage, the Order affirms that storage resources must be compensated for all of the services provided and moves toward leveling the playing field for storage with other energy resources. Order 841 creates a clear legal framework for storage resources to operate in all wholesale electric markets and expands the universe of solutions that can compete to meet electric system needs.
Pursuant to Order 841, the regional grid operators submitted compliance plans in December of 2018. While the details of each compliance filing vary, ESA offered our initial assessment of the filings shortly after they were submitted. Subsequently, on February 7, 2019, ESA filed its response to Order 841 filings at the FERC; while generally supportive of the filings, ESA identified various concerns across the six regional grid operators.
ESA looks forward to continuing its dialogue with stakeholders and providing feedback as part of the FERC’s Order 841 process. Through these efforts, ESA and its members are eager to ensure that storage can undertake market operations that fully realize the full value of storage resources’ flexibility, thereby fulfilling the FERC’s intent as articulated in the Order.