In my prior testimony, I described a generator specific cap that would be based on variable costs plus a reasonable profit. There may be other ways to craft effective price mitigation that will restore just and reasonable prices in the Western Interconnection. I would recommend immediate Congressional action in this area. Demand responsiveness is a critical feature that is largely absent from electricity markets. Without the ability of customers to respond to price, there is virtually no limit on the price that suppliers can fetch in shortage conditions.
Consumers see the exorbitant bill only after the fact.
This does not make for a well functioning market. I support the market based approaches in the bill and observe that the Commission may be able to use the private sector for organizing a clearinghouse for agreements, subject to Commission oversight. Identifying transmission constraints and developing a plan for relieving them, identifying transmission corridors across Federal land, and finally relieving the long standing constraint on California's notorious Path 15 are all positive developments and I support them. I must observe, however, that those provisions are unlikely to have much impact on the market over the next several months. I would add two observations.