ISO is not to blame.
Rusty:
You either know the buisness or did your homework!
ISO has been fighting this for years. They saw it coming and warned that this could happen. The problem is that the ISOs hands are tied. They do not control who sells the power to the grid.
Gas plants are cheap to build, and require minimal manning, and usually the gas supply is cheap. If the grid can take the power without damaging the lines in an area I can build a gas plant (or any other) and if I am the cheapest producer (of the 400 in NE) ISO must buy from me.
The ISO can not pick who they get the power from. They can not tell me what fuel to use. If they can take my output, I am obeying the NERC rules, the ISO rules and I am the next cheapest plant to put on line then I will be the next plant on the line. Unless it is a relyability issue they have no choice.
Since de-regulation there is no incentive to maintain a "mix" in the system. It is profit driven and that is what has put us in this pickle.
Misty Blue
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