Texas Energy Market Overhaul: Needed or Not?
Right now, Texas operates an energy market that is designed as an energy-only or product-only market. This means that the markets can only trade on energy that currently exists. However, there is a push to make changes to the market to ensure that it will operate as a capacity market. This means that the traders on the market will be able to trade on the capacity of a company or a plant rather than what is being currently put out.
Proponents of changes say that there is no incentive for companies to invest in the capacity of their plants because the capacity does not make them any money on the markets. However, a change to a capacity market could force companies to invest in greater capacity. This change, proponents say, will force energy companies to provide more reliable energy in the future.
The change could prevent power scares that happened most recently, and keep them away in the future.
Read more here: http://www.texastribune.org/2014/02/04/grid-debate-new-info-does-little-sway-opinions/