WASHINGTON – Federal energy regulators yesterday deferred a large increase in the maximum wholesale electricity price in California until Oct. 30 to give state power officials time to work out computer software glitches.
The cap on power prices that has been in effect since the summer of 2001, $92 a megawatt-hour, was supposed to jump to $250 on Tuesday as part of a broad overhaul of California's electricity market by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. A megawatt is enough to power 750 homes.
But the California Independent System Operator, which manages much of the state's power grid, asked for more time to test new software.
California's electricity market was subject to soaring prices, power shortages and possible manipulation by energy companies in 2000 and 2001 following deregulation in the late 1990s. Prices and supplies have been stable since FERC capped prices and implemented other measures to restore order to a volatile market.
