According to Midwest Energy News, Illinois lawmakers questioned administrators of the recent power generation capacity auction, and the state’s Attorney General sent a letter questioning the auction results. The auction saw prices spike from $16.75 per MW-day to $150.00 per MW-day across southern Illinois. Meanwhile, throughout the rest of the region covered by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), prices cleared at less than $3.50 per MW-day. The two largest power generation companies in the region, Dynegy and Exelon, will reap an extra $284 million and $53 million, respectively, as a result of the auction – costs that will be transferred to energy customers across the region (both retail and default service customers). MISO regional executive Melissa Seymour said the auction results were driven by an increase in demand, which in turn meant that far more expensive resources were needed than in the last auction.
