NOME auction rescheduled for February 8 amid pending issues

RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, has rescheduled the country’s first NOME auction for the year from January 23 to February 8, a key reason being to enable additional time for the introduction of a measure intended to restrict exports of electricity amounts acquired at the auctions.

The Energy Exchange, participating in a public consultation procedure concerning the matter, needs to submit supplementary observations on the export-limiting measure before the plan is implemented on time for the auction in February. A short follow-up public consultation procedure will need to be wedged into the process.

The anticipated outcome of the main power utility PPC’s bailout-required disinvestment of lignite units is another reason for the auction’s rescheduling. Just days remain before the sale’s January 23 deadline for binding bids expires, unless an extension is granted, which could be necessary as a result of various unresolved matters.

The disinvestment’s outcome will determine whether an additional 520 MWh/h electricity amount is added, as a penalty, to the year’s NOME auction total of 1,444 MWh/h because of PPC’s failure to reach a retail electricity market share contraction target of 62.24 percent set for the end of 2018. The end-of-2019 target imposed on PPC is 49.24 percent.

RAE will need to decide, by the end of this month, on how penalty electricity amounts will be distributed to the year’s NOME auctions.