Maryland Fixed Resource Requirement Alternative Assessment

Synapse provided the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel (OPC) with technical assistance in evaluating the likely impacts on Maryland ratepayers from pursuing the fixed resource requirement (FRR) alternative to continued participation in PJM's capacity market. The FRR alternative is the main avenue for states to avoid the negative impacts of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC's) controversial minimum offer price rule (MOPR) order on the development of renewable resources and the cost to achieve state clean energy goals.

As part of this work, Synapse developed a three-step framework for assessing the potential impacts of the FRR alternative. The framework was proposed to evaluate the economic and financial trade-offs between the FRR alternative and continued participation in PJM's capacity market and the state regulatory and legislative actions that may be necessary to support pursuit of the FRR alternative. This included evaluating the potential benefits and costs to Maryland ratepayers from pursuit of the FRR alternative and an assessment of the legislative and regulatory actions necessary to pursue the FRR option if the benefits are determined to exceed the costs. As part of this effort, Synapse conducted in-depth analysis on the benefits and costs associated with FRR, including changes in cost to meet clean energy goals, changes in capacity procurement quantities, and market power impacts.