EPSA Lawsuit and Demand Response Market Manipulation

Is Demand Response a wholesale electricity sale? Not really under the FPA. But should it allowed to bid into wholesale markets? This week we'll explore EPSA, a supreme court case that decided federal authority over DR participating in wholesale electricity markets.

Background to start, but for juicy parts on EPSA, skip to Scalia's dissent around 5 mins into this episode. Market manipulation discussed at 14 mins. Bigger summary at 16:30. Timestamps below.

Topics covered include: legal no man's land for fed vs state authority, should DR receive full LMP, and how can companies manipulate their demand response payments? Also covers FERC Orders 719 and 745.

Timestamps:

• 00:00-Intro
• 03:00-Wholesale Markets as Drug Dealers
• 04:30-Who is EPSA?
• 5:00-EPSA Dissent from Scalia
• 07:25-Legal Precedents
• 12:15-EPSA Summary
• 12:50-LMP minus G (doesn't make sense!)
• 14:00-DR Market Manipulation Example
• 16:30-Wholesale DR the last 20 Years

Sources:

1. Demand Response Market Manipulation Case in MISO (2024): ⁠https://www.utilitydive.com/news/nipsco-linde-ferc-miso-demand-response-settlement/703888/⁠
2. EPSA Supreme Court Case full PDF (2016) ⁠https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/577/14-840/case.pdf⁠
3. Shoutout to the random bus that drove by during the opening seconds of my intro