10 Krey Boulevard Rensselaer, NY 12144
December 21, 2011
By Electronic Delivery
Honorable Kimberly D. Bose Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20426
Re: New York Independent System Operator, Inc., Proposed Tariff Amendments to
the Market Monitoring Plan; Docket No. ER12-___-___.
Dear Ms. Bose:
Pursuant to Section 205 of the Federal Power Act,1 the New York Independent System Operator, Inc. (“NYISO”) hereby submits proposed amendments to the Market Monitoring
Plan (“Plan”) set forth in Attachment O to its Market Administration and Control Area
Services Tariff (“Services Tariff”). The NYISO proposes amendments to its Plan that will
allow the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) to delegate management oversight of the
NYISO’s internal Market Mitigation and Analysis Department (“MMA”) to the Chief
Operating Officer (“COO”). Under the proposed tariff revisions, the MMA will continue to
be subject to management oversight.
I.LIST OF DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED
The NYISO submits the following documents:
1.This filing letter;
2.A clean version of the proposed revisions to the NYISO’s Market Monitoring
Plan (“Attachment I”); and
3.A blacklined version of the proposed revisions to the Market Monitoring Plan
(“Attachment II”).
1 16 U.S.C. § 824d (2010).
Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary December 21, 2011
Page 2
II.COPIES OF CORRESPONDENCE
Correspondence concerning this filing should be served on:
Robert E. Fernandez, General Counsel
Raymond Stalter, Director of Regulatory Affairs *James H. Sweeney, Attorney
New York Independent System Operator, Inc.
10 Krey Boulevard
Rensselaer, NY 12144
Tel: (518) 356-8707
Fax: (518) 356-7678
jsweeney@nyiso.com
* Person designated for receipt of service
III.BACKGROUND
The Plan was initially accepted by the Commission in November 1999 as a stand-
alone document. Prior to the Commission’s issuance of Order No. 719 in 2008, 2 the NYISO had an internal market monitoring department, Market Monitoring and Performance
(“MMP”), which reported directly to the CEO pursuant to the Plan. At that time, MMP
performed some of the functions that were defined as core market monitoring functions by the Commission in Order No. 719. In addition, the NYISO had an external market advisor,
Potomac Economics, which advised both NYISO staff and the NYISO’s Board of Directors (“Board”) on various aspects of the New York Electric Markets. Potomac Economics
reported directly to the Board and also performed some of the functions that the Commission defined as core market monitoring functions in Order No. 719.
In May 2009, the NYISO proposed, and the Commission accepted, tariff revisions to comply with the market monitoring requirements of Order No. 719. The NYISO’s Order No. 719 Compliance Filing3 incorporated its Plan into its Services Tariff as Attachment O. The Plan provides for the independent, impartial and effective monitoring of, and reporting on the New York Electric Markets.4
Potomac Economics became the NYISO’s “Market Monitoring Unit,” as that term is
defined in Order No. 719. The Plan contains the tariff rules that govern Potomac Economics’
2 Wholesale Competition in Regions with Organized Electric Markets (“Order No. 719”), Order No. 719, 73
Fed. Reg. 64, 100 (Oct. 28, 2008), FERC Stats. &. Regs. ¶ 31, 281 (2008), 125 FERC ¶ 61,071 (2008).
3 New York Independent System Operator, Inc., Compliance with Order No. 719, Docket No. ER09-1142-400 (May 15, 2009).
4 See Section 30.1.1 of the Services Tariff.
Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary December 21, 2011
Page 3
duties as the Market Monitoring Unit (“MMU”). As such, Potomac Economics is now
responsible for performing the Order No. 719 “Core Market Monitoring Functions,” and
reports to the non-management members of the Board. Potomac Economics is solely
responsible for performing all of the core market monitoring functions. Consistent with the requirements of Order No. 719, all responsibilities or duties that are assigned to the MMU are in the Plan and the NYISO’s Services Tariff makes clear that the provisions of the Plan
control, with regard to the MMU, its responsibilities and its authority.
The NYISO’s internal MMP Department was renamed the MMA Department. MMA
remains an internal NYISO department and assists the NYISO’s efforts to implement the
requirements of its tariffs (including but not limited to implementing the NYISO's Market
Mitigation Measures, Attachment H to the Services Tariff). The MMA is not responsible for
carrying out any of the Order No. 719 core market monitoring functions. Rather, the MMA is
responsible for working collaboratively with the MMU and other NYISO departments to
assist the NYISO’s efforts to carry out its Tariff responsibilities, including the ISO’s
obligation to provide adequate data and support to its MMU. The MMA’s primary duty is to
administer mitigation in accordance with the NYISO’s tariffs.5 The MMA reports to NYISO
management and is not the NYISO’s “Market Monitoring Unit” as that term is defined in
Order No. 719.
In this filing, the NYISO proposes to amend the Plan to allow the MMA to be subject to NYISO management oversight and to act at the direction of the CEO, or his designee, the COO. This proposed tariff change will bring operational flexibility to NYISO senior
management. If the Commission accepts the proposed tariff revisions, the CEO will be able to designate day-to-day oversight and management of the MMA to the COO.
IV PROPOSED TARIFF REVISIONS
The NYISO proposes to revise the following sections of the Plan by replacing references to the CEO with “the CEO, or his designee, the COO.”
• Affected sections: Section 30.3.2, Sections 30.3.4, Section 30.5.1.1, Section
30.5.1.2.13, Section 30.7.1, Section 30.8.1, Section 30.8.3, and Section 30.10.5
In addition, the NYISO proposes ministerial corrections to Sections 30.3.2 and 30.3.4.
The tariff revisions proposed in this filing are submitted herewith in both clean and blacklined versions.
5 See Section 30.3.3 of the Services Tariff.
Honorable Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary December 21, 2011
Page 4
V.EFFECTIVE DATE
The NYISO respectfully requests that the tariff revisions proposed in this filing be
permitted to become effective on February 22, 2012; more than 60 days after the date of this
filing.
VI.STAKEHOLDER APPROVAL
The NYISO discussed the development of these proposed tariff revisions at a number of stakeholder meetings. The proposed tariff revisions were discussed with stakeholders at the August 29, 2011 and September 26, 2011 Market Issues Working Group meetings, the October 12, 2011 Business Issues Committee meeting and the October 26, 2011 Management Committee meeting. The NYISO’s Management Committee unanimously approved, with one abstention, the tariff revisions proposed in this filing.
VII. SERVICE LIST
The NYISO will send an electronic link to this filing to the official representative of
each of its customers, to each participant on its stakeholder committees, to the New York
Public Service Commission, and to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. In addition, the
complete filing will be posted on the NYISO’s website at www.nyiso.com.
VIII. CONCLUSION
WHEREFORE, for the foregoing reasons, the New York Independent System
Operator, Inc. respectfully requests that the Commission accept the proposed tariff changes identified in the Attachments hereto, with an effective date of February 22, 2012.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ James H. Sweeney
James H. Sweeney
New York Independent System Operator, Inc.
