DECC consutation on capacity market supplementary design proposals
Summary
The capacity market imposes a number of risks on consumers.The difficulties seen in incorporating non-generation technologies into the market are one example of the choices inherent in designing a Capacity Market distorting the wider market.
The issues raised in this consultation highlight the risk of imposing competitive disadvantages on sources which could potentially be beneficial for consumers, including demand-side response and interconnection. It is welcome that DECC continues to seek solutions that would enable these technology types to participate in a way that appropriately rewards their benefits while penalising their risks, but, as the Department itself acknowledges, this process is clearly not complete.