Terra-Gen Pays $5.6M for CAISO Market Manipulation
Why it matters: Terra-Gen will pay a $4.95 million fine and disgorge $681,007 in profit, plus interest.
- Terra-Gen agreed to pay $5.6 million to settle charges of manipulating CAISO's market and violating FERC's "duty of candor" rule.
- FERC's enforcement office alleged Terra-Gen claimed battery system outages on certain days to avoid purchasing high-priced power, specifically when CAISO issued "regulation-down" awards.
- The company admitted to violating FERC's duty of candor but neither admitted nor denied the anti-manipulation rule violation, despite earning $681,007 during the 262 hours of the scheme.
- A former vice president of origination was identified as devising and overseeing the market manipulation scheme, which involved a 58-MW wind facility and a 65-MW battery system in Kern County, California.
- Terra-Gen has faced similar charges previously, settling in 2021 for nearly $630,000 for providing false information about a wind farm and deviating its output from CAISO's instructions.
Terra-Gen will pay $5.6 million to settle allegations of manipulating the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) market by falsely claiming battery outages to avoid buying high-priced power, a scheme devised by a former vice president. This settlement also addresses Terra-Gen's failure to disclose new market behavior concerns in a prior compliance report, demonstrating a pattern of regulatory issues for the company.
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