§824t Electricity Market Transparency Rules

Summary

Requires the Commission to make electricity markets more open about prices and availability. The Commission must set rules to share timely information about wholesale power and transmission with regulators, buyers and sellers, transmission users, and the public. It can get data from any market participant and can use other groups to collect and publish the data. The Commission must try to use existing price publishers and trade services first and may create an electronic system only if those sources do not give enough price information. The rules must protect market operation and system security by keeping secret any data that would harm markets or help collusion if released, and the Commission will not force tiny market players with only a de minimis presence to report. Within 180 days of August 8, 2005, the Commission must make a written agreement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to share information and avoid duplicate requests, while protecting proprietary trading data. No one can get a civil penalty for violations more than 3 years before they are given notice of the proposed penalty, except when a seller committed fraudulent market manipulation that affected a contract. The rules do not apply to transactions inside the ERCOT area as defined elsewhere in the law.