RGGI's First Auction Of The Second Compliance Period

The auction held last Wednesday, March 14th, by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) was the fifteenth held so far -- making it seem far from novel --  but as we highlighted in January, this first auction of RGGI's second compliance period could provide interesting insight into the future of the program.   

According to the market monitor report, 21.5 million (62%) of the 34.8 million allowances offered for sale by the 9-state group sold at last week's auction, with the 20 participating bidders paying $1.93 (the new floor price).  Although two of the entities who submitted bids for allowances were not compliance entities, 99% of the allowances purchased were sold to the generators regulated under RGGI or their corporate affiliates.  Participation in this quarter's auction was slightly lower than December's auction, which featured 38 bidders, but much more robust than the September 2011 auction, which set a record low, with only 18% of the allowances