May 19, 2014 — No evidence of anti-competitive conduct has been found in the market for Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) CO
2 allowances, according to the independent market monitor’s 2013
Annual Report on the Market for RGGI CO2 Allowances, released today. The independent market monitor, Potomac Economics, continues to find no material concerns regarding the auction process, barriers to participation in the auctions, competitiveness of the auction results, or the competitiveness of the secondary market for RGGI allowances.
The report evaluates activity in the market for RGGI CO
2 allowances in 2013, focusing on allowance prices, trading and acquisition of allowances in the auctions and secondary market, participation in the market by individual firms, and market monitoring.
According to the independent market monitor, the average auction clearing price was $2.92 in 2013. Secondary market prices were generally consistent with auction clearing prices, increasing throughout the first quarter, plateauing at an average of $3.41 in the second quarter, falling steadily during the third quarter, and rising again through the fourth quarter.
Additional details are available in the report at:
http://www.rggi.org/docs/Market/MM_2013_Annual_Report.pdf
About the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states participating in the second RGGI control period (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont) have implemented the first mandatory market-based regulatory program in the U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The 2014 RGGI cap is 91 million short tons. The RGGI cap then declines 2.5 percent each year from 2015-2020.
RGGI is composed of individual CO
2 budget trading programs in each state, based on each state’s independent legal authority. A CO
2 allowance represents a limited authorization to emit one short ton of CO
2, as issued by a respective state. A regulated power plant must hold CO
2 allowances equal to its emissions to demonstrate compliance for each three-year control period. RGGI’s second control period began on January 1, 2012 and extends through December 31, 2014. For more information visit
www.rggi.org