When are wholesale market power purchases necessary?
One example is when a utility experiences an unplanned outage of a generating unit and is required to purchase power in the market. Power market purchases are also necessary when power plants are taken out of services for extended scheduled maintenance of seven weeks or more. High prices of natural gas used to generate electricity have led to higher costs for purchases in the power market. About 20 percent of U.S. electricity generation now depends on natural gas for fuel. • Is Harrison REMC the only utility using a tracker? No. All other Indiana electric utilities use tracker-type cost recovery methods as part of their rate structures. For many years, central and southern Indiana’s electric cooperatives enjoyed the position of not having a variable component or tracker in rates. When Congress deregulated the electric wholesale power supply business, the industry became subject to increased volatility and uncertainty, and our power supplier, Hoosier Energy, experienced a need to implem
