Enron Mail

From:sean.crandall@enron.com
To:tim.belden@enron.com, alan.comnes@enron.com
Subject:Comments on order
Cc:
Bcc:
Date:Tue, 3 Jul 2001 15:46:19 -0700 (PDT)

Here are some questions/comments I have regarding the ruling.

1. How does the cap apply to index prices. If the DJ-PV index settles at $120 and the cap is $98, do parties selling index have to adjust there price to $98?

2. Would financial products (swaps) be affected by the cap?

3. There has to be less ambiguity with respect to day ahead cash markets. For example, assume it's a Monday and the ISO is under normal conditions and the price is $92. Then assume on HE 14 the ISO declares a stage one and the price clears at $100 and the price is $100 for the rest of the day. Tuesday assume the price is $85 during the first few offpeak hours, but the Wednesday forecast shows identical conditions as Monday. What is the day ahead cash cap trading Tuesday for Wednesday?
Is it $85 or $100? One could make the argument that it should be $100 because it is reasonable to assume they will be in a stage one real time on Wednesday, but at the time cash is traded they are not in a stage one.

It seems to me the easiest way to solve this problem would be to have an independent market organization declare what the day ahead cash market price was before the cash market traded. So for the example, they may recognize it's likely a stage 1 $100 cap will be in effect on Wednesday, so they'll set the cap at $100. The market will know before hand and there will be no ambiguity. More efficient market, less litigation.

4. What about call options? If a generator owns a call option at $125, the cap is $100, but the market is actually trading $150, does the generator have the right to exercise the option? What if the generator has a plant that he can fire up at $150. Does the generator have to wait until the price hits $150? Seems like the strike price on an option would be an easily demonstrable expense. And would there be a difference between a marketer owning an option and a generator owning an option?