“The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc) does not have thelegal authority to implement vast parts of its standard market design (SMD),” saysRichard Rosen, executive vice-president and co-founder of the Tellus Institutein Boston. “And even if it was legal, Ferc would soon find that the planswould not lead to greater economic efficiencies.”

Rosen, who heads up the energy group at Tellus – a non-profit researchand consulting organisation that frequently works on the behalf of state