Platts to launch CSAPR allowance assessments

Platts intends to begin daily assessments effective trade date December 16 for eight types and vintages of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emission allowances created by the Environmental Protection Agency's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule.

The CSAPR rule is scheduled to take effect January 1 unless court or congressional action affects the scheduled implementation.

Although the so-called 2012 phase 1 trading market for annual SO2 and NOx emissions does not formally begin until the implementation of the rule, some limited market activity has already begun, allowing assessments to be formulated prior to the formal implementation date.

The assessments will be published in Megawatt Daily, Coal Trader and Coal Outlook, on Platts Electricity Alert and in Platts Market Data.

Assessments will be published for the eight following allowance types and vintages:

- - CSAPR Group 1 SO2 2012 - - CSAPR Group 1 SO2 2013 - - CSAPR Group 2 SO2 2012 - - CSAPR Group 2 SO2 2013 - - CSAPR Annual NOx 2012 - - CSAPR Annual NOx 2013 - - CSAPR Seasonal NOx 2012 - - CSAPR Seasonal NOx 2013

The 16 SO2 Group 1 states are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The seven SO2 Group 2 states are Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Carolina and Texas.

The 23 states that make up Groups 1 and 2 all fall under CSAPR's annual NOx provisions. EPA, as of Tuesday, had not made a final determination regarding the states that will fall under the seasonal NOx provisions. Under its proposal, the seasonal NOx requirements would apply to the same 23 states, plus Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.

The new assessments will be formulated based on systematic Market-on-Close practices using market information from brokers and other market participants. While all available information on trading activity that occurs throughout the day will be considered, bids and offers made and transactions done will be analyzed in relation to time of day to assess values at the end of the trading day, defined by Platts as 4 p.m. Eastern prevailing time.

Please submit questions or comments by December 14 to Brian Jordan at brian_jordan@platts.com with a cc to coal@platts.com and to pricegroup@platts.com.