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TRANSMISSION OPERATIONS & PLANNING

Market Operations and Design

Monitoring, development, and assessment of electricity market designs and software enhancements.

FERC2222

Research and Development Challenges

Market Operations and Design explores the design and operation of electricity markets. The research will provide insights on the state-of-the-art of electricity market design, how it is evolving around the globe, and especially how it may be evolving under decarbonization, electrification, and increasing participation of emerging technologies. The program aims to provide unbiased and comprehensive information on global electricity market design, advanced analytics and modeling for evaluating features of evolving markets, insights on key initiatives and events, and a forum for collaboration on market design and operation.

Some of the key challenges and approaches that the program will focus on include reliability assurance, ancillary services, integration of emerging technologies, price formation, sector coupling, and market outcomes and design under large energy transitions. The research will include monitoring, developing, and testing new market design and software enhancements to evaluate their reliability and efficiency gains.

As electricity markets continue to rapidly evolve, incorporating zero fuel and opportunity cost resources, DER aggregation, energy storage, and other technologies (such as powerflow controllers), it became pressing to assure that the research in this space was given a place of prominence and focus in alignment with the other key research areas in the Transmission Operations and Planning space. The team will collaborate with North American Independent System Operators and Regional Transmission Organizations (ISOs/RTOs), international market operators, utilities across the world that are in various structures (e.g., ISO/RTO markets, imbalance markets, bilateral exchange markets), and other key stakeholders.

In the years to come, we plan to:

  • Complete new versions of the Annual Market Design Reference Guide, adding global impacts.
  • Host monthly webcasts alternating between advisors’ and technical sessions on critical topics
  • Continue DER Aggregation integration research, including market participation, co-simulation and analysis of wholesale and retail market options and coordination.
  • Evaluate reliability enhancements through market solutions like regulation service, operating reserve demand curve adjustments, and ancillary service endurance modeling
  • Introduce concepts for resource adequacy and resilience in electricity markets, emphasizing the impact of flexibility attributes on accreditation.
  • Explore integration of new technologies into market design, such as HVDC lines, large loads and hydrogen electrolyzers.
  • Assess future market outcomes with zero-fuel-cost resources and their impact on prices.
  • Develop approaches to reduce carbon emissions and account for GHG emissions in market solutions
  • Provide industry insights on emerging topics and new proposals, , such as reserve deliverability
  • Engage with FERC and global regulators, responding to technical topics and expanding stakeholder engagement

 

Related Projects

Annual Market Design Reference Guide and Global Market Surveillance

It is important for market operators and stakeholders to have a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of electricity markets around the world. The annual market design reference guide is a comprehensive document with substantial amount of information on the current state of the art for electricity markets as well as the new initiatives that are being discussed and studied in each market region in North America.
The guide and access to collaborators and the EPRI researchers provides for a tremendous source of information. This information can provide significant cost savings and education that can enable additional cost savings and reliability improvements through knowledge of efficient features that can be adopted.

Advanced Electricity Markets and Market Clearing Software

As new technologies become part of the system or as new capabilities present themselves, market designs can enable these technologies in ways that can continue to lead to efficient and reliable solutions. This also includes improvements to the market clearing software. EPRI research can introduce new concepts, prototype designs and market management system features that can later be implemented by vendors, or conduct simulations to demonstrate potential outcomes or metric comparisons across potential solutions. EPRI Research can assist stakeholders and market operators understand the potential enhancements that can lead to reliable and economic efficient solutions, especially under energy transition. This can help these entities make informed decisions to improve reliability, reduce costs, and maintain equity.

EPRI Industry Perspectives

The power system is a dynamic industry with new issues and new activities occurring all the time. This is especially true with system operation and planning and electricity market interactions. As new issues or features are raised, it is important to hear independent unbiased views as well as unique perspectives that show the gaps and research needs that may be yet unexplored. A similar need for studies and proposals that are released where it may be difficult to get an unbiased perspective on what the implications of the findings are.The EPRI team will provide a set of Industry Insights and Perspectives that are based on unplanned topics so that the program can be flexible toward the high priority activities and proposals that are introduced throughout the year. Industry Insights are unique takes or clear and concise explanations of complex topics including summary of the issue or event when applicable. Perspectives are an EPRI independent review on a proposal, paper, or study by another entity to provide an unbiased view for advisors.

Electricity Market design reference guide

Provide updates on electricity market design and operations in North America, including 2024 comparison of different market products and topics.

Related Deliverables

Electric Storage in US Markets

3002029712

Offers key insights and lessons on electric storage in North America, including comprehensive data analysis of storage participation.

Comparing Market Formulations

3002030435

Comparing different mathematical formulations for electricity markets across the different ISOs.

Eclipse Insights: Evaluating Storage

3002030538

Describes the total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, as observed within CAISO, and analyzes the performance of storage and hybrid storage resources.

Wholesale EMD Ref Guide 2023: Vol I & II

3002030657

Provide updates on electricity market design and operations in North America, including 2023 activities.

Future Ancillary Services

3002031421

Outlines ten key considerations for evolving Ancillary Service Product Types, requirement settings, and market designs to enhance reliability and efficiency in
electricity markets.

Area Leads