It’s not often you get to hear from the leaders of AESO, ERCOT and SPP talking together about the objectives and challenges in their respective markets. So that a few minutes now (OK, 36 minutes) to listen in to this podcast.
In this episode of Grid Forward Chats, Shifting Energy Market Dynamics, Bryce Yonker, executive director and CEO of Grid Forward, had a frank discussion with these market makers:
If you want to learn more about energy markets, or need to keep up with the latest trends driving their rapid evolution, this podcast is for you.
From Energy Market Evolution to Grid Modernization
Michael, Barbara and Pablo shared which technologies are being developed in their various regions and how those assets are impacting the energy market. Bryce also asks our guests to discuss what they are doing to combat volatilities due to peak loads often being met. Of course, the impact of policy and regulations can either benefit or hinder the energy market. Oftentimes, the biggest challenges are social, environmental and industrial development policies, rather than energy-focused policies. The guests wrap up this episode by discussing modernization, evolving energy markets, the importance of diverse resources and the upward curve of demand.
You can hear the podcast on the Grid Forward Chats web page, or find it on your favorite podcast app. In the meantime, here are some excerpts from the discussion.
About each market’s portfolio of options
Barbara Sugg: As an RTO, SPP certainly is providing reliability coordination, markets administration, tariff administration, transmission planning… The most exciting aspect right now is over 40 entities out in the West that have been working with us to write the rules for a day ahead market alternative.
Pablo Vegas: We’re an open market with that regard. If something can be economic and make money, then it can operate and connect into the grid. We effectively do a connect and manage strategy in ERCOT… we see a lot of kind of innovation come to the table.
Mike Law: The uniqueness of Alberta is the fact that our transmission construct and policy is an uncongested transmission system, so [it] really provides access to anybody that wants to connect to the grid and creates as higher level of competition in the generation market.
On dealing with volatility
Barbara Sugg: You have to look at resource adequacy as a whole. You have to not only have enough resources, you have to have the right kinds of resources to create that resource adequacy. In SPP, our regional state committee… that brings stakeholders from the regional state committee and the SPP board of directors and the SPP stakeholders together to try to solve these resource adequacy challenges.
Mike Law: From an energy-only market perspective, volatility is a feature. It’s the mechanism of sending price signals to get that long-term investment in place. Ultimately what drives the resource adequacy is the short-term price signal and volatility driving through to those long-term investment signals.
Pablo Vegas: We’re also an energy-only market… However, we’re starting to see demand growth at a pace that outpaces what it takes to develop supply, what it takes to develop the transmission to serve it. And that starts to change your planning paradigm, and you have to look at the market design a little bit differently. You have to make sure that those clear signals are getting through loud and clear when they need to be and that you can have responsiveness on the supply side.
Listen to the whole episode Shifting Energy Market Dynamics on the Grid Forward Chats web page or your podcast app.
