Experience with ERCOT system's IT development and operation

ERCOT is an independent, not for profit organization that manages the deregulated electric system in the state of Texas. The deregulation model includes separate markets for bulk power and retail choice, with ERCOT acting as a facilitator for ancillary service market operation, reliability coordination and retail switching. The information technology (IT) tools are broadly classified under three categories--technical operations, commercial operations, and data warehouse. Technical operations include the market operation system (MOS) working in tandem with the power operation system (POS). Commercial operations include the client registration, load profiling, data acquisition, data aggregation, settlements, billing and a transaction clearing house. Since the ERCOT market is an evolving market, new market rules and reliability standards are established periodically and the IT tools are updated to reflect these changes. This paper provides an overview of the development and operational process of the IT tools pertaining to the ERCOT technical operations system. Index Terms--Ancillary service, balancing energy, day-ahead, deregulation, electricity markets, frequency control, ISO, market systems, real-time, RTO, state estimator.