Bidding Into the Energy Imbalance Market

10 Jul 2018

Intertek Asset Integrity Management Engineering Services provides key generator resource data for units bidding into the Energy Imbalance Market

Wind and Solar power generation are variable and can't be dispatched traditionally. The increased use of these renewables has raised concerns about how the balance between production and demand will be maintained by the system operator on a least-cost basis.

The Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) is a market-based solution. An EIM balances supply and demand by allowing participants in a wide geographic area to buy and sell power across neighboring grids. The system operator finds lower-cost resources from across a larger region to meet real-time power needs.

To bid into the EIM the participants must supply California Independent System Operator (CAISO) with certain economic and engineering parameters for the generating units that are used in developing their economic bids.

To date Intertek has helped two EIM utility participants prepare for participation in this new market by determining many economic and performance factors of the generation assets that will bid into the EIM including helping draft their Generator Resource Data Template (GRDT) spreadsheet for each unit bidding.

California ISO launched the Western EIM in November 2014. Currently it has participants from Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, California, Colorado and Arizona. The coordination in generating and delivering energy across this wide region results in many benefits:

• Reduced cost of reserves that utilities need to carry
• Reduced carbon emission and more efficient use and integration of renewable energy
• Increased ability to manage transmission congestion across the region and increased operational visibility across the grids

Intertek AIM Engineering Services has been studying power plant cycling for nearly 40 years. We are an industry leader in determining the cost of cycling of power plants and were one of the first to identify cycling as a major cost concern. This expertise is essential for determining generating unit parameters such as start-up cost and ramping costs for the generating unit under various configurations and scenarios. These are key parameters used for the GRDT and the economic bid into the EIM.

To learn more, visit our website or contact us.

The goal of Asset Integrity Management (AIM) is to effectively manage corporate assets in order to gain maximum value, profitability and returns while safeguarding personnel, the community, and the environment.  At Intertek our AIM team delivers trusted and innovative technical solutions that ensure the quality, safety and reliability of our clients' assets.