1. Proposed Energy Imbalance Market The Basics
Western Clean Energy Association
May 13, 2011
Western Clean Energy Advocates
5/13/2011
John E. Candelaria

2. Presentation Summary
Provide a brief summary of the Western Interconnection;
Provide a description of the proposed energy imbalance market (EIM);
Explain how the proposed EIM will work;
List the benefits of an EIM;
Provide general information about the proposed EIM

3. The Western Interconnection
What is the western interconnection?
What are balancing authorities and balancing areas?
How are these balancing areas tied together?
What are the primary responsibilities of the balancing authority?
Match generation resources with loads and maintain the integrity and reliability of the balancing area.

5. What is Energy Imbalance and What Are Balancing Resources?
Energy Imbalance is the difference between the resources that are expected to be needed in a given hour an the actual resources that were needed in the hour.
If energy expected = 100 MW and energy needed = 90 MW then the imbalance is -10 MW
If energy expected = 100 MW and energy needed = 110 MW then the imbalance is +10 MW
Balancing resources are the resources used to address the difference between the expected and needed energy.
For the examples listed above energy imbalance resources would be expected to address the + or - 10 MW difference

6. Who Supplies Energy Imbalance resources now?
Each Balancing Authority provides its own resources for this purpose.

7. What is an Energy Imbalance Market
As proposed, and EIM is a market that would enable sharing of generation and transmission resources between balancing authorities to meet energy imbalance needs .

8. What are the Key Features of an EIM?
Efficient use of balancing resources between participating balancing areas;
Optimized use of transmission assets between balancing areas;
The ability to accommodate greater levels of variable energy resources such as wind and solar into the western interconnection

9. How Does An EIM Work?
The EIM Operator dispatches resources offered by participating balancing areas to meet energy imbalance needs. The resources are dispatched in economic order;
Transmission resources of market participants are made available to the market operator and their use is optimized to minimize energy imbalance costs.

10. What are the Benefits of an EIM?
Efficient use of balancing resources;
Optimized use of transmission assets between balancing areas;
Ability to accommodate greater levels of VERs due to greater levels of balancing resources and dispatch practices that are more suitable for VERs;
Reliability Benefits; and
Lower VER integration costs.

11. General Information About an EIM
Proposed EIM is voluntary and benefits and costs will depend on participation levels and the equipment required to set up the EIM market operator;
WECC is currently in the process of estimating cost and benefit ranges;
Each balancing authority will need to determine whether it makes sense to participate in the proposed EIM;
Preliminary studies show that bigger is better.

12. Questions????