Regional Transmission Organizations
Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO) are tasked with maintaining the integrity of the electric grid and provide the framework for electricity markets, cost-efficient grid operation, and reliability. Gabel Associates’ position on the front lines of RTO issues enables us to provide specialized and in-depth analysis and advocacy, and advice related to the direction and impact of potential changes to RTO tariffs, rules, and policies.
Gabel Associates has expertise in the operations, procedures, and rules of RTOs, which operate transmission systems in many regions of the United States and serve as the foundation of wholesale electricity markets. The firm provides expert and timely advice, analysis, and advocacy with respect to developments and trends in regional energy markets. Our refined analytic tools bring further value to these efforts.
Gabel Associates actively participates in the development of RTO rules, tariffs, and policies, especially those related to energy, capacity, and interconnection activities that impact renewable energy, fossil generation, and storage technologies. Our in-house experts analyze these highly complex and technical rules on a continuous basis, identifying opportunities to apply them to the interests of our clients.
The firm analyzes issues related to the following RTOs:
- PJM Interconnection (PJM)
- New England (ISO-NE)
- Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO)
- Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)
- Southwest Power Pool (SPP)
- California ISO (CAISO)
- New York (NYISO)
Gabel Associates provides advanced analysis of RTO markets and pricing using our proprietary modeling tools, which analyze and evaluate pricing and risk issues in energy and capacity markets. We also assist our clients in understanding RTO capacity market rules, ancillary service tariffs, and interconnection issues.
RTO Reporting and Advocacy Services
The firm provides reporting, analysis, and advice to advance our clients’ business objectives. Gabel Associates is active in RTO committees and working groups including those addressing energy markets, capacity markets, renewable markets and transmission interconnection issues throughout the wholesale market space.
The firm actively engages in discussions where emerging issues, business and market rules are debated and decided. We use our place on these committees and working groups to advocate for the interests of our clients throughout the policy and tariff development process.
Gabel Associates has been an active contributor in the development of capacity market rules and reforms in various RTOs. This includes involvement in the implementation of the Capacity Performance (CP) model at PJM and ongoing discussions to reform the Resource Adequacy Construct at MISO. The firm also has direct involvement in follow-on FERC proceedings, assisting in the formation of briefs and positions papers, and providing expert reports and testimony.
Modeling and Analysis
Gabel Associates has advanced in-house forecasting capabilities that are heightened through the utilization of EnCompass, an established energy model that accounts for all fundamental market drivers. The firm uses this investment-grade model to deliver sophisticated analytics and comprehensive forecasts and analysis for all regions of the country.
Gabel Associates has developed a cutting-edge model that calculates the potential penalties associated with capacity shortfalls. Known as the Analytical Likelihood of Availability and Non-Performance Risk (ALAN) model, it computes the capacity exposure of resources within the PJM and ISO-NE footprints. ALAN uses resource outage data and expected performance assessment event information to determine the probable coincidence of outages and performance assessment events.
Through ALAN and our knowledge of RTO capacity markets, Gabel Associates has assisted clients in developing and implementing capacity market offer and bid strategies that support their capacity revenue requirements while helping to mitigate exposure. Each offer and bid strategy is created based on the individual needs of each client to advance its particular market position.
Gabel Associates also closely monitors power and natural gas markets and maintains extensive databases on energy pricing data in various wholesale power markets. We undertake advanced analysis of RTO markets including price duration curves, locational analysis, and other configurations on request of a client.