In its ongoing effort to inform the public about changing conditions on the electrical grid, the California Independent System Operator (ISO) has begun posting new graphs for a fuller picture of projected supplies and shortfalls of energy up to seven days in advance.

The ISO's Today's Outlook Demand webpage has been upgraded with the addition of "Resource adequacy capacity trend" and "7-day resource adequacy capacity trend" graphs.

"These new graphs give a more comprehensive and useful measure of potential stress on the grid, which is important for our stakeholders to understand, especially during extreme heat or tight supply conditions," said Mark Rothleder, ISO's chief operating officer. "The graphs display the amount of available resource adequacy capacity on the system and allow for better awareness of what is needed in the market to fill any projected gaps in supply."

Resource adequacy (RA) is capacity owned or contracted by utilities and other load-serving entities and obligated for the reliable operation of the grid. Any energy needed beyond that must be procured in the market. With the new data, users can monitor the amount of RA capacity that is available compared to the forecasted needs of the system. The new information includes available RA capacity and available net RA capacity, which is the amount of capacity contracted on the system minus wind and solar RA resources. The graphs display demand and net demand with forecasts, and corresponding reserve requirements. RA credits and reserve requirements can also be highlighted, and the data can be downloaded. A high-level explanation and Q&A session to review these enhancements was conducted for customers on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. Video of the webinar is available on the caiso.com website on the Learning Center page.

The new graphs will be added to the ISO Today mobile app next month. The California Independent System Operator (ISO) is a nonprofit public benefit corporation dedicated, with its partners, to continuous improvement and secure operation of a reliable grid operated for the benefit of consumers. It provides comprehensive grid planning, open and nondiscriminatory access to one of the largest networks of high-voltage transmission power lines in the world, and operates a $9 billion competitive electricity market. Recognizing the importance of the global climate challenge, the ISO is at the forefront of integrating renewable power and advanced technologies that will help provide a sustainable energy future efficiently and cleanly.

The Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) Governing Body is the governing authority designed by regional stakeholders with delegated authority from the ISO Board of Governors to resolve rules specific to participation in the Western EIM.

Source: California Independent System Operator