IN-PERSON CLASSROOM SEMINARS

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Fundamentals of The Texas ERCOT Electric Power Market
Presented by Acelerex CEO Dr. Randell Johnson

A Two-Day Classroom Seminar (CPE Approved)

Register Soon to get Early Bird Pricing.
Houston, TX - April 4 & 5, Courtyard Marriott Houston by the Galleria

This new in-depth two-day program provides a comprehensive and clear explanation of the structure, function, and current status of the Texas ERCOT ISO including its operations, the fundamentals of day-ahead and real-time energy auctions, LMP, CRRs, generation capacity markets (Resource Adequacy) and the new operational and economic issues raised by the integration of solar, wind, distributed generation ("DER"), demand response ("DR") and demand side management ("DSM") resources and energy storage.

 

Gain an understanding of the dynamic Texas wholesale and retail competitive markets, and learn how these markets interface with ERCOT ISO energy auctions and ISO operations. Understand, enhance and apply knowledge of the ERCOT' nodal market operations for Energy, Ancillary Services, Market Settlements, Capacity, Retail and Renewables.

 

This seminar will also address the rapidly expanding new market opportunities in Texas Renewables - Wind, Solar, etc., Distributed Generation ("DER"), Demand Response and Demand Side Management ("DSM") as well as the new opportunities that will be emerging from the current re-design of ERCOT Ancillary Services, future Ancillary and Capacity market initiatives and the further unbundling of ERCOT services.

 

What You Will Learn
  • ERCOT's market functions, market participants and players and how they interface and do business.
  • The importance of the QSEs' central role in representing market participants before ERCOT,
  • What makes the ERCOT market unique compared to all other ISOs and RTOs.
  • Texas 2021 rolling brownout events, learnings from the event and steps taken by ERCOT for future.
  • What changed after the move to a nodal market design and major transactional differences.
  • What the "Shadow Price" is, and why it is important and its relationship to LMP.
  • Nodal System: LMPs, congestion management and CRRs and settlement processes.
  • The functions and importance of congestion revenue rights and why these financial instruments are used
  • ERCOT's zonal and local congestion management operations and differences
  • Day-Ahead and real-time markets for energy, ancillary services and capacity - RUC and HRUC.
  • The workings and relationship of the day-ahead and real-time markets
  • ERCOT's new ancillary services framework, changes in the products and their requirements, and their implications on the system reliability.
  • ERCOT's roadmap for energy storage and undergoing work by the Battery Energy Storage task force.
What You Will Also Learn
  • How Bilateral and Auction Markets interface and how they work independently and together.
  • Wholesale pricing, retail market Functions and structures for retail business.
  • The key wholesale market settlement operations under the nodal market.
  • How ERCOT's retail market works and what's going on in this market.
  • ERCOT's upcoming market changes and what will be the implications of the new energy mix with renewables and energy storage.
  • ERCOT summer and winter system reliability issues
  • The controversial relationships between reserve margins and real-time energy price market caps.
  • What Generation, Transmission and infrastructure issues ERCOT faces now and over the next ten years.
  • System wide offer caps
  • ERCOT has targeted demand response deployments, renewable energy and DSM programs and those on the horizon.
  • The interconnectivity issues in natural gas and power markets.
  • How the different IT systems fit together and are used in the Wholesale and Retail Markets.
  • What are the steps for planning and accomplishing resource interconnections with ERCOT
  • ERCOT's current interconnection queue, recent developments in the renewables and storage projects.
  • ERCOT's LTSA and the IRP model with the capacity mix forecasts and energy price forecasts.
  • Geographical heat maps of energy storage potential across Texas
Seminar Agenda
  • Understand the different types of players, stakeholders and their different roles and multiple functions.
  • The key wholesale and retail stakeholders and market participants are, and how their activities shape ERCOT's operations.
  • The importance of the QSEs' role and who can participate based on qualifications and objectives.
  • The day-ahead auction markets work, the timing issues and the types of products.
  • The critical functions and relationships of the day-ahead and real-time markets and how they interact in the wholesale and retail markets.
  • Locational marginal pricing (LMP) and why and how it's used for choosing offers and product pricing.
  • How LMP is calculated and used for transaction pricing at nodes, zones and hubs.
  • The different functions of ERCOT energy, balancing or "spot market" and ancillary market services.
  • What DRUC, HRUC and related capacity markets mean and why these distinctions are important.
  • The difference between auction and bilateral bulk power markets and the pros & cons of each.
  • How the "Two-Market Settlement" process works and the key wholesale market settlement activities.
  • Load Zone versus hub settlements and LMP calculation differences.
  • The concerns and relationships between reserve margins real-time energy price market caps and reserve markets.
  • Texas 2021 rolling brownout events, learnings from the event and steps taken by ERCOT for future.
  • ERCOT's new ancillary services framework, changes in the products and their requirements, and their implications on the system reliability.
  • ERCOT's roadmap for energy storage and undergoing work by the Battery Energy Storage task force.
  • ERCOT's upcoming market changes and what will be the implications of the new energy mix with renewables and energy storage.
  • ERCOT summer and winter system reliability issues and system wide offer caps
  • ERCOT's and the power industry's perspectives on "forward capacity" markets and price caps.
  • The concerns and relationships between reserve margins real-time energy price market caps.
  • Generation, Transmission and other infrastructure issues ERCOT faces now and over the next ten years.
  • The "smart grid" is in ERCOT and a discussion of the key issues and how the smart grid is likely to develop and impact wholesale and retail price signals.
  • A summary of the key issues of today and where the ERCOT is headed, including a discussion of the smart grid, renewable energy and the building of new transmission lines.
  • The major issues facing wind energy, solar and other renewables and how these generation sources relate to the proposed buildout of the backbone power grid.
  • The ERCOT targeted demand response deployments as cost-effective alternatives to transmission and distribution infrastructure upgrades for local reliability.
  • The roles that different distributed energy resources play in a targeted demand management program.
  • The drivers for the growing interest in these non-wires distributed generation ("DER"), demand response ("DR") and related demand side management ("DSM") initiatives.
  • ERCOT's current interconnection queue, recent developments in the renewables and storage projects.
  • ERCOT's LTSA and the IRP model with the capacity mix forecasts and energy price forecasts.
  • Geographical heat maps of energy storage potential across Texas
  • The current and future issues facing ERCOT on DER, DR and DSM alternatives.
  • How end-users buy and manage their electric choices and procurement options and what are they today and expected to be in the future.
Your Instructor
Dr. Randell Johnson - CEO Acelerex

Dr. Johnson is CEO of Acelerex and has expertise and experience in the Valuation, Design, Procurement, and Operations of Grid Batteries Dr. Johnson has been involved in the Energy Storage Road Map for the Maldives, Bermuda Energy Storage Sizing Study, New York Energy Storage Road Map, Massachusetts State of Charge Study, MISO Energy Storage Study, Ontario Energy Storage Study, and numerous other energy storage studies. He was selected by the World Bank to study 100% carbon-free grids with energy storage and Acelerex software and methods were selected by the International Renewable Energy Agency for increasing penetration of renewables with energy storage. Dr. Johnson has invented and developed software for battery analytics and battery real time control. He is expert at power markets and valuation of energy storage to maximize utilization of existing transmission systems and co-optimization of transmission and other resources in addition of co-optimization of energy and ancillary services. A Harvard Business Case has been written for energy storage that includes methods pioneered by Dr. Johnson. Dr. Johnson holds a Ph.D. in Power Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MS in Economics from Cass Business School, UK, and a Utility Corporate Finance Certificate for Gas and Electric Utilities from UConn Business School. Dr. Johnson has background in strategy, regulatory finance, economic optimizations, quantitative finance, electricity and energy markets, public policy, technical grid design, real-time optimizations, and high-performance computing.

Hotel and Seminar Information

This two-day seminar will be held at the hotels listed below or can be conducted on-site at your facilities. The seminar will start promptly at 8:00 AM and will finish at 4:00 PM on the first day. On Day 2 the seminar will begin at 8:00 AM and end at 12:00 PM. The program includes continental breakfast, lunch on the first day and coffee breaks. On the second day it includes a continental breakfast and coffee breaks. Attendees also receive a professionally produced seminar manual that can serve as a valuable office reference. Dress is business casual for all seminars.

COVID 19 Information: Please click here for the PGS Covid-19 policy. You can confirm each hotel's specific COVID 19 policy using the link(s) provided below.
April 4 & 5
Courtyard Marriott Houston by the Galleria
2900 Sage Road
Houston , TX 77056
Registration Fee and Discounts
The price for this comprehensive two-day seminar is $1,795 (USD).
Register online or Call (440) 853-1038.
  • Additional attendees and government employees receive a 10% discount.
  • Register 4 or more attendees and receive 20% Off. Special pricing is available for groups of 5 or more.
    If you want attendees to pay with separate credit cards or have other questions, please call (440) 853-1038 for assistance.
Payments and Cancellations
Payment is due prior to the start of the seminar by Visa, Master Card, American Express, or corporate check. Seminar fees will be charged to your credit card at the time of registration unless other arrangements have been made. Please make checks payable to "PGS Energy Training" 26 Teal Lane • Hilton Head Island, SC 29926. Cancellations will result in a credit that is good for 2 years which can be transferred to a colleague. Substitutions may be made at any time. For more information on PGS policies regarding administrative matters and complaint resolution, please contact our offices at (440) 853-1038.
CPE Credits in Specialized Knowledge

This live group seminar is eligible for 11.0 CPE credits. Be aware that state boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. As of January 1, 2002, sponsored learning activities are measured by program length, with one 50-minute period equal to one CPE credit. One-half CPE credit increments (equal to 25 minutes) are permitted after the first credit has been earned in a given learning activity. You may want to verify that the state board from which your participants will be receiving credit accept one-half credits.

PGS Energy Training is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org. CPAs interested in attending any seminars should contact our offices for details on CPE credits granted and any prerequisite requirements.
PGS Energy Training is registered with GARP as an Approved Provider of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits. If you are a Certified FRM or ERP, please record this activity in your Credit Tracker at http://www.garp.org/cpd. Please inform PGS Energy Training that you are a GARP CPE participant upon seminar registration.

The Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) is a not-for-profit membership association dedicated to preparing professionals and organizations for making better-informed risk decisions. GARP's membership represents more than 150,000 risk management practitioners and researchers at academic institutions, banks, corporations, government agencies, and investment management firms in 195 countries and territories. GARP administers the Financial Risk Manager (FRM) and Energy Risk Professional (ERP) Exams – certifications recognized by risk professionals worldwide. Visit www.garp.org/cpd.
Who Should Attend

Professionals from natural gas and electric utilities, pipelines, attorneys; government regulators, traders & trading support staff, energy producers and marketers, banks and hedge funds, government regulators, buyers and operators, accountants & auditors, industrial trade groups, shipping and cargo executives, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, environmentists, and anyone needing a solid overview and foundation in understanding how ERCOT works and current issues.

Prerequisites and Advance Preparation

This fundamental level group live seminar has no prerequisites. No advance preparation is required before the seminar.

Why Choose PGS?

PGS seminars are known for their clear explanations and in-depth content. Register for a PGS class today, and join the over 10,000 energy professionals who have already attended one of PGS's proven programs.

Program Level & Delivery Method
Basic level. This fundamental course begins with basic material and then proceeds to the intermediate level. Delivery method is "Group-Live.”