Smooth start for Texas nodal

Smooth start for Texas nodal day-ahead market

The transition from a zonal to a nodal market on December 1, 2010 was a long time coming for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (Ercot). The system operator was ordered to develop a nodal wholesale market design in September 2003 by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and shelved its first attempt to transition in 2008.

Under the new structure, the grid will consist of more than 4,000 nodes or pricing points, as opposed to just four congestion management zones under the old system. Mar