THE VALUE OF INTERVAL DATA METERS TO AGGREGATORS AND COMPETITIVE POWER PROCUREMENT

摘要

Today's energy markets are as volatile and dynamic as ever before with price levels approaching all time highs. As can be seen in the chart to the right depicting the NYMEX Natural Gas 12-month strip, prices have increased approximately 230% since January 2002. Power markets are seeing similar increases as more of the generation fleet is being fueled by natural gas. Some markets, such as ERCOT, have a very heavy reliance on natural gas within their capacity fuel mix. In fact, natural gas makes up approximately 65% of ERCOT's fuel mix as can be seen in the chart to the right. Consequently, the correlation between natural gas and power in ERCOT is more than 90%. These extreme prices have created a situation where end users are seeking assistance from energy management professionals to manage their supply-side sourcing requirements in an attempt to minimize large budget increases. Professional energy management firms deploy several strategies in managing customer portfolios, all of which require some level of metering. However, in order to extract the most value from the supply chain, interval data meters are a must. In this paper, we will explore several scenarios where the value of interval data meters to aggregators and competitive supply procurement professionals is quite evident.