Markets

Some electricity markets in North America

PJM Reserve Markets by PJM (p103)

The PJM Reserve Markets provide PJM participants with a market-based system for the purchase and sale of the Synchronized Reserve, Primary Reserve, and 30-minute Reserve Services (“Reserves”). The PJM Reserve Markets are conducted in both the Day-ahead Market and Real-time Market processes. In the Day-ahead Market, PJM schedules Reserves on a simultaneously, co-optimized basis with Energy for each hour of the next Operating Day.

In Real-time, PJM procures Reserves on a simultaneously, co-optimized basis with Energy for each hour and each interval. Both the Day-ahead and Real-time Reserve Markets are offer-based and procure resources to meet the required Reserve Services:

Synchronized Reserve Service: can only be satisfied by online resources that are able to respond in ten (10) minutes or less.
Primary Reserve Service: can be satisfied by online or offline resources that are able to respond in ten (10) minutes or less.
30-Minute Reserve Service: can be satisfied by online or offline resources that are able to respond in thirty (30) minutes or less.

PJM has three reserve products that can meet the required Reserve Services:

Synchronized Reserve Product: online resources that are able to respond in ten (10) minutes or less. The Synchronized Reserve product can satisfy the Synchronized Reserve, Primary Reserve, and 30-Minute Reserve Services.
Non-Synchronized Reserve Product: offline resources that are able to respond in ten (10) minutes or less. The Non-Synchronized Reserve product can satisfy the Primary Reserve and 30-Minute Reserve Services.
Secondary Reserve Product: online or offline resources that are able to respond between ten (10) and thirty (30) minutes. The Secondary Reserve product can satisfy only the 30-Minute Reserve Service.

NYISO Markets by NYISO

Each of the NYISO-administered markets are interdependent and facilitate a different piece of the reliability puzzle :

The Capacity Market secures commitments from supply resources to be available to meet seasonal resource adequacy requirements.
The Energy Market secures electricity production to meet demand in real-time.
The Ancillary Market secures flexibility services from suppliers to maintain balance in response to changing conditions on the electrical grid.

NYISO Operating Reserves by NYISO (p41)

10-Minute Spinning Reserve: Operating Reserves provided by qualified Resources located within the NYCA that are already synchronized to the NYS Power System and can respond to instructions from the NYISO to change output level within 10 minutes. Spinning reserve may not be provided by Behind-the-Meter Net Generation Resources that are comprised of more than one generating unit that are dispatched as a single aggregate unit.
10-Minute Non-Synchronized Reserve (10-Minute NSR): Operating Reserves provided by Resources that can be started, synchronized, and loaded within 10 minutes. Operating Reserves may also be provided by Demand Side Resources where the demand response is provided by a Local Generator or by Behind-the-Meter Net Generation Resources that are comprised of more than one generating unit that are dispatched as an aggregate unit.
30-Minute Spinning Reserve: Operating Reserves provided by qualified Resources except Behind-the-Meter Net Generation Resources that are comprised of more than one generating unit and dispatched as a single aggregate unit located within the NYCA that are already synchronized to the NYS Power System and can respond to instructions from the NYISO to change output level within 30 minutes.
30-Minute Non-Synchronized Reserve (30-Minute NSR): Operating reserves that can be provided by Resources, Behind-the-Meter Net Generation Resources that are comprised of more than one generating unit that are dispatched as an aggregate unit, that can be started, synchronized, and loaded within 30 minutes. Operating Reserves may also be provided by Demand Side Resources where the demand response is provided by a Local Generator.
Total 10-Minute Reserve: The sum of the 10-Minute Spinning Reserve and 10-Minute NSR. [NERC defines this as “contingency reserve”]
Total 30-Minute Reserve: The sum of the 30-minute Spinning Reserve and 30-Minute NSR provided by Generators and Demand Side Resources that respond to instructions to change output or provide a demand reduction within 30 minutes.
Total Operating Reserve: The sum of the total 10-minute reserve and the total 30-minute reserve. [The NERC definition of operating reserve includes regulation]

Market by FERC

A venue where participants buy and sell products or services.

Usually there is agreement of product description and some standard terms to enable determination of value and price.

Market Structure by FERC

The rules, mechanisms, and processes under which a market operates to form prices, provide benefits, and introduce risks to participants, and ultimately end consumers. Structure could enhance or inhibit competition, create just and reasonable outcomes, provide economically efficient incentives, or introduce unintended consequences including adverse market outcomes.

Market Power by FERC

The ability of any market participant with a large market share to significantly control or affect price by withholding production from the market, limiting service availability, or reducing purchases.

Marginal Unit by FERC

Marginal Electric Generating Unit is, in organized wholesale markets, the price of the marginal source of electricity usually sets the price of the unit providing the next increment or decrement of energy, which price usually sets the price for all generation.