El Paso Electric Company Accrues Significant Benefits in the Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM) After Launching PowerCore™ from Power Settlements

mwcms on May 7, 2023

Glendora, California – El Paso Electric Company (EPE) has implemented the comprehensive, cloud-based PowerCore™ software platform from Power Settlements. EPE chose PowerCore after a competitive selection process involving multiple vendors and is currently utilizing several of the platform’s modules to automate, optimize, and manage its front-office analytics, reporting, and back-office settlements for both the PRSC (merchant) and EESC (transmission) scheduling coordinators.

The PowerCore modules that EPE implemented include:

  • ISO Downloader (to download 100% of ISO data and perform reporting)
  • Visual Analytics (front-office and back-office dashboards, as well as real-time P&L analysis)
  • E-Tag Reporting (NERC/NAESB e-Tag integration and feature-rich reporting)
  • Meter Submission (integration and validation of internal meter data and ISO submission)
  • Settlements Analyzer (to compare ISO vs. shadow and view billing determinants)
  • Shadow Settlements (pre-settlements and statement validations)
  • EIM Sub-Allocations (OATT ISO statement allocation to transmission customers)
  • Contract Billing (complex bilateral settlements and counterparty invoicing)

Ana Boisselier, EPE Energy Accounting & Credit Supervisor spoke about the PowerCore rollout.

With EPE joining the Energy Imbalance Market (EIM), the company needed a settlements application that could support the new EIM settlements functions. PowerCore from Power Settlements provided this support. The functionality from Power Settlements was not limited to the settlements processes, but also provided help with visual analytics and metering submission. The implementation process was seamless and efficient, thanks to the dedicated and responsive support from the Power Settlements team. From the initial onboarding to the final go-live, Power Settlements provided exceptional guidance and assistance at every step. The software was tailored to EPE’s specific needs, and the customization options were extensive, allowing EPE to streamline the settlements processing workflow to a whole new level.

One of the standout features of PowerCore is its user-friendly interface. The intuitive design and navigation made it easy for the EPE team to adapt to the new system, reducing the learning curve and ensuring smooth adoption across the organization. PowerCore’s robust functionality enabled EPE to automate various manual processes, resulting in increased efficiency and accuracy in settlements processing.
Moreover, the level of support EPE received from the Power Settlements team during the implementation has been exceptional. Their responsiveness and willingness to address any questions or concerns was exemplary. Power Settlements consistently went above and beyond to ensure EPE’s satisfaction with PowerCore.

In summary, the implementation of PowerCore has been a success for EPE. The software transformed EPE’s settlements processing operations, bringing increased efficiency, accuracy, and visibility. The seamless implementation process, user-friendly interface, robust functionality, and excellent support from the Power Settlements team made it a truly positive experience. EPE highly recommends PowerCore from Power Settlements to any financial institution seeking a reliable and effective solution for EIM settlements processing.”

Ana Boisselier,  EPE Supervisor of Energy Accounting & Credit

David Dan, Power Settlements CEO added, “We look forward to working with El Paso Electric over the long-term to help them achieve their enterprise goals and capture all the benefits of participating in the Western EIM. Power Settlements truly values this new partnership, which has helped us further cement our status as the dominant software provider to CAISO MRTU and WEIM participants.”

Nearly 85 percent of WEIM participants are now Power Settlements clients. They rely on the PowerCore platform’s broad array of mission-critical capabilities, and the deep subject matter expertise of PSCS’s staff to extract the maximum benefit possible from their market operations.

About El Paso Electric
El Paso Electric is a regional electric utility providing generation, transmission, and distribution service to approximately 450,000 retail and wholesale customers in a 10,000-square mile area of the Rio Grande Valley in west Texas and southern New Mexico. To learn more, visit https://www.epelectric.com.

Post Go-Live Update: City of Redding Implemented the Bid-to-Bill PRSC EIM (Merchant) Functionality in the Power Settlements SettleCore Solution

mwcms on July 25, 2021


Glendora, California – The City of Redding (“REU”) successfully implemented the Power Settlements (“PSCS”) comprehensive suite of front-office products, including SettleCore ISO Bidding, ISO Scheduling, Trade Capture, Etagging and Delivery/Position Management modules, and Visual Analytics and back-office Settlements modules, in the CAISO’s Western EIM on March 25, 2021. In the Western Energy Imbalance Market (“EIM”), REU utilizes SettleCore for their PRSC (merchant) bidding and scheduling submittals, analytics, and settlement functions. REU’s decision to select the PSCS SettleCore system created a significant benefit by enabling a fully integrated software solution to perform their bilateral, ISO, and EIM energy management and scheduling functions.

As demonstrated with REU’s fully integrated front-office modules, the SettleCore Delivery/Position Management Module is the solution to pair with the SettleCore Trade Capture and SettleCore Etagging Modules. Delivery management allows REU to visualize, analyze, and manage Etag and Trade capture data, as well as balance ISO Base Schedules. Delivery Management enables the user to aggregate all outputs and inputs with ISOs for scheduling and balancing including base schedules, meters, demand forecasts, and interchange data in a single graphical interface. This out-of-the-box module provides a visual dashboard for the user to perform portfolio-level and counterparty position management with ease…drag-and-drop fields to build custom graphs and use built-in filters for graphing only the desired data points.

REU began using the SettleCore solution in 2020 beginning with their ISO MRTU activity and then added the EIM functionality in 2021. The Power Settlements solution deployed by REU includes:

  • Deal Management, Balancing, Interchange Management (SettleCore Trade Capture Module and Delivery Management Module)
  • ISO Bidding and ISO Scheduling (SettleCore Bidding Module and Scheduling Module); including the submission to the CAISO BSAP and SIBR systems
  • Full e-Tag creation/submission integrated with trading/scheduling (SettleCore E-Tag Module)”
    Meter Data Submissions (SettleCore Meter Module)
  • Unit Performance and Profit and Loss Analytics (SettleCore Visual Analytics Module)
  • ISO Settlements, Shadow Settlements, Statement Allocations, and ISO reporting (SettleCore ISO Downloader Module, Settlements Analyzer Module, Shadow Settlements Module, and Allocations Module)

Kyle Hastings, Electric Utility Senior System Operator at City of Redding, said the following about the benefits provided to City of Redding by the SettleCore system: “We have been using Power Settlements for almost a year and are continuing to utilize and optimize their full suite of software (Scheduling, Bidding, Trade Capture, Etag, Settlements, Shadow, Meter, and Visual Analytics) and are excited with how much we can do! We are able to customize reports and layouts to suit our needs. They have had excellent customer service and are always very quick to respond to any issues that come up real-time. We have been very happy with the bid-to-bill software and in particular with Visual Analytics and its ability to organize and display large amounts of data in a way that can be processed quickly. As a smaller utility, they have definitely made us feel just as important as any other customer. With their customer service and array of software products, we know we’ll be able to accommodate any new changes that come our way.”

David Dan, the CEO of Power Settlements, had this to say regarding REU’s 4-month check-in after going live in the EIM, “Many of the CAISO and EIM customers utilize our Visual Analytics and our ISO Settlements and Shadow Settlements modules. While we have multiple bidding and scheduling customers in the CAISO MRTU markets, we are very pleased that the City of Redding is our first customer to go-live with the PRSC EIM (Merchant) bidding and scheduling functionality. They are an incredibly valuable customer and we look forward to providing superior support to them for many years to come.”

About the City of Redding (REU)

As the largest California city north of Sacramento, the City of Redding is the regional hub for retail, education, professional services, career opportunities, corporate and private business development, medical facilities, and government. The City of Redding is focused on providing a high quality of life for its citizens, remembering that families and neighborhoods are the centerpiece of our lives. The city supports programs that connect its unique natural beauty and rich history.

About the SettleCore System by Power Settlements

Power Settlements is a software company that specializes in providing software solutions to energy companies that participate in the ISO and RTO physical power markets. Our flagship product SettleCore® is a leading platform for participants in the ISO and RTO Markets. The SettleCore ISO/RTO modules enable full bid-to-bill functionality from bid submission through data downloading, reporting, and shadow settlements and settlement statement validation in the ISO markets. The SettleCore Visual Analytics Module is the leading visual dashboard for the analysis of ISO dispatch and automatic flagging of events to avoid costs and highlight trading opportunities. Visual Analytics displays data in both a historical screen as well as an on-demand real-time screen. The SettleCore ETRM system includes a very robust, modular and fully integrated Energy Trading and Risk Management system, which includes power and natural gas deal entry for transactions in ISOs as well as bilateral transactions outside ISOs, settlements and invoicing, mark-to-market, the enforcement of counterparty credit and trader limits and risk management analytics. The SettleCore Etag module is a fully compliant NAESB Tag Agent and Tag Approval service that supplies unparalleled access to Etag data. All of the SettleCore modules are fully integrated in a single system using the SQL Server database which provides for full auditability, traceability, and user security roles