Load Serving Entity 201

Load Serving Entity 201, a one day, 8-hour course, familiarizes Load Serving Entities (LSEs)—retail electric providers, municipally owned utilities and electric cooperatives—with the operations of the ERCOT nodal market. The objective of this course is to provide load serving entities (LSEs) with information enabling them to identify the impact of the nodal markets on the LSE's wholesale market operations. The course also emphasizes the features of the market most important to an LSE's effective performance.

The course describes the roles and responsibilities of MPs with whom the LSE will interact and focuses on the required LSE-qualified scheduling entity (QSE) relationship. The responsibility of the LSE's QSE to provide ancillary services for the LSE on a load ratio share is also defined.

The course also explores the factors influencing locational marginal price (LMPs) calculations and their effects; and introduces the tools available to LSEs to help offset the impact of settlement point price volatility.

The Tools section introduces the following concepts:

• Trading - Review transactions in the ERCOT wholesale markets—including capacity trades, energy trades, and ancillary services trades—and the reporting of these in day-ahead operations and the adjustment period.
• Use of Congestion Revenue Rights (CRRs) -- Examine the basic purpose and function of CRRs and the CRR auction.
• Participation in the day-ahead market (DAM) -- Explore the basic mechanisms of the DAM including energy bids and offers that a QSE can use to buy and sell energy for an LSE. Other features of the DAM such as point-to-point (PTP) obligation bids and CRR offers are also introduced.

The course concludes with a review of load related settlement charge types, settlement timelines and accumulative examples illustrating the use and outcomes of the tools introduced in this course.

Prerequisites: ERCOT Nodal 101

Note: Attendees are required to take the above prerequisite course. The Load Serving Entity 201 course will be taught assuming that the student possesses a thorough understanding of the information covered in the prerequisite courses listed above prior to attending.

Class time is as follows:
8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

This course is designed to provide key market information for all LSEs including REPs, load aggregators, cooperatives, and municipalities. Personnel from REPs, load aggregators, and utility departments including executives, directors, managers, schedulers, coordinators, traders, planning engineers, operations engineers, EMS - AGC engineers, engineering technicians, IT support staff, accountants, and others will gain valuable insight into the business functions of operating a LSE in the Texas nodal market.

Prerequisites: ERCOT Nodal 101

Note: Attendees are required to take the above prerequisite course. The Load Serving Entity 201 course will be taught assuming that the student possesses a thorough understanding of the information covered in the prerequisite courses listed above prior to attending.

Class time is as follows:
8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Please check back frequently for updated course schedules. 

Download Texas Nodal Program training class materials and presentations in PDF format. As new classes are offered, key materials will be posted here.

Course materials for instructor-led courses will be provided in hardcopy on the day of the class.

Load Serving Entities 201
(02.07.13, .pdf, 16.4 MB)