Overview of market monitoring tools and techniques

Regulatory reform in the electric utility industry has progressed from a reliance on open-access transmission policies and deregulation of wholesale electricity sales to the development of competitive spot markets that establish location-specific market-clearing prices. To ensure that the markets operate competitively and efficiently, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has instituted market monitoring to assess the competitive performance of the markets. This paper discusses the mandate of the market monitor as well as the techniques and metrics used to fulfill this mandate.