Behind the flip of a light switch, IMPA’s Market Operations Center (MOC) team works around the clock to ensure power flows reliably and affordably to the Agency’s member communities. This group monitors electric demand 24/7, responding to real-time market changes, monitoring electric loads, making power purchase adjustments, and scheduling necessary transmission arrangements. Substantial financial decisions are managed by MOC coordinators each day as they work to responsibly buy and sell energy on the open market for the benefit of IMPA’s member communities. Since IMPA operates in both the PJM and MISO market, MOC must monitor both markets continuously, each with their own challenges. The MOC crew’s astute knowledge and keen sense of the energy market help ensure delivery of a low-cost, reliable, and environmentally responsible power supply.

Seasonal weather significantly impacts the MOC team’s work, as they must consider how extreme temperatures may affect upcoming power needs. This June and July’s summer heat caused predictably high electric demand, which will likely continue through the rest of the summer as reliance on IMPA’s peak generation resources continues. Summer peaks not only require attention to immediate market conditions, but they also necessitate long-term reliability planning.

“The increased reliance on our generation assets in the summer leads to more busy periods in the Market Operations Center as we work to coordinate with our generation operators and counterparties in the gas industry during peak periods,” said Sam Wilson, Director of Market Operations. “Summer heat brings day to day market volatility for IMPA load and generation assets, but it also impacts future capacity markets depending on demand and generator performance during peak periods.”

To address these challenges, IMPA’s MOC team relies on detailed forecasting models that draw from historical data and weather projections. With this information, the Market Operations Coordinators discern how to optimize generation resources while simultaneously minimizing costs.

Outside of seasonal challenges, the MOC team also works to address industry challenges. One hurdle includes the ongoing shift from traditional, dispatchable generation resources such as coal to newer forms of intermittent energy production such as renewable energy resources. Utilities can deploy dispatchable generation at any given moment in a day, while intermittent resources like solar and wind only create energy when the sun shines and the wind blows. Intermittent resources struggle to supply exactly what is needed since utilities must match demand for energy production with active generation in real time.

As the market increasingly integrates renewable energy resources into the power supply stack when they are available, IMPA’s MOC team continues adjusting to an increased reliance on natural gas generation to provide dispatchable resources for the market when intermittent resources are unavailable. Natural gas turbines can run when needed, so these units are often used to bridge the gap created when intermittent resources are not available. Bridging this gap becomes increasingly important as large numbers of coal units retire. With changing generation portfolios, the MOC team continues adapting to changing capacity resource accreditation and general supply challenges as well.

On top of monitoring the energy market, the MOC also acts as a dispatching center for IMPA Service Corp’s line crews. Several IMPA communities depend on IMPA Service Corp for emergency restoration services, and when something goes awry, the MOC is only one call away to send the necessary assistance to address the issue. The team’s professionalism while working with IMPA members has helped to secure member confidence in the Agency’s operations services.

Though the work can be tedious, IMPA’s Market Operations Coordinators know that their efforts behind the scenes impact homes and businesses across the Midwest every day.

“The most rewarding part of being on the MOC team is navigating market challenges with our group and other IMPA departments to serve our membership in the most reliable and affordable way possible,” said Wilson.

Thanks to the commitment and proficiency of the Market Operations Coordinators, IMPA’s member communities continue to receive the high-quality electric service they’ve come to expect by the Agency for over 40 years.