NCPA will deploy ACES within the scheduling office. In the new marketplace, NCPA will be acting as a Scheduling Coordinator with the ISO beginning January 1, 1998. ACES is a software product for electric utilities that manages the schedules for the interchange of wholesale and direct access power between electric utilities, producers and consumers.
ACES tracks energy positions by delivery point for multiple entities.
The purchase and sales that make up each position can then be matched up to create delivery schedules for which NERC tags can be set automatically. ACES recognizes delivery schedules that cross the ISO boundary and automatically manage the interactions with the ISO scheduling system. As the energy markets become more competitive and margins continue shrinking, only the low-cost providers of scheduling services are expected to survive. ACES will help us manage more effectively, lower our costs and remain one of those providers. NCPA is a member of the Western Systems Coordinating Council and the Western Systems Power Pool.