[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 14621]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05494]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. AD10-12-012]


Increasing Market and Planning Efficiency Through Improved 
Software; Notice of Technical Conference: Increasing Real-Time and Day-
Ahead Market Efficiency Through Improved Software

    Take notice that Commission staff will convene a technical 
conference on June 22, 23, and 24, 2021 to discuss opportunities for 
increasing real-time and day-ahead market efficiency of the bulk power 
system through improved software. A detailed agenda with the list and 
times for the selected speakers will be published on the Commission's 
website \1\ after May 28, 2021.
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    \1\ https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/electric/power-sales-and-markets/increasing-efficiency-through-improved-software.
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    This conference will bring together and encourage discussion 
between experts from diverse backgrounds. Examples include electric 
power system operators, software developers, and professionals from 
government, research centers, and academia. The conference will bring 
these experts together for the purposes of stimulating discussion, 
sharing information, and identifying fruitful avenues for research 
concerning improved software for increasing efficiency and reliability 
of the bulk power system.
    This conference will build on discussions at prior conferences in 
this proceeding by focusing on topics identified as important to market 
efficiency in prior conferences. Broadly, such topics fall into the 
following categories:
    (1) Improvements to the representation within market models of 
physical constraints that are either not currently modeled or are 
currently modeled using mathematical approximations (e.g., voltage and 
reactive power constraints, stability constraints, fuel delivery 
constraints, and constraints related to contingencies);
    (2) Representations of uncertainty to better maximize economic 
efficiency (expected market surplus) and lead to better understanding 
events of that could impact the reliability of the bulk power system 
(e.g., stochastic modeling, or other improved modeling approaches to 
energy and reserve dispatch and system planning that efficiently manage 
uncertainty);
    (3) Software related to grid-enhancing technologies (e.g., optimal 
transmission switching, transmission flow control, advanced 
transmission line ratings, distributed energy resources, and software 
for forecasting and enhancing visibility into changing system 
conditions);
    (4) Improvements in markets' ability to identify, use, and/or 
enable capabilities in the existing systems in ways that improve bulk 
power system economic efficiency and reliability (e.g., transmission 
constraint relaxation practices, multi-stage generator modeling, 
storage state-of-charge management, and ramp management);
    (5) Improvements to the duality interpretations of the economic 
dispatch model, with the goal of enabling the calculation of prices 
which represent better equilibrium and incentives for efficient entry 
and exit;
    (6) Limitations of current electricity market software due to its 
interaction with hardware, for example, parallel computing and better 
cache management;
    (7) Other improvements in algorithms, model formulations, or 
hardware that may allow for increases in market efficiency and enhanced 
bulk power system reliability.
    Within these or related topics, we encourage presentations that 
discuss best modeling practices, existing modeling practices that need 
improvement, any advances made, or related perspectives on increasing 
market efficiency through improved power systems modeling.
    The conference will take place virtually via WebEx, with remote 
participation from both presenters and attendees. Further details on 
remote attendance and participation will be released prior to the 
conference.
    Attendees must register through the Commission's website on or 
before June 11, 2021.\2\ WebEx connections may not be available to 
those who do not register.
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    \2\ The attendee registration form is located at https://ferc.webex.com/ferc/onstage/g.php?MTID=e97c1ef8334b1f4db52394fe644edfe57. Click ``Register'' to 
be taken to the form.
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    Speaker nominations must be submitted on or before May 7, 2021 
through the Commission's website \3\ by providing the proposed 
speaker's contact information along with a title, abstract, and list of 
contributing authors for the proposed presentation. Proposed 
presentations should be related to the topics discussed above. Speakers 
and presentations will be selected to ensure relevant topics and to 
accommodate time constraints.
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    \3\ The speaker nomination form is located at https://ferc.webex.com/ferc/onstage/g.php?MTID=e3309f9a29fe364f2f4ee1ddb3101f580. Click ``Register'' to 
be taken to the form.
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    The Commission will accept comments following the conference, with 
a deadline of July 30, 2021.
    There is an ``eSubscription'' link on the Commission's website that 
enables subscribers to receive email notification when a document is 
added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online 
service, please email FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, or call (866) 208-
3676 (toll free). For TTY, call (202) 502-8659.
    FERC conferences are accessible under section 508 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For accessibility accommodations please 
send an email to accessibility@ferc.gov or call toll free (866) 208-
3372 (voice) or (202) 502-8659 (TTY), or send a fax to (202) 208-2106 
with the required accommodations. This notice is issued and published 
in accordance with 18 CFR 2.1 (2019).
    For further information about these conferences, please contact:
    Sarah McKinley (Logistical Information), Office of External 
Affairs, (202) 502-8004, Sarah.McKinley@ferc.gov.
    Alexander Smith (Technical Information), Office of Energy Policy 
and Innovation, (202) 502-6601, Alexander.Smith@ferc.gov.

    Dated: March 11, 2021.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-05494 Filed 3-16-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


