IT strategy in the Texas energy market

The Texas Electric Choice Act, signed in 1999, cleared the way for the deregulation state's electricity market. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has slated 1 January 2002 for the opening of Texas' electric power market to full retail competition. The pilot market was opened on 31 July, with wholesale deregulation and retail access allowed for 5% of the total retail market. Presently, there are 30 firms certified as qualified scheduling entities (QSE) to participate in the restructured Texas market. Each of these companies faces a variety of IT requirements for communications, analysis, and operations in order to do business in ERCOT's territory. This article focuses on identifying these needs and discusses the IT solutions that must be deployed to meet them.