MCG - Integrated Asset Management Software for Energy Trading and Energy Scheduling

IAM also provides a single system to manage generation and load forecasting, planning, submissions, positions, and settlements. Use IAM to create load forecasts visually based on similar days, auto-create demand bids for submission to markets, import generation forecasts from your unit optimizer, manage unit parameters and auto-generate market bids, track market awards, and see scheduled vs. actual volumes in a fully integrated asset management platform. IAM also provides the ability to manage generation, load, physical flows, e-Tags, transmission inventory, market data, prices, and settlements in a single system with full integration allowing the utility to seamlessly schedule, track, and settle their assets.

In addition, IAM is an easy-to-use contract and transaction management system for the capture and scheduling of natural gas products, generation of confirmations, and performance of checkouts and settlements.

MCG’S Integrated Asset Manager (IAM) is a fully-integrated wholesale energy marketing and trading solution providing coverage across all North America in both physical bi-lateral markets as well as ISOs. IAM’s user-friendly interface streamlines your workflow for managing all front-office and back-office operations including trade capture, transmission reservation management, fully integrated native e-Tagging, scheduling, bidding, dispatch, settlement and reporting for all resources and loads.

IAM simplifies complex physical, financial and ISO market operations, allowing an organization to focus on the important aspects of maximizing your company’s operational efficiency and financial performance.

Key Features

• Market Integrations – Functionality for all ISO and bi-lateral energy markets is integrated in a single system.
• Transaction Management – Deal capture for ISO, bi-lateral, transmission, and all other financial transactions including ICE and NYMEX. Fee modeling and management allows for the creation of an initial P&L based on estimated fees. The estimated fees automatically become actuals once available. The system also provides an audit trail for all transactional information.
• ISO Communications – Complete ISO portal replacement provides the ability to submit operating parameters, energy, financial and ancillary services bids & offers to ISO markets. The system also retrieves dispatch messages, market awards and settlement statements from the ISO as well as historical pricing for all nodes.
• Physical Scheduling – Native e-Tagging and OASIS portal replacement allows for visibility to Day-Ahead and Real-Time energy and transmission positions. IAM integrates e-Tags and transmission reservations with transaction management to drive deal automation. Trade capture, inventory utilization and e-Tag submittal are done in a few simple clicks.
• Back Office Functionality – Includes counterparty credit management and checkout as well as Shadow Settlement for all ISOs. IAM’s shadow process allows for the comparison of a shadow to any ISO settlement, and comparison of an ISO settlement to a revision of that settlement.
• Position Management – The integration of transactions, schedules and forecasts allow for the creation of both physical and financial positions for term, day-ahead and real-time windows.
• Asset Management – Includes the storage of operating parameters, fuel types, fuel costs, I/O curves and other unit specific data. The system includes tools designed to assist or automate a wide variety of functions. Also includes a generation unit commit model, the auto creation of bid/quantity pairs as well as a forecast building tool for load.
• Reporting – Offers a number of standard reports to recap transactions, fees, reservations, generation, and P&L, as well as extensive ad-hoc reporting capabilities in a variety of formats. Provides the ability to create dashboards, displays, and reports to ensure that users can create the reports they need in the format that best supports their workflow.
• System Integration – Cost effective integration with internal systems, as well as a number of standard interfaces to various ETRM solutions. Also fully integrates to MCG’s entire Energy Software Suite, including MCG’s Energy Accounting System, Gas module, and Risk solutions. This allows organizations to create integrated scheduling, ISO communication, trade capture, and risk management systems for both power and gas commodities.

Key Benefits

• Integrated solution that drives workflow enhancement and out of the box automation
• Streamlined workflow with a single user interface for all market-related activities
• Ability to manage all aspects of multiple power markets from just one application
• Enhanced visibility into overall physical and financial position
• Maximize asset portfolio P&L with better financial performance tracking
• Flexible configuration allows MCG experts to adapt the solution to your business needs
• Scalable solution with flexibility to expand as the markets evolve

As a fully-integrated wholesale energy marketing and trading solution providing coverage across all North American power markets, IAM’s ISO Shadow Settlements enable customers to shadow and evaluate charges at the determinant level of granularity across all markets.

Key Features

IAM utilizes market rules and calculations to create the shadow from the data inside the system and compares it to data obtained from the ISO settlement. IAM uses color formatting and “problem only” functionality to efficiently identify differences between the two independent sources of data.

Just as IAM allows the comparison of shadow data to ISO data for a given operating date, it also compares ISO settlement revisions. This function quickly identifies differences from one settlement to another all the way down to the market determinant level. The visibility of settlement revision differences allows an organization to plan for material affects to cash flow as well as explain differences to management.

Key Elements of the IAM Shadow Process

ISO Shadow Settlement process has four key elements:

• Estimation – The estimation process allows an organization to perform pre-settlement reporting. Estimated determinant charges and calculations are configured in the system based on market rules. When pre-settlements are run, the organization has visibility to the estimated financial results for an operating day before ISO settlements have been published.
• Reconciliation – The reconciliation process occurs when the ISO publishes its settlements. Estimated market-wide determinants such as operating reserve rates, revenue sufficiency rates and admin fees, are replaced with the actual fees published by the ISO. It is at this point a shadow settlement is created from IAM data and compared to the ISO settlement. Discrepancies can be investigated, and when necessary, disputes filed with the ISO. IAM provides the capability to create notes as well as file and manage disputes directly from the settlement comparison screen. Settlements can be marked “checked out” upon a satisfactory evaluation.
• Allocation – The allocation process is a necessary step in managing ISO settlement as not all charges can be directly attributed to a specific operational or transactional event. Charges such as revenue neutrality uplift need to be allocated in a manner that fits with an organization’s needs and business plans. Successfully completing the allocation process allows an organization to analyze market trends as well as report on market costs in a consistent manner.
• Reporting – Reporting occurs at all stages of estimation, reconciliation and allocation. Some reports are specific to a stage, others can be run in any stage. Types of reports include financial as well as operational.