ABSTRACT
The pioneering efforts of power system operators and power engineering innovations have made it possible for North American electric systems to achieve a very high level of efficiency. The bulk electric systems in North American are the most reliable systems in the world. The advantages of interconnections are that they permit sharing generation reserves during emergency conditions and allow interconnected electric systems to make economic transactions when load diversities and generation scheduling plans create opportunities. To obtain the benefits, electric systems are required to coordinate their operations. Ineffective coordination, or a lack of compliance with operating agreements, has always had an adverse effect on operating economics and/or power system reliability. There are many participants in electric power markets, and many of these participants are closely monitoring the operating actions taken and whether these actions are consistent with operating agreements. New industry organizations were formed to coordinate power system operations as the number of physical interconnections increased.
