Description: Diary starts in April and includes a newspaper clipping titled '"Lady" vs. "Wife"'.

In March 2005, the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) will begin operating the first-ever wholesale market for electricity in the central and upper Midwestern portion of the United States. Region-wide, centralized, security-constrained, bid-based dispatch will replace the current system of decentralized dispatch by individual utilities and control areas. This report focuses on how the operation of generators may change under centralized dispatch. We analyze a stylized example of these changes by comparing a base case dispatch based on a ''snapshot'' taken from MISO's state estimator for an actual, historical dispatch (4 p.m., July 7, 2003) to a hypothetical, centralized dispatch that seeks to minimize the total system cost of production, using estimated cost data collected by the EIA. Based on these changes in dispatch, we calculate locational marginal prices, which in turn reveals the location of congestion within MISO's footprint, as well as the distribution of congestion revenues. We also consider two sensitivity scenarios that examine (1) the effect of changes in MISO membership (2003 vs. 2004 membership lists), and (2) different load and electrical data, based on a snapshot from a different date and time (1 p.m., Feb. 18, 2004). Although our analysis offers important insights into how the MISO market could operate when it opens, we do not address the question of the total benefits or costs of creating a wholesale market in the Midwest.

Although the government sector represents only 10 to 15 percent of the economy in most countries, carefully targeted public procurement can play a significant role in market transformation through its influence on both buyers and suppliers. Government leadership in energy-efficient purchasing can set an example for other buyers, while creating opportunities for leading manufacturers and distributors to increase their sales and market share by offering energy-efficient products at competitive prices. Under proper circumstances, a highly visible government purchasing policy can have a disproportionately large influence on the market for efficient products. In the United States, President Bush signed an Executive Order in 2001 directing all federal agencies to buy products with low standby power (1 watt or less where possible). This represents a deliberate choice to use government purchasing - rather than regulations or incentives - as a market-based strategy to encourage energy savings. It also builds upon existing efforts to encourage Federal purchase of energy-efficient products (Energy Star products and others in the top 25th percentile of efficiency). This paper summarizes the Federal Energy Management Program s first 18 months of experience in implementing this Executive Order, including analysis of data on standby power, interactions with manufacturers and industry groups, and the relationship between these efforts and other federal programs concerning product labelling, testing, rating, and efficiency standards. After five years of implementing low-standby power purchasing, we estimate energy savings for federal agencies alone at about 230 GWh/year (worth US$14 million), with spillover effects on the broader market that will save all US consumers nearly 4000 GWh/year (US$300 million).