Market status — August 26, 2026
PJMWATCH
NYISONORMAL
ERCOTELEVATED
ISO-NENORMAL
MISOWATCH
CAISOWATCH
Emergency
Elevated
Watch
Normal
PJM — No operational alerts, but the 5CP window stays open through September
- 5CP Capacity Tags: No Hot Weather Alert is in effect today. The most recent one covered Aug. 9 through Aug. 11 for the Mid-Atlantic and Southern regions, per PJM Inside Lines. September peaks still count toward the 2026 5CP set, so tag exposure is not closed out.
- Real-Time LMP: No RTO-wide price event reported in the past 24 hours. FERC approved a two-year extension of the Brandon Shores and H.A. Wagner reliability-must-run agreements through 2031 on Aug. 24, which keeps a known Baltimore-area congestion driver in place (RTO Insider).
- Demand Response: No DR dispatch. PJM is targeting Sept. 30 to launch its Reliability Backstop Procurement, a new supply pathway that will sit alongside the capacity auction (PJM Inside Lines). PJM also filed a framework of eight governance reforms on Aug. 21 ahead of FERC-mediated stakeholder talks (PJM Inside Lines).
NYISO — Quiet operations, active planning and demand-response policy docket
- ICAP Tag Tracking: No unusual UCAP or tag-period activity reported. Monthly and spot auction results continue to post on schedule through the NYISO ICAP market portal. The NYISO Management Committee meets today, Aug. 26.
- CBEP Program Alerts: No emergency participation alerts or activations reported in the last 24 hours. Separately, New York regulators are moving to unify utility demand-response offerings under a statewide Excelsior Power Program, which would change how commercial and industrial sites enroll (RTO Insider).
- Day-Ahead Pricing: No notable zonal spread events flagged. On the planning side, generators and environmental groups challenged the transparency of National Grid upgrade cost studies before the Operating Committee approved the 2024 Interconnection Cluster Study on Aug. 24 (RTO Insider).
ERCOT — Heat advisory just lifted, wildfire transmission action still active
- 4CP Season Tracking: Texas is inside the June through September 4CP window, and August is historically the highest-probability month for a coincident peak interval. ERCOT issued an Operating Condition Notice on Aug. 19 for an extreme hot weather event covering the North Central and South Central regions from Aug. 20 through Aug. 25, then cancelled it at 10:02 p.m. on Aug. 25 (ERCOT public notices). September intervals remain in play; settlement methodology is documented on the ERCOT 4CP page.
- ORDC Pricing: No VOLL approach or reserve shortfall declared. ERCOT did deploy Non-Spin on the evening of Aug. 23, starting with roughly 435 MW at 18:54 and recalling all Non-Spin at 22:20, which points to evening net-load ramp tightness rather than a systemic shortage (ERCOT public notices).
- Grid Condition Alerts: As of 4:01 p.m. Aug. 25, ERCOT is taking manual action on the WESTEX IROL because of wildfires in Jack and Palo Pinto counties. That notice remains active and is the item most likely to drive West Texas congestion today (ERCOT public notices). ERCOT has also set a December target to finish the state-ordered audit of data centers and crypto miners seeking interconnection (Utility Dive).
ISO-NE — Mild weather, very large capacity surplus, no load relief anticipated
- Load Forecasting: The Seven-Day Capacity Forecast generated 09:30 EDT Aug. 25 projects a peak load of 17,600 MW today against 29,488 MW of available generation and imports, leaving a surplus of 9,494 MW. Boston tops out near 78 degrees. No Power Watch or Power Warning is anticipated through Aug. 31 (ISO New England).
- FCM Tag Events: The forecast carries 1,000 MW of anticipated de-list MW offered each day this week, and available demand response resources are listed at 261 MW (ISO New England).
- Capacity Market Integration: The Capacity Auction Reforms project continues toward a prompt, seasonal market with accreditation changes taking effect June 1, 2028 (ISO New England). On Aug. 23 FERC denied the Maine Public Advocate’s challenge of regional asset condition spending (RTO Insider).
MISO — Demand-side performance under the microscope after the July emergency
- Real-Time Settlements: MISO’s first investigation into load-modifying resource unavailability during a winter storm has opened a stakeholder dispute over what happens when a business that enrolled in demand response has since closed. Expect tighter documentation expectations on LMR registrations (RTO Insider).
- Zonal Pricing: MISO reported its largest-ever import assistance, close to 18 GW, during a mid-July emergency declaration, a reminder of how heavily the footprint leaned on neighbors under stress (RTO Insider). MISO also plans new rules to discourage participants from stretching unit lead times when an emergency is forecast (RTO Insider).
- Planning Resource Auction: FERC has allowed MISO to make roughly $280 million in backdated pricing corrections to the 2025/26 capacity auction after an eight-year input error, so load-serving entities should confirm how the true-up lands on their settlements (RTO Insider).
CAISO — No Flex Alert, but structural midday curtailment and local RA gaps persist
- Flex Alerts: No Flex Alert is active. CAISO has noted it went more than two years without calling one, and the tool remains reserved for genuine supply shortfalls during extreme conditions (California ISO). Peak demand for the year is still forecast to land in early September.
- Renewable Curtailment: Curtailment remains a structural midday feature rather than a one-day event. CAISO curtailed 600,081 MWh of wind and solar in June 2026, and daily reports continue to post (California ISO). Loads with flexible midday consumption remain positioned to benefit.
- NQC Integration: In its review of final 2026 resource adequacy compliance filings, CAISO determined there are individual and collective capacity deficiencies in several local capacity areas, even as the system shows a summer surplus of 2,547 MW above the one-in-ten reliability standard (California ISO).
Cross-Market Watch — Large-load rules are the common thread
- NERC: NERC opened a comment period on proposed Rules of Procedure changes that would define and set registration criteria for owners and operators of computational large loads such as data centers (RTO Insider). This runs in parallel with PJM’s move to fold large load service requests into its interconnection analysis (RTO Insider) and ERCOT’s interconnection audit.
- FERC: FERC approved an SPP topology optimization plan aimed at reducing grid congestion, a technique neighboring markets are likely to study (Utility Dive).
- Weather: No multi-ISO heat event is in progress. The Texas heat advisory expired last night and New England is mild through the weekend, so today is a planning day rather than an operating day in most footprints.
HOW INTELLASTAR ENERGY ANALYST CAN HELP
Today’s conditions create specific opportunities — and risks — for your organization.
ERCOT — Elevated
The heat advisory lifted, but September 4CP intervals can still reset your transmission bill for a full year.
Intellastar Energy Analyst tracks ERCOT load against 4CP thresholds in real time and tells your team which afternoon intervals are worth curtailing for. It also flags active transmission constraints, like the WESTEX action running today, so you know when local congestion is driving your settlement.
MISO — Watch
MISO is auditing whether enrolled demand response actually shows up, and a $280 million capacity true-up is landing on settlements.
Intellastar Energy Analyst keeps your load-modifying resource registrations current against the sites you actually still operate, so an audit does not turn into a penalty. It also reconciles capacity charges line by line so you can see exactly how a retroactive auction correction hits your bill.
PJM — Watch
Quiet weather now, but September peaks still count toward your 5CP tag and next year’s capacity charge.
Intellastar Energy Analyst forecasts PJM coincident peak risk day by day so you only call a curtailment when the interval is likely to count. With the Reliability Backstop Procurement due to start Sept. 30, we also help you model what the new supply pathway means for your capacity position.