The electric power industry in the United States is undergoing a slow but nonetheless dramatic transformation. It is a transformation driven by technology, economics, and politics; one that will move the industry from its traditional mode of centralized system operations and regulated rates...

In competitive electricity markets, the vertically integrated utilities that were responsible for ensuring system reliability in their own service territories, or groups of territories, often cease to exist. Typically, the burden falls to an independent system operator (ISO) to insure that...