The energy desk reference
Visual reference for the wholesale electricity markets, policies, and procurement structures that determine commercial power costs. LMPs, capacity auctions, PPAs, the IRA-OBBBA reshuffle, FERC Order 2222 — built for buyers and developers.
Featured explainers
What every wholesale settlement actually pays out. Energy + congestion + losses, why basis risk is the real procurement exposure, and how FTRs hedge it.
Annual auctions paying generators to stay available. PJM cleared $333/MW-day in the 2027/28 BRA — the first time the entire RTO hit the FERC price cap.
Paying loads to curtail when the grid is short. Program structures across CAISO, PJM, and ERCOT — and where performance penalties bite.
Long-term offtake contracts for renewable generation. How they're priced post-OBBBA, what credit support gets negotiated, and where shape and basis risk live.
The 2022 IRA reshaped federal clean energy credits; the 2025 OBBBA reshaped the IRA. What survived, what terminated, what got extended — in one place.
Aggregating distributed solar, storage, and EVs into a dispatchable resource selling into wholesale markets. 37.5 GW deployed in 2025; DOE target 80–160 GW by 2030.
Energy glossary
Definitions for the terms commercial energy decisions hinge on — from basis risk and capacity factor to FTRs, merit order, and zonal pricing.
Browse all terms →The Outlet is a visual reference for commercial energy decisions — the wholesale structures, federal and state policies, and procurement mechanics that determine what shows up on a commercial bill, what a renewable PPA costs, and what changes when the rules shift.
Every page combines a single visual with structured prose and FAQs — built to be read in under ten minutes and used as reference.
Built and maintained by Pilot Energy, an energy procurement advisory active across PJM, ERCOT, CAISO, NYISO, ISO-NE, MISO, and regulated utilities since 2001. About this resource →