Know when the grid is stressed. Before everyone else.

ORDC adders can spike prices from $50 to $9,000 instantly. Be ready when they do.

The Problem

ORDC events are unpredictable and extreme

The Operating Reserve Demand Curve can add $0 or $9,000 to the price—with no warning. When reserves drop below 3,000MW, prices explode. Miss one event and lose months of profit.

No early warning system exists

By the time ERCOT posts the ORDC value, it's already impacting settlement. You need to predict stress conditions before they manifest in pricing.

Manual monitoring is impossible

ORDC values update every 5 minutes, 24/7. One bathroom break during a grid event could cost your facility $100,000 in unnecessary energy costs.

What You Get

Real-Time ORDC Values

Current ORDC adder value, updated every 5 minutes. See exactly how much scarcity pricing is adding to the energy price right now.

Reserve Margin Tracking

Monitor operating reserves in real-time. Know when the grid is approaching critical levels before prices spike.

Component Breakdown

See ORDC values by component: spinning reserves, non-spinning reserves, and RRS (responsive reserve service).

Historical Patterns

Access historical ORDC events to train ML models. Identify patterns that precede major price spikes.

Protect Your Bottom Line

Trigger Emergency Demand Response

Alert: "When ORDC_total > $500/MWh"
Action: "Curtail 75% of flexible load immediately"

Automatically shed non-critical load when ORDC spikes. One avoided event pays for years of API access. Response time matters—every minute counts.

Create ORDC Impact Metrics

Custom Metric: "ordc_risk_score"
Formula: "(operating_reserves / 3000) * ordc_value"
Alert: "When risk_score > 0.8"

Build custom risk indicators that combine reserve levels with pricing. Get early warning before ORDC values explode.

Maximize Ancillary Service Revenue

Alert: "When spinning_reserve_ordc > $1000"
Action: "Bid maximum capacity into RRS market"

High ORDC values signal lucrative ancillary service opportunities. Automatically adjust your AS participation when margins are highest.

ORDC Explained Simply

The Operating Reserve Demand Curve (ORDC) is ERCOT's mechanism to price grid reliability risk into energy costs.

When Reserves Are High (>3,000MW)

  • • ORDC adder = $0-10/MWh
  • • Grid is stable
  • • Normal operations

When Reserves Are Low (<2,000MW)

  • • ORDC adder = $1,000-9,000/MWh
  • • Grid emergency conditions
  • • Curtail load NOW

Real-Time ORDC API

# Get current ORDC values
curl https://api.wattmarkets.com/v1/ordc/current \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

# Response
{
  "timestamp": "2024-01-30T19:45:00Z",
  "total_ordc": 125.50,
  "components": {
    "spinning_reserve": 75.30,
    "non_spinning": 35.20,
    "rrs": 15.00
  },
  "operating_reserves": 2847,
  "reserve_margin": 0.095
}

Stream ORDC updates via WebSocket for zero-latency alerting during grid events.

One ORDC event can cost $100,000. One alert can save it.

Set up ORDC monitoring in minutes. Sleep better at night.

Create ORDC AlertLearn More