Central American Regional Electricity Market (MER)

Guatemala; El Salvador; Honduras; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama. Status: operational.

Wholesale design: Supranational market for regional energy transactions, ex-ante programming, ex-post settlement and firm transmission rights over the Regional Transmission Network; national markets remain distinct.

Market type
Regional market overlay
Operators
Ente Operador Regional · Comisión Regional de Interconexión Eléctrica
Dispatch model
Regional pre-dispatch and commercial coordination layered over national system operation.
Pricing granularity
regional nodal ex-ante and ex-post prices under RMER
Settlement interval
60 minutes
Nominal frequency
60 Hz
Where energy trades

Where does energy trade in Central American Regional Electricity Market (MER)?

Energy in Central American Regional Electricity Market (MER) trades in 4 layers: regional energy, ex-ante programming, ex-post settlement and firm transmission rights.

What a battery can sell

What ancillary services can a battery sell in Central American Regional Electricity Market (MER)?

Central American Regional Electricity Market (MER) has 5 ancillary-service products, across 5 families — regulation, frequency containment, reactive power & voltage, black start & restoration and emergency control: MER automatic load shedding for low frequency or voltage, MER black-start service, MER primary frequency and active-power reserve, MER reactive-power and voltage-control service, MER secondary frequency and active-power reserve. Response timing, direction and eligibility for each are in the cards below, as the official sources state them.

Facts below are stated as the official sources state them. A missing line means the source does not state that value — never that the value is zero.

Regulation

  • MER secondary frequency and active-power reserve

    mandatory minimum regional ancillary service; not transacted or remunerated in the MER

    Restore frequency and scheduled regional exchanges after primary response through secondary active-power control.

    Direction
    upward and downward according to system condition
    Stated response
    technical and national implementation requirements; no standardized regional deadline is published
    Trigger / range
    persistent frequency or interchange deviation; no single regional numeric threshold is published
    Typical procurement
    mandatory minimum service rather than a MER merchant product
    Pricing
    not transacted or remunerated in the MER

Frequency containment

  • MER primary frequency and active-power reserve

    mandatory minimum regional ancillary service; not transacted or remunerated in the MER

    Contain frequency deviations and provide the primary active-power response required for secure regional interconnected operation.

    Direction
    upward and downward according to system condition
    Stated response
    technical and national implementation requirements; no standardized regional deadline is published
    Trigger / range
    frequency deviation; no single regional numeric threshold is published in the cited sections
    Typical procurement
    mandatory minimum service rather than a MER merchant product
    Pricing
    not transacted or remunerated in the MER

Reactive power & voltage

  • MER reactive-power and voltage-control service

    mandatory minimum regional ancillary service; not transacted or remunerated in the MER

    Maintain voltage and reactive-power conditions needed for secure Regional Transmission Network operation.

    Direction
    reactive injection and absorption
    Stated response
    equipment and operating-rule specific
    Trigger / range
    voltage or reactive-power need under regional and national technical requirements
    Typical procurement
    mandatory minimum service rather than a MER merchant product
    Pricing
    not transacted or remunerated in the MER

Black start & restoration

  • MER black-start service

    mandatory minimum regional ancillary service; not transacted or remunerated in the MER

    Support restoration of generation and interconnected-system sections without an external electricity supply after a major outage.

    Stated response
    restoration-plan and facility specific
    Trigger / range
    system-restoration condition
    Typical procurement
    mandatory restoration capability rather than a MER merchant product
    Pricing
    not transacted or remunerated in the MER

Emergency control

  • MER automatic load shedding for low frequency or voltage

    mandatory minimum regional ancillary service; not transacted or remunerated in the MER

    Arrest severe low-frequency or low-voltage conditions through configured automatic demand disconnection.

    Direction
    load reduction
    Stated response
    scheme-specific; no generic regional response deadline is published
    Trigger / range
    configured low-frequency or low-voltage thresholds under technical schemes
    Typical procurement
    mandatory protection scheme rather than a MER merchant product
    Pricing
    not transacted or remunerated in the MER
Revenue routes

Merchant revenue routes

  • regional energy
  • firm transmission rights
Caveats

Technical notes

Non-additive regional overlay. The RMER market period is one hour. RMER does not establish a regional generation-adequacy capacity auction; its mandatory regional ancillary services are not traded or remunerated in the MER.

Where this comes from

Official sources

Rules

Market explainer

Current as of · from the Global Electricity Market Catalogue v1.2.0 (compiled to , CC BY 4.0). Facts belong to the linked official authorities; verify the current rules before design or bidding decisions.

Questions

Common questions about Central American Regional Electricity Market (MER)

Who operates Central American Regional Electricity Market (MER)?
Central American Regional Electricity Market (MER) covers Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama and is operated by Ente Operador Regional and Comisión Regional de Interconexión Eléctrica.
How is energy traded, priced and settled in Central American Regional Electricity Market (MER)?
Central American Regional Electricity Market (MER): Supranational market for regional energy transactions, ex-ante programming, ex-post settlement and firm transmission rights over the Regional Transmission Network; national markets remain distinct. dispatch — Regional pre-dispatch and commercial coordination layered over national system operation; pricing granularity — regional nodal ex-ante and ex-post prices under RMER; settlement interval — 60 minutes.
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