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 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 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 table below; a product's full record lists the official sources behind it.
Every value below comes from the official sources listed in that product's full record. Most products cite more than one, and the published sources do not say which of them states each individual value, so the binding is to the product's record rather than to a single document. A missing line means the source does not state that value — never that the value is zero.
Scroll the table sideways for the rest of the columns →
| Service | How it activates | Response | Sustained delivery | Procurement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation | ||||
| MER secondary frequency and active-power reserve upward and downward according to system condition mandatory minimum regional ancillary service; not transacted or remunerated in the MER | Response type secondary active-power control; automatic versus manual implementation is not generalized from the cited regional sections Trigger persistent frequency or interchange deviation; no single regional numeric threshold is stated in the cited source | No deadline established technical and national implementation requirements; no standardized regional deadline is stated in the cited source | Not procured mandatory minimum service rather than a MER merchant product Bought mandatory capability under regional and national operating requirements Pricing design not transacted or remunerated in the MER Counted as a regional minimum requirement, not merchant procurement | |
Full record for MER secondary frequency and active-power reserve — page or table locator recorded What it is for Restore frequency and scheduled regional exchanges after primary response through secondary active-power control. Where it sits mandatory non-market ancillary service What the source does not state It does not state a response time, how long delivery has to be sustained, or a standing procurement volume. Sources
| ||||
| Frequency containment | ||||
| MER primary frequency and active-power reserve upward and downward according to system condition mandatory minimum regional ancillary service; not transacted or remunerated in the MER | Response type automatic local plant response under technical requirements Trigger frequency deviation; no single regional numeric threshold is published in the cited sections | No deadline established technical and national implementation requirements; no standardized regional deadline is stated in the cited source | Not procured mandatory minimum service rather than a MER merchant product Bought mandatory capability under regional and national operating requirements Pricing design not transacted or remunerated in the MER Counted as a regional minimum requirement, not merchant procurement | |
Full record for MER primary frequency and active-power reserve — page or table locator recorded What it is for Contain frequency deviations and provide the primary active-power response required for secure regional interconnected operation. Where it sits mandatory non-market ancillary service What the source does not state It does not state a response time, how long delivery has to be sustained, or a standing procurement volume. Sources
| ||||
| Reactive power & voltage | ||||
| MER reactive-power and voltage-control service reactive injection and absorption mandatory minimum regional ancillary service; not transacted or remunerated in the MER | Response type automatic equipment control and operator instruction Trigger voltage or reactive-power need under regional and national technical requirements | Stated response equipment and operating-rule specific | Not procured mandatory minimum service rather than a MER merchant product Bought mandatory capability under regional and national operating requirements Pricing design not transacted or remunerated in the MER Counted as a regional minimum requirement, not merchant procurement | |
Full record for MER reactive-power and voltage-control service — page or table locator recorded What it is for Maintain voltage and reactive-power conditions needed for secure Regional Transmission Network operation. Where it sits mandatory non-market ancillary service What the source does not state The source states a response time in its own words. It does not state how long delivery has to be sustained or a standing procurement volume. Sources
| ||||
| Black start & restoration | ||||
| MER black-start service mandatory minimum regional ancillary service; not transacted or remunerated in the MER | Response type operator-directed restoration sequence Trigger system-restoration condition | Stated response restoration-plan and facility specific | Not procured mandatory restoration capability rather than a MER merchant product Bought mandatory capability under regional and national restoration requirements Pricing design not transacted or remunerated in the MER Counted as facility-specific, not merchant procurement | |
Full record for MER black-start service — page or table locator recorded What it is for Support restoration of generation and interconnected-system sections without an external electricity supply after a major outage. Where it sits mandatory non-market ancillary service What the source does not state The source states a response time in its own words. It does not state how long delivery has to be sustained or a standing procurement volume. Sources
| ||||
| Emergency control | ||||
| MER automatic load shedding for low frequency or voltage load reduction mandatory minimum regional ancillary service; not transacted or remunerated in the MER | Response type automatic protection action Trigger configured low-frequency or low-voltage thresholds under technical schemes | No deadline established scheme-specific; no generic regional response deadline is stated in the cited source | Not procured mandatory protection scheme rather than a MER merchant product Bought mandatory protection capability under regional and national requirements Pricing design not transacted or remunerated in the MER Counted as scheme-specific, not merchant procurement | |
Full record for MER automatic load shedding for low frequency or voltage — page or table locator recorded What it is for Arrest severe low-frequency or low-voltage conditions through configured automatic demand disconnection. Where it sits mandatory non-market ancillary service What the source does not state It does not state a response time, how long delivery has to be sustained, or a standing procurement volume. Sources
| ||||
Merchant revenue routes
- regional energy
- firm transmission rights
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.
Official sources
Market explainer
Current as of · from the Global Electricity Market Catalogue v1.2.0 (compiled to , CC BY 4.0, rendered here with wording edited for readability). Facts belong to the linked official authorities; verify the current rules before design or bidding decisions.
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.
Related markets
Every market, one map.
The markets index holds the full set. For what the grid demands of a battery here, see the grid-code ride-through atlas.