As President and COO of PCI, I had the privilege of representing our team at this year’s Energy Trading Week Americas. Participating in a panel with other industry influential voices, we tackled key topics shaping the energy sector today — compliance, risk management, the rise of renewables, and the transformative role of advanced technologies like AI and hydrogen.
This event was a remarkable opportunity to connect with the close-knit network driving innovation in energy trading across the Americas. I’m excited to share some insights from these discussions on how technology is fundamentally reshaping the landscape of energy trading and enabling the energy transition.
1. The evolution of trading needs: an increasingly complex landscape
Over the past three decades, the needs of traders and power operators have transformed in response to new regulatory, operational, and environmental demands. What once provided a competitive advantage has now become a necessity. In today’s world, power market operations involve immense volumes of data, including 5-minute scheduling intervals, and the need to integrate resources like batteries and distributed energy resources (DERs). The hyper-complex environment that the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) calls a “high-risk era” requires adaptable, powerful systems to manage rapidly shifting loads.
At PCI, we stay at the forefront of these shifts by collaborating closely with regulatory bodies such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and engaging in market initiatives across North America, including ERCOT’s Real-Time Co-Optimization, the CAISO Extended Day-Ahead Market, SPP RTO Expansion, IESO’s Market Renewal Program (MRP), and AESO‘s Restructured Energy Market (REM).
2. Understanding common industry needs through customer success stories
Our client base spans private generators, utilities, retail energy providers, and energy trading and energy services companies, and while each has unique requirements, we also see shared challenges. For example, several of our multi-market IPP clients have pioneered “touchless workflows” to optimize their trading operations with minimal manual intervention. As trading becomes more complex and time-sensitive, automation isn’t just a trend — it’s a must.
Common challenges include:
- Optimizing complex assets like batteries
- Trading closer to real-time to adapt to market demands
- Managing frequent, smaller trading positions driven by DER aggregations and renewables
Our solutions at PCI are tailored to help clients tackle these industry-wide challenges and achieve greater operational efficiency.
3. Realizing the potential of AI and automation in energy trading
While there’s significant excitement around AI’s potential, at PCI, we’re already implementing AI-driven solutions that deliver real results. Our BatteryTrader tool, which you can learn more about by requesting this recorded webinar, for instance, optimizes bids for batteries and renewables in real-time and day-ahead markets, while our Forecaster tool (learn more in this recorded webinar) provides essential market predictions that empower companies to make data-driven trading decisions.
We are also seeing a shift in user expectations toward more natural and intuitive interactions with trading systems. Users increasingly want platforms that handle data analysis behind the scenes and present them with options for decision-making. Future enterprise trading systems may feature:
- Auto-trading applications that suggest optimized strategies
- Language-based interfaces enabling requests like, “Look at my assets and determine if I missed opportunities for additional P&L in the last month”
By enabling more efficient and intuitive workflows, we’re making complex trading tasks accessible to users across the industry.
4. Redefining ETRM systems for the future
Traditional ETRM systems, largely derived from CTRM frameworks, have become too rigid and costly for the unique needs of power markets. As we move to trading intervals as short as 5 minutes, today’s systems must keep up with this increased speed and granularity. Modern ETRM platforms will need to:
- Seamlessly model renewable and battery storage assets
- Communicate natively with power market operators
- Support multi-region scheduling without requiring expensive integrations
For our clients, especially those in the power sector, an ETRM system that doesn’t fully support renewables and storage assets just won’t be sustainable in the long run. Learn more about our ETRM platform here.
5. Empowering business users with cloud and AI technologies
One of the most exciting advancements in technology today is the shift toward empowering business users. Customization is no longer solely the domain of IT; instead, business users now have the tools to tailor platforms to their specific needs. Advances in cloud technology and AI mean we’re moving toward a world where users can adjust their systems in real-time, reducing reliance on traditional implementation steps like requirements gathering and extensive testing.
At PCI, we believe this shift will increase agility and focus on the completeness of technology, ultimately making it easier for energy companies to adapt to a rapidly evolving industry. Our partnership with AWS is a crucial component to enabling The PCI Platform to live up to our vision of software that is Easy to Onboard, Reliable and Performant, Flexible, and Lightweight and Secure.
The road ahead
The energy trading landscape of the next decade will be defined by flexibility, automation, and advanced analytics. As power markets expand and new energy resources continue to come online, PCI remains committed to developing technology that meets these challenges head-on. Through close collaboration with our clients, deep engagement with regulatory developments, and continuous innovation, we’re proud to support a more resilient and efficient energy future.
For further insights on the trends we discussed at Energy Trading Week or to explore how PCI can help support your organization’s goals, please reach out or join us at our 2025 INFOCUS Conference in The Woodlands, Texas!
