What is a common tool used to assess the interchange between balancing authorities?

The tool commonly used to assess the interchange between balancing authorities is transactions. In the context of the electric power sector, transactions refer to the agreements or arrangements made between different balancing authorities to exchange electricity. These transactions allow for the balancing of supply and demand across interconnected regions, ensuring that electricity flows optimally between areas and enhances grid reliability.

By analyzing these transactions, balancing authorities can monitor and assess the actual power interchange and evaluate how well they are meeting their obligations for reliable operation of the grid. This assessment helps in understanding the dynamics of power flows and the interactions between different regions, which is critical for effective energy management and planning.

Operational manuals, load forecasts, and reliability reports serve important roles in the overall operation of the electrical grid but do not specifically assess the interchange like transactions do. Operational manuals provide guidelines for operation, load forecasts predict future demand, and reliability reports evaluate the overall reliability of the system, but none directly focus on the specific interchange between balancing authorities as vividly as transactions.