Northern California Power Agency announced an innovative use of Oracle XML DB, a feature of Oracle Database 11g that provides high-performance XML storage and retrieval, to manage the very large and complex power settlements data that every California electric utility will receive starting early next year. NCPA will offer its Oracle XML DB research application and findings to other California utilities for free, which will save time and money for all ratepayers by facilitating implementation of this new technology.

“NCPA has saved a lot of money for our municipal power customers by using Oracle XML DB, hundreds of thousands of dollars for our municipal power customers, and we believe that this type of saving should be available to all energy market participants,” said Jim Pope, NCPA General Manager. “NCPA wants to foster the sharing of new technology applications to reduce costs to all electric rate payers.”

Live on Oracle Database 11g, NCPA has been working alongside Oracle in researching and experimenting with Oracle XML DB for the California ISO Market Redesign and Technology Upgrade (MRTU) process. Now, NCPA is offering other California utilities the Cal-ISO settlement database application for free.

NCPA’s Oracle XML DB-based application is now being applied to California ISO’s new energy marketplace, the MRTU, which has been under development since 2000. The MRTU marketplace will require the processing of tremendously large and complex data files, known as power settlement files.

XML offers organizations a way to structure, store and share information. This technology has been around for several years, but the true potential of XML applications is only now being fulfilled. Oracle XML DB allows any organization to store and access XML data in an efficient manner. Once the data is stored in Oracle Database 11g, the data becomes immediately available for query and analysis, and to feed the information to downstream processes, such as verification, billing and accounting.

Using an Open Source License, NCPA is providing to any California electric utility, marketer, generator or vendor the ability to quickly and efficiently process the new MRTU power settlement files.