SCED Shadow Prices & Binding Constraints

Binding transmission constraint and contingency pairs from ERCOT's Security Constrained Economic Dispatch runs, including the named facilities, limits, flows when published, violations, and shadow prices.

Congestion & Constraints data ERCOT market

Query with the agent

Native record

constraint-contingency pair x SCED interval

5-minute (SCED) publication cadence

Evidence

Observed market data

Published observations from the named source

Time basis

Point-in-time records

UTC · event_time

Overview

A row establishes that the named constraint bound in that SCED interval and its marginal system cost. It does not, by itself, identify which settlement point or hub the constraint affected, measure total substation utilization, or explain every contemporaneous LMP separation; those claims require shift-factor or direct attribution evidence. History spans 2017 to present. The official source is ERCOT report NP6-86-CD.

Query contract

Preserve one canonical row per (event_time, constraint_id, contingency_name) before aggregating.

Analysis rules

Group only after preserving the declared grain: event_time, constraint_id, contingency_name.

Related analysis

which settlement points a binding constraint moved, and by how much · Join on constraint_name and contingency_name — never on constraint_id, which is an ordinal within one SCED solution and refers to a different constraint from interval to interval. Pin the sensitivities side to one computed_at.

Interpretation

A missing interval in this table is not currently reliable evidence of no congestion: an ingestion gap (2026-07-29 onward) is under active backfill. Treat a zero-row result as unknown coverage, not as a finding, and say so plainly rather than reporting 'no congestion'.
Shadow price ranks marginal economic impact, not physical loading. A loading percentage requires non-null constraint_value_mw and constraint_limit_mw on the same row.

Access

Query from your own tools

Use the guarded HTTP endpoint directly, or connect an MCP client and load the dataset contract with describe_data before calling query_data.

ERCOT MCP API reference

HTTP endpoint

POST /api/v1/datasets/ercot_shadow_prices_sced/query

Schema15

Column

Type

event_timeDateTime64(6, 'UTC')

constraint_idLowCardinality(String)

constraint_nameNullable(String)

contingency_nameLowCardinality(String)

limiting_facilityNullable(String)

constraint_limit_mwNullable(Float64)

constraint_value_mwNullable(Float64)

violation_amount_mwNullable(Float64)

shadow_priceNullable(Float64)

from_stationNullable(String)

to_stationNullable(String)

dst_flagNullable(Bool)

emil_idNullable(String)

doc_idNullable(Int64)

ingested_atDateTime64(6, 'UTC')

Sample data

event_time	constraint_id	constraint_name	contingency_name	limiting_facility	constraint_limit_mw	constraint_value_mw	violation_amount_mw	shadow_price	from_station	to_station	dst_flag	emil_id	doc_id	ingested_at
2026-09-30 08:20:18.000000	9	225T558_1	DBAKCED5	∅	920	920	0	57.66383	BIGHIL	OERSTED	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:20:18.000000	8	KLNSW_MR1H	DSALKLN5	∅	740.6	740.6	0	75.85578	KLNSW	KLNSW	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:20:18.000000	7	1020__A	DELMWWE8	∅	211.2	211.2	0	15.00825	ELMOT	MCTYE	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:20:18.000000	6	HHGTOM_1	BASE CASE	∅	703.1	703.1	0	64.46871	HHGT	OMEGA	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:20:18.000000	5	JCKSTP18_A	DBLBYWF5	∅	1511.8	1511.8	0	0.78802	STP	JCK	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:20:18.000000	4	HEXT_YELWJC1_1	DYETRJU8	∅	25.6	25.6	0	1.78917	YELWJCKT	HEXT	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:20:18.000000	3	6830__B	SGRMGRS8	∅	47.1	42.7	-4.3	0	CRDSW	OLNEY	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:20:18.000000	2	722T782_1	DLYTZOR5	∅	252.4	185.7	-66.8	0	CANYON	ROHR	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:20:18.000000	13	BRUNI_69_1	SLAQLOB8	∅	34.7	32.1	-2.6	0	BRUNI	BRUNI	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:20:18.000000	12	BENTS_FRTER_1B_1	SBENS_M8	∅	210.6	210.6	0	22.07903	FRONTERA	S_MISSIN	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:20:18.000000	11	ATSO_SONR1_1	SCARFRI8	∅	37.7	37.7	0	166.84502	SONR	ATSO	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:20:18.000000	10	NLARSW_PILONC1_1	DFOAVLO5	∅	137.8	114.2	-23.5	0	NLARSW	PILONCIL	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:20:18.000000	1	138_ALV_NAL_1	SMDOPHR5	∅	395.2	346.5	-48.7	0	TNNALVIN	ALVIN	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:15:19.000000	9	225T558_1	DBAKCED5	∅	920	920	0	57.29704	BIGHIL	OERSTED	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:15:19.000000	8	KLNSW_MR1H	DSALKLN5	∅	740.3	740.3	0	84.20746	KLNSW	KLNSW	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:15:19.000000	7	1020__A	DELMWWE8	∅	211.2	211.2	0	16.08478	ELMOT	MCTYE	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:15:19.000000	6	JCKSTP18_A	DBLBYWF5	∅	1512.2	1512.2	0	3.38709	STP	JCK	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:15:19.000000	5	HHGTOM_1	BASE CASE	∅	703.1	703.1	0	64.49288	HHGT	OMEGA	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:15:19.000000	4	6830__B	SGRMGRS8	∅	47.2	43.8	-3.3	0	CRDSW	OLNEY	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:15:19.000000	3	HEXT_YELWJC1_1	DYETRJU8	∅	25.7	25.7	0	2.03093	YELWJCKT	HEXT	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:15:19.000000	2	138_ALV_NAL_1	SMDOPHR5	∅	395.2	351.8	-43.4	0	TNNALVIN	ALVIN	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:15:19.000000	13	BRUNI_69_1	SLAQLOB8	∅	34.7	32.3	-2.4	0	BRUNI	BRUNI	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:15:19.000000	12	BENTS_FRTER_1B_1	SBENS_M8	∅	209.6	209.6	0	22.17586	FRONTERA	S_MISSIN	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:15:19.000000	11	ATSO_SONR1_1	SCARFRI8	∅	37.7	37.7	0	164.09966	SONR	ATSO	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591
2026-09-30 08:15:19.000000	10	NLARSW_PILONC1_1	DFOAVLO5	∅	137.8	115.9	-21.9	0	NLARSW	PILONCIL	false	∅	∅	2026-09-30 09:17:43.385591

Coverage

99.7% complete15 gap days4,521 days with data

Show coverage history

Coverage: 99.7%Days with data: 4,521Gaps: 15

2026

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Related congestion & constraints data

Related congestion & constraints data
Dataset	Description
Constraint Shift Factor RunsERCOT · nightly (one row per completed run)	One row per COMPLETED nightly estimation of ERCOT constraint shift factors, and the only record that a run finished. Resolve the latest usable run here — computed_at = (SELECT max(computed_at) FROM atg.ercot_constraint_sensitivity_runs) — and never off max(computed_at) of the sensitivities themselves, because a run writes its rows in blocks that all carry the new timestamp and an unfinished or abandoned run would otherwise look like the newest one. Each row also carries how much evidence that run had: interval_coverage is the fraction of published dispatch intervals that survived admission, intervals_refused_unexplained counts intervals showing congestion with no constraint recorded as binding (an unobserved binding set), constraint_feed_lag_minutes is how far the constraint feed trailed the price feed, and constraints_seen / constraints_in_fit / constraints_reported show how many constraints bound, how many were good enough to control for, and how many earned a published estimate.
Constraint Shift Factors (Estimated)ERCOT · nightly (60-day rolling estimation window)	Estimated sensitivity of every ERCOT pricing location's price to every binding transmission constraint: one row per constraint, contingency, and location, recomputed nightly over a rolling 60-day window. This is what answers 'which nodes drive this constraint' and 'which constraints is this node exposed to'. Covers ERCOT's transmission constraints with their contingency and both named terminals, over 1,123 settlement points. shift_factor is in the ISO's orientation — POSITIVE means an incremental MW injected at that node increases loading on the constraint and the node is paid below system lambda while it binds; NEGATIVE means generation there relieves the constraint and earns a premium. These are ESTIMATES recovered from the price identity LMP = energy - sum(shift_factor x shadow_price), not a published PTDF matrix. They are measured RELATIVE TO THE MARKET'S REFERENCE — the identity yields SF(node) - SF(reference), so a single absolute value should be quoted as 'relative to the system reference' rather than as the node's PTDF, while DIFFERENCES between nodes are exact because the reference term cancels. Three further differences from a published matrix: they describe a NODE (a generator at that node inherits its location's value, and two units at one node are indistinguishable), they reflect the topology actually in effect across the window including outages rather than a stated base case, and every one carries a std_error from a 200-draw block bootstrap that resamples whole days. Read std_error before quoting shift_factor: an estimate whose absolute value is not at least twice its standard error is not distinguishable from zero. estimation_status says why a row has no number — 'thin_support' (in the fit, so it is controlled for, but under 12 binding intervals or under 3 distinct binding days), 'no_support' (under 3 binding intervals; not a regressor), or 'collinear' (it bound in lockstep with another constraint, so the two cannot be separated). Where from_station and to_station are populated they identify the monitored element and are NOT the constrained direction — the sign of shift_factor is what says which way. Every read must pin computed_at to one run, and must resolve that run through the companion atg.<iso>_constraint_sensitivity_runs ledger rather than off max(computed_at) here — rows are written in blocks that all carry the new timestamp, so an unfinished or abandoned run would otherwise look like the newest. Mixing runs averages a node across different network topologies.
CRR Monthly Auction ResultsERCOT · monthly auction posting	Cleared ERCOT monthly Congestion Revenue Right auction awards, one row per source-to-sink CRR and time-of-use block, including awarded MW and the auction shadow price per MWh. This is public auction evidence for who acquired a path and at what clearing price. It does not contain realized day-ahead congestion settlements, fees, later trades, the holder's full portfolio, or net profit, so auction cost must not be described as payout or profitability. The official source is ERCOT report NP7-803-M.
Day-Ahead Shadow Prices & Binding ConstraintsERCOT · hourly (DAM)	Binding transmission constraint and contingency pairs from ERCOT's Day-Ahead Market solution, one row per constraint, contingency, and delivery hour, including the limiting facility, its from and to stations, the constraint limit, flow, and violation in MW, and the shadow price. A row establishes that the named constraint bound in the cleared day-ahead solution for that hour and its marginal system cost. It does not, by itself, identify which settlement point or hub the constraint affected, or establish that the constraint bound in real time; the first requires shift-factor or direct attribution evidence, and real-time binding is recorded in the SCED shadow prices. The official source is ERCOT report NP4-191-CD.