Mechanisms for transfer

The organizational arrangements under which bulk power exchanges occur can range from simple bilateral agreements to more complicated pooling arrangements. Several types of arrangements are discussed here, including holding company systems, power pools, and multilateral and bilateral agreements. While utilities may begin to coordinate their operations with other utilities through simple arrangements such as bilateral agreements and may proceed to more elaborate arrangements such as pooling, the move from simpler to more complex coordination is not necessarily assured. Binding agreements, such as pooling contracts, may secure benefits for the utilities involved, but they may also expose the utilities to additional risks, impose additional obligations, and lessen a utility's ability to make its own decisions. Thus, multilateral arrangements or simple bilateral agreements may sometimes be preferred by utilities