About 400 market participants complete $10 billion in wholesale electricity transactions annually. ISO New England has enhanced these markets in 2003, when it adopted a “Standard Market Design (SMD).” SMD added features such as a Day-Ahead Market to protect against price volatility and locational pricing that improves efficiency by accurately gauging the true cost of producing and supplying power anywhere in the region. In 2005, FERC designated ISO New England as the regional transmission organization for the six-state region. In this role, ISO New England continues to fulfill its responsibilities, but with broader authority over the day-to-day operation of the transmission system and greater independence to manage the power grid and wholesale markets. There are 6.5 million customer households and businesses.