Contract Expiry & Settlement

ElectronX contracts expire at the end of every hour. Understanding when and how they settle, and what happens to your collateral along the way, is essential for managing your positions effectively.

When contracts expire

Every ElectronX contract is tied to a specific hour of delivery. Contracts are identified by their hour ending (HE), which is also when they expire: HE14 ends at 2:00 PM, HE09 ends at 9:00 AM, and so on. At that moment, trading in that contract closes. The HE is dependent on each ISO's designated timezone.

If you hold an open position at expiration, it proceeds to settlement automatically. You do not need to take any action. Alternatively, you can offset your position before expiration by entering the opposite side during market hours. Closing out before expiry locks in your realized P&L and returns your settlement fee to Available to Trade.

Settlement: ERCOT

ERCOT contracts settle same-day, shortly after expiration, using real-time price data published by ERCOT throughout the contract hour.

How the settlement price is calculated

ERCOT publishes Real Time Settlement Point Prices (SPP) every 15 minutes. For each hourly contract, ElectronX uses the arithmetic average of the four 15-minute interval prices that fall within the contract hour. ERCOT's prices (and HE contracts) are in CT.

For example, the HE01 contract (expiring at 1:00 AM CT) uses the average of the four prices ERCOT publishes for: 12:00–12:15 AM CT, 12:15–12:30 AM CT, 12:30–12:45 AM CT, and 12:45–1:00 AM CT.

Bounded Futures

If the average is within the contract's price bounds, it becomes the Settlement Price directly. If the average falls outside the bounds, the applicable boundary is applied: average below floor → Settlement Price = floor; average above ceiling → Settlement Price = ceiling; average within bounds → Settlement Price = average.

Binary Options

The four-interval average is called the Floating Price. It is compared to the Strike Price (the prior day's day-ahead market price for that hub and hour): Floating Price ≥ Strike Price → Settlement Price = $100; Floating Price < Strike Price → Settlement Price = $0.

Finality & unpublished prices

The first published prices provided by ERCOT are considered final and are not subject to further adjustment. If ERCOT fails to publish one or more of the 15-minute prices within 24 hours of the contract hour, ElectronX calculates the Settlement Price by substituting the most recently published prior SPP value for each missing interval. The settlement price is the arithmetic average of all four values, with any missing values replaced by the most recent published prior SPP. Settlement will occur within 48 hours of the contract's originally intended settlement time.

Settlement: PJM

PJM contracts have a different settlement timeline from ERCOT. The key distinction: PJM does not publish verified real-time prices until the following business day.

How the settlement price is calculated

PJM publishes verified real-time hourly Locational Marginal Prices (LMPs) between 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM ET on T+1 (the business day after delivery). ElectronX uses these verified hourly LMPs as the Settlement Price. PJM's prices (and HE contracts) are in ET.

Bounded Futures & Binary Options

If the verified hourly LMP is within the contract's price bounds, it is the Settlement Price; if outside, the applicable boundary applies. For Binary Options, the verified hourly LMP is the Floating Price, compared to the Strike Price (prior day's day-ahead LMP for that location and hour).

Finality & unpublished prices

The first published prices provided by PJM are considered final and are not subject to further adjustment. If the verified RT hourly LMP for a contract hour is not published by PJM by 12:00 PM ET on business day T+1, ElectronX will, within 48 hours of that scheduled publication time, calculate the final settlement price using the last previously verified RT hourly LMP preceding the missing hour as a substitute. Where multiple consecutive hours are unpublished, each contract is settled using the same substitute: the last previously verified RT hourly LMP preceding the earliest missing hour. Because PJM publishes a single hourly value, no averaging is required; the substitute is used directly as the settlement price.

Settlement: MISO

MISO contracts, like PJM, settle on T+1, but MISO publishes its Preliminary Ex-Post prices every day, including weekends, meaning collateral is released the morning after expiry regardless of the day of the week.

How the settlement price is calculated

MISO publishes Preliminary Ex-Post hourly Locational Marginal Prices (LMPs) by 8:00 AM EST on T+1. ElectronX uses this single verified hourly LMP directly as the Settlement Price; no averaging across sub-hourly intervals is required. MISO's prices (and HE contracts) are in EST — always EST, does not change to EDT.

For example, the HE13 contract (expiring at 1:00 PM EST) uses the Preliminary Ex-Post LMP that MISO publishes for that hour ending at the applicable pricing location.

Bounded Futures & Binary Options

If the verified hourly LMP is within the contract's price bounds, it is the Settlement Price; if outside, the applicable boundary applies. For Binary Options, the verified hourly LMP is the Floating Price, compared to the Strike Price (prior day's day-ahead LMP for that location and hour).

Finality & unpublished prices

The first published prices provided by MISO are considered final and are not subject to further adjustment. If the Preliminary Ex-Post hourly LMP for a contract hour is not published by MISO by 8:00 AM ET on T+1, ElectronX will, within 48 hours of that scheduled publication time, calculate the final settlement price using the last verified Preliminary Ex-Post hourly LMP preceding the missing hour as a substitute. Where multiple consecutive hours are unpublished, each contract is settled using the same substitute: the last verified Preliminary Ex-Post hourly LMP preceding the earliest missing hour. Because MISO publishes a single hourly value, no averaging is required; the substitute is used directly as the settlement price.

Settlement: CAISO

CAISO contracts settle same-day, similar to ERCOT, using Fifteen-Minute Market (FMM) Locational Marginal Prices published by CAISO on their OASIS platform throughout the contract hour.

How the settlement price is calculated

CAISO publishes FMM LMPs every 15 minutes. For each hourly contract, ElectronX uses the arithmetic average of the four FMM LMPs for the contract hour at the specified pricing location. CAISO's prices (and HE contracts) are in PT.

For example, the HE01 contract (expiring at 1:00 AM PT) uses the average of the four prices CAISO publishes for: 12:00–12:15 AM PT, 12:15–12:30 AM PT, 12:30–12:45 AM PT, and 12:45–1:00 AM PT.

Bounded Futures & Binary Options

If the average is within the contract's price bounds, it becomes the Settlement Price directly. If the average falls outside the bounds, the applicable boundary applies. For Binary Options, the four-interval average is the Floating Price, compared to the Strike Price (the prior day's day-ahead market price for that hub and hour).

Finality & unpublished prices

The first published prices provided by CAISO are considered final and are not subject to further adjustment. If one or more of the four required FMM LMPs for a contract hour are not published by CAISO, ElectronX will, within 48 hours of the scheduled settlement time, calculate the final settlement price using the most recently published eligible FMM LMP preceding each missing interval as a substitute. Each missing interval is substituted with the most recently published eligible FMM LMP that immediately precedes it; consecutive missing intervals therefore share the same substitute value. The settlement price is the arithmetic average of the four values. If all four intervals are unpublished, all four values use the same substitute, drawn from the most recently published eligible FMM LMP at the same pricing location.

What happens to your account at settlement

When a contract settles, the following occurs automatically:

• The Settlement Price is established.
• P&L is calculated.
• Settlement fees are consumed from Committed Collateral.
• Excess collateral plus any profit, or minus any loss, is returned to your Available to Trade balance.
• Your Settled Positions table updates to reflect the closed position.
• Today's Realized P&L updates.

For positions you have already offset (closed before expiry), P&L is calculated and excess collateral plus any profit, or minus any loss, is returned to your Available to Trade balance. Settlement fees are returned to your Available to Trade balance.

The Settlement Tracker

The Settlement Tracker in the trading widget lets you monitor contract settlement in real time. It displays:

• Day-ahead price and a live countdown timer for the current spot-hour contracts.
• ISO data updated every 5 and 15 minutes (based on the respective ISO), so you can watch the average build toward final settlement.
• A "Recently Expired Contracts" section showing final settlement prices, percentage deviation from day-ahead, and any expired open interest.

The Settlement Tracker is particularly useful for confirming how a position will settle as the hour progresses, and for reviewing recent settlement outcomes relative to day-ahead forecasts.

Contract listing schedule

Contracts list on a rolling 5-day window. As each hour expires, a new contract 5 days forward is automatically added. This means 120 contracts are always available per instrument: 24 hours per day across 5 calendar days.

Key differences by ISO

	ERCOT	PJM	MISO	CAISO
Settlement timing	Same day, shortly after expiry	T+1 business day, 11 AM–12 PM ET	T+1, by 8:00 AM EST (published daily incl. weekends)	Same day, shortly after expiry
Settlement data	Avg of four 15-min SPPs	Verified hourly LMP	Preliminary Ex-Post hourly LMP	Avg of four 15-min FMM LMPs
Collateral release	Within minutes of the top of the hour	T+1 after verified prices published	T+1 after Preliminary Ex-Post LMP published	Within minutes of the top of the hour
Weekend handling	Settles every hour	Collateral held; settles next business day	Settles every day	Settles every hour
Unpublished price fallback	Substitute most recent prior SPP for each missing interval; avg of four values	Last verified RT LMP preceding the missing hour; used directly (no avg)	Last verified Preliminary Ex-Post LMP preceding the missing hour; used directly (no avg)	Most recent eligible FMM LMP preceding each missing interval; avg of four values
Fallback deadline	Within 48 hours of scheduled settlement	Within 48 hours of scheduled publication	Within 48 hours of scheduled publication	Within 48 hours of scheduled settlement