Bilateral grid, also known as a two-sided market or a double auction market, is a type of market structure used in electricity trading. In this system, both buyers and sellers can submit bids and offers for the purchase and sale of electricity in real-time. The grid operator matches these bids and offers to determine the market-clearing price, where the demand for electricity is balanced with its supply.

The bilateral grid allows participants, such as power generators, distributors, and large consumers, to directly interact and negotiate prices without the need for intermediaries. It promotes transparency, efficiency, and competition in the electricity market by enabling participants to express their preferences freely.

This market structure contrasts with the traditional one-sided market, where electricity is typically sold from a single supplier to multiple consumers. By allowing both sides to actively participate in the market, the bilateral grid facilitates better price discovery and helps ensure a stable and reliable supply of electricity. It is commonly used in deregulated or liberalized electricity markets to create a fair and competitive environment for all stakeholders.

A bilateral grid is a data structure used in computer graphics and image processing for efficiently implementing bilateral filters. Bilateral filters are used to smooth images while preserving edges, which is crucial for tasks like noise reduction and detail enhancement. The bilateral grid combines spatial and range dimensions into a 3D grid, allowing for fast, approximate computation of bilateral filtering. It effectively reduces the computational complexity by transforming the problem into a simpler form that can be processed quickly using a combination of convolution and interpolation. This approach enables real-time filtering applications and is particularly useful in areas requiring high performance, such as video processing and interactive graphics.