Today marks the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, signaling the formal start of summer and plenty of hot days ahead. When temperatures rise, so does electricity consumption, raising energy bills and putting more stress on our grid.
All that to say, it's a good thing we continue to see collaboration in the West on markets that will enable more energy sharing around the region. This will reduce barriers to transferring electricity, enable greater reliability during peak summer periods, and provide more access to affordable clean energy.
- Leah Rubin Shen, Managing Director at Advanced Energy United
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Feedback or suggestions for content? Please reach out to us at westernrto@advancedenergyunited.org.
EDAM may already be the most
viable day-ahead market
On May 31, NV Energyannounced its intent to join CAISO's Extended Day Ahead Market (EDAM) as part of its 2024 Integrated Resource Plan filing with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada. This commitment by NV Energy is a significant milestone for EDAM, with six entitiesnow indicating their intent to join, signaling a critical mass. NV Energy’s involvement is particularly beneficial because transmission running through Nevada (and transmission under development, likeGreenlink West) is a key pathway for connecting the electric grids in the Northwest and Southwest. In our opinion, this should spur additional momentum and encourage other entities, especially those in the Southwest, to follow in Nevada's footsteps and join EDAM. As my colleague Brian Turner said in an interview withUtility Dive, “This may represent a market that is too good to pass up for a lot of other Western utilities.”
What's Next?
NV Energy will follow up later this year with a formal filing to its state commission seeking approval to join EDAM.
Pathways Initiative sends Step 1 of straw proposal to CAISO
NV Energy joining EDAM also indicates another milestone: once all six entities indicating intent to join EDAM sign formal commitment documents, this will provide the load necessary to trigger Step 1 of the Pathways straw proposal. Late last month, the Pathways Launch Committee unanimously voted in favor to approve Step 1, which will transfer primary authority over EDAM and the Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM) from CAISO to the WEIM governing body. The plan was submitted to the CAISO Board of Governors in early June, and CAISO will now run its own stakeholder process. The Board is expected to make a decision later this summer, and we anticipate support.
What's Next?
The Launch Committee will continue working on Step 2 of the proposal, which aims to establish an independent regional organization to oversee the WEIM and EDAM markets. There will be additional opportunities for stakeholders to comment, including through a series of workshops this summer.
Pathways will host its monthly stakeholder meeting on June 28 from 10:30am- 12:00pm PT onZoom that will include more details on next steps. You can also find recordings of past meetings and relevant documents on the Pathways website.
New seams study from Grid Strategies
Last month's newsletter was centered around seams, and I wanted to highlight a new Grid Strategies report, Market Configuration Matters, which looks at seams under a bifurcated day-ahead market scenario and the effects these market choices would have on consumers in the Northwest.
The study reinforces prior studies done by E3 and Brattle that also illustrate the impact that a market footprint has on the market's ability to deliver crucial consumer benefits. The study also underscores the importance of transmission connecting the Northwest to the Southwest, specifically noting that Powerex controls a large portion of this transmission capacity and that Powerex "as a power marketer has an objective of maximizing profits, rather than minimizing consumer costs." The report concludes that policymakers must exercise oversight over market choices, as it's best to avoid seams entirely, but utility profit motivations may lead to decisions not in the public interest.
Additional updates from around the West
FERC weighs SPP plan to link Eastern and Western grids
SPP is seeking federal approval to expand its full integrated marketplace and transmission operator services into the Western Interconnection. If approved, seven Western electricity providers would join SPP's RTO, making the RTO the first grid operator with markets in both the east and west interconnections. Pending FERC approval, SPP's western RTO expansion would be implemented in April 2026. It's important to note that this initiative is separate from SPP’s plan to form a day-ahead electricity market in the West known as Markets+, and the two market constructs would remain independently optimized and operated. An initial tariff proposal for Markets+ is also pending with FERC.
Bonneville Power Administration Regional Market Meeting
In early June, BPA held its regional market meeting, which focused largely on BPA's comments on the Pathways Initiative Straw Proposal. Many stakeholders at the meeting brought up concerns that BPA's proposed timeline is misaligned with the timeline the Pathways Initiative has set out to develop phase 2 of its Straw Proposal. Despite these concerns, BPA would not reconsider changing their timeline to better accommodate Pathways developments as they believe it may hurt the viability of Markets+.
Markets at Western NARUC
The Western Conference of Public Service Commissioners(colloquially known as "Western NARUC") took place last month. While much of the content focused on transmission and FERC Order 1920, it's impossible to escape a mention of markets at any Western energy conference. New Mexico Commissioner Aguilera moderated a well-attended discussion on the topic, with several commissioners and many stakeholders attending. The commissioners in the room commented on several questions related to markets, such as what the region has already learned from real-time markets, whether or not they are confident in the benefits markets provide, greenhouse gas policies and data needs, potential changes to their authority or role as regulators, and the impacts on their own states' ratepayers.
WestTEC Public Webinar
On June 6, the Western Transmission Expansion Coalition met to address regional transmission planning issues in the West. At the meeting, stakeholders went over plans to produce an actionable transmission study considering reliability, efficiency, and affordability over the next 20 years. The plan evaluates current and future transmission needs, including potential interregional projects and advanced transmission technologies. The plan will be available for public comment in July and the final study plan is expected in September.
In the News
RTO Insider:FERC Approves EDAM Tx Revenue Recovery Plan: On June 11, FERC approved CAISO tariff revisions that will allow transmission owners to recover transmission revenue shortfalls attributed to transitioning their assets into EDAM.
Canary Media: A Western US energy market would boost clean energy. Will it happen?: Canary Media's Jeff St. John covers the recent developments, potential benefits, and regulatory hurdles related to the creation of a regional Western RTO. The story quotes my colleague,Brian Turner, who highlights the importance of establishing a cohesive energy market in the West. LA Times Columnist Sammy Roth also included a mention of Jeff's story in a recent Boiling Point newsletter.
Western RTO Newsletter
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