Welcome Back to the Western RTO Newsletter

Welcome Back to the Western RTO Newsletter

Welcome back to the Western RTO newsletter! For those of you who might be new to us, this monthly newsletter brings Western RTO news, updates, and action items straight to your inbox.

I'm Leah Rubin Shen, a Managing Director at Advanced Energy United overseeing the western region. If you've been getting newsletters in the past from Josh Alpert with the Western RTO campaign, this latest newsletter contains similar content. And if you're new to our list, welcome! Either way, we hope you find these updates valuable.

This month, we have updates from the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative, progress on day-ahead market choices, and a new RTO/ISO interconnection scorecard. Share the newsletter with your friends and colleagues and encourage them to subscribe.

Feedback or suggestions for content? Please reach out to us at westernrto@advancedenergyunited.org.

West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative

The Pathways Launch Committee is busy working on a straw proposal over the next few weeks based on the options released late last year. You can tune in for more details on this effort at the next stakeholder meeting tomorrow, March 15. The Launch Committee plans to start the process of sharing and getting feedback on the straw proposals from stakeholders in mid-April. Additional discussion is expected at the Spring CREPC-WIRAB meeting in Denver, CO.

Day-Ahead Market Choices Gain Momentum

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) committed to join EDAM, the third entity to do so after PacifiCorp and the Balancing Authority of Northern California (BANC). A new analysis from the Brattle Group shows that NV Energy would gain significantly more economic benefits from participating in CAISO’s EDAM than SPP’s Markets+. NV Energy also referenced its plan to choose a day-ahead market by the end of the year during a Nevada Public Utilities Commission (PUCN) workshop last week. Meanwhile, the Western Area Power Administration’s Desert Southwest Region (DSW) pulled out of the second phase of Markets+ development after determining it would see minimal benefits from participating in Markets+, although it says the benefits from EDAM would also be small.

In contrast, the Northwest Public Power Council (PPC) asked the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to choose Markets+ over EDAM. The PPC's Feb. 23 letter indicates PCC entities doubt the Pathways Initiative will be able to settle the CAISO governance issue in a manner they think is equitable for entities outside California.

New Generator Interconnection Scorecard shows better outcomes in CAISO

A first-of-its-kind scorecard, co-produced by Advanced Energy United alongside Brattle Group, evaluates and grades the seven U.S. regional transmission organizations on their generator interconnection processes. The scorecard shows that interconnection is not going smoothly in any region of the country, but CAISO scores among the highest with "B" rating and did better than SPP, scoring a "C-". A complimentary Transmission Planning & Development Regional Report Card from Grid Strategies in 2023 provided similar grades of transmission planning processes and outcomes among the RTOs and ISOs, with CAISO receiving a "B" and SPP a "C+."

In the News

Utility Dive: Colorado PUC proposes rules for Xcel, Tri-State, Black Hills to join RTO, day-ahead markets

The Colorado PUC released proposed rules for utilities to join an organized wholesale market (day-ahead market or RTO). Among other aspects, the rules require any organized wholesale market to allow Colorado utilities to maintain priority rights to their grid interconnections for resources needed to meet their loads. The proposed rules will be discussed at additional workshops later this spring, with an expected recommended decision in early summer.

RTO Insider: NW Cold Snap Dispute Reflects Divisions over Western Markets

A dispute around the January cold snap that forced Northwest utilities to increase electricity imports to meet surging demand sharply has become a proxy for the broader day-ahead market contest between CAISO and SPP.