Increased discussion of a Western RTO is being driven by clean-energy mandates and state laws requiring transmission owners to join an organized market.

Panelists at a FERC technical conference on energy and ancillary services markets agreed that rules should be changed to incent new resource types.

CAISO paused its WEIM EDAM effort last year but renewed it Wednesday amid a growing push for greater Western regionalization and market coordination.

PG&E de-energized power lines in California as high winds and drought raised the risk of wildfires, but it was able to keep its latest PSPS more limited.

An Oregon committee discussed how a Western RTO would likely take shape for reasons much different from those that motivated the other organized markets.

The California PUC began investigating the safety practices of gas and electric utilities under its jurisdiction to head off disasters.

Major Western utilities plan to discuss coordinated market services and the possible formation of an organized market in an exploratory group.

The CEC updated its midterm reliability analysis for 2022-2026, concluding California has enough capacity without adding fossil fuels.

Distributed energy resources, electrification and just wholesale compensation for both dominated two panels during the virtual North America Smart Energy Week.