By Robert Mullin The newly established Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) governing body kicked off its first meeting last week by electing its leadership. CAISO’s Board of Governors appointed the five-member body in June, selecting one each from five industry sectors: EIM entities, ISO-participating transmission owners, power suppliers and marketers,...

By Robert Mullin Southern California’s winter grid operations are unlikely to be compromised by natural gas pipeline restrictions stemming from the shutdown of Aliso Canyon, even in the event of a once-in-a-decade cold snap, according to an interagency assessment released Monday. Still, tight gas supplies could leave the region vulnerable...

By Robert Mullin CAISO is proposing to amend its Tariff to expand the definition of a “load-serving entity” to include any organization granted authority to serve its own electricity needs. The Tariff currently recognizes as LSEs only those entities that sell electricity or serve load to end users, a description...

By Robert Mullin California lawmakers last week passed a bill to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. The State Assembly approved the measure on a 48-31 vote, largely along party lines. Two Democrats opposed the bill, with one abstaining, while just one Republican...

By Robert Mullin FERC last week approved rule changes to improve the ability of energy storage resources to participate in CAISO’s markets (ER16-1735). The changes will allow “non-generator resources” to submit their state-of-charge as a bid parameter in the day-ahead market and manage their own state-of-charge and energy limits for...

By Robert Mullin NV Energy and PacifiCorp returned nearly $95,000 to generation customers after FERC revoked market-based rate authority for Berkshire Hathaway Energy affiliates in four neighboring Western balancing authority areas and imposed cost-based rates. NV Energy and PacifiCorp refunded $95,000 to generation customers in the PACE, PACW, IPCO, and...

By Robert Mullin California must significantly upgrade its transmission system in order to meet its 2030 target of generating 50% of its electricity from renewable resources, according to an interagency study. “We have either the seventh or eighth largest economy in the world — we need a grid to match...

By Robert Mullin Critics of a proposal to lower CAISO’s energy market bid floor last week questioned the need for the measure and its efficacy in solving the ISO’s increasing intervals of oversupply. The ISO contends that reducing the bid floor from -$150/MWh to -$300/MWh will provide the market with...

By Robert Mullin CAISO met with stakeholders last week to refine a proposal for allocating costs of new transmission facilities in an expanded balancing authority (BA) that would include areas of the West outside California. The current CAISO footprint and PacifiCorp's balancing areas would represent separate sub-regions under the ISO's...

By Robert Mullin Pacific Gas and Electric filed with California regulators last week to shut down the state’s last remaining nuclear power plant by the end of 2025. The application also asks the state Public Utilities Commission to approve a joint proposal that the utility forged with environmental, labor and...