BPA should be allowed to decide on a day-ahead market without outside federal interference, a group of Northwest publicly owned utilities that favor SPP’s Markets+ told DOE in a letter.

The New Mexico utility announced its intention to join CAISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market, extending EDAM’s reach farther into the Desert Southwest in its latest victory over SPP’s Markets+.

A polite discussion at a BPA day-ahead market participation workshop ended on a testy note as critics of the staff leaning in favor of SPP’s Markets+ urged the agency to rethink its position and consider once again delaying a market decision.

New findings from a much-anticipated study have “not shifted” BPA's staff recommendation that the agency choose SPP’s Markets+ over CAISO’s — despite results showing greater economic benefits from EDAM.

An SPP executive closely involved with developing Markets+ said recent Brattle Group studies on Western day-ahead markets appear to be aimed more at swaying utilities in favor of CAISO’s EDAM than providing an unbiased assessment.

Markets+ proponents argue that the SPP framework allows more flexibility for integrating greenhouse gas emission reduction programs across various states than CAISO’s EDAM.