Leaders of four large utilities reflected on the evolution of Western markets and looked toward the future at CAISO’s Stakeholder Symposium, emphasizing a shift toward more collaboration as large industry players choose which day-ahead market to join.
NV Energy’s decision to join CAISO's Extended Day-Ahead Market rather than SPP's Markets+ was based partly on concerns that participation in the latter would “lead to substantial expenditures with limited results,” a representative of the Nevada utility said.
The Bonneville Power Administration’s commitment to fund the second phase of SPP’s Markets+ won’t be swayed by the departure of the executive leading the agency’s day-ahead market initiative, an official told the Markets+ Participants Executive Committee.
A group of Southwest electric cooperatives explore ways to motivate the Western Area Power Administration’s Desert Southwest Region to join CAISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market.
Utilities should put customer benefits first when deciding on which Western day-ahead electricity market to join, New Mexico Commissioner Gabriel Aguilera said.
Western regulators on the Markets+ State Committee probed an SPP Market Monitoring Unit official on how the department plans to address implementation of the new day-ahead market.
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.
The study comparing key features of CAISO’s EDAM and SPP’s Markets+ contains “several material misstatements of facts” and overlooks evidence “directly contrary to its conclusions,” Powerex contends.
BPA would earn $65 million in annual benefits from joining CAISO’s EDAM but face $83 million in increased yearly costs from participating in SPP’s Markets+, according to a new Brattle study.
