BPA approved a $700 million plan to increase the output of the Pacific Northwest’s only commercial nuclear plant by 162 MW by 2031.

Though BPA removed any uncertainty by selecting SPP’s Markets+ over CAISO’s EDAM, the debate over whether BPA made the right choice likely will heat up as the West confronts a split into two major markets.

Puget Sound Energy said it is joining Markets+, marking another win for SPP shortly after the Bonneville Power Administration issued its final market policy in favor of the day-ahead market.

Bonneville's final record of decision will come as little surprise to those who’ve been following market developments in the West.

Following BPA’s pause on certain transmission planning processes, the agency’s customers say it might be time to consider creating a regional transmission organization or imposing stricter requirements to tackle the “exponential growth” of transmission service requests.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright testified about the Trump administration's budget request and took flak mostly from Democrats on his department's review of previously authorized spending.

FERC’s approval of SPP’s Markets+ funding agreement and its recovery mechanism came as backers of the Western centralized day-ahead market were meeting with the snow-capped Rockies as a backdrop.