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.

The Western Area Power Administration said its Sierra Nevada region will pursue “final negotiations” to join CAISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market, notching another — if expected — victory for the ISO in its competition with SPP’s Markets+.  

A representative of one of the staunchest opponents of past efforts to transform CAISO into an RTO said his labor union plans to sponsor the legislation needed to implement the “Step 2” proposal of the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative.

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.

Key backers of the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative told state energy officials they’re confident California lawmakers next year will pass a bill needed to relax state oversight on CAISO’s markets and establish the "RO" envisioned by the initiative.

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.

First-quarter electricity prices in CAISO markets were down sharply from the same period in 2023, despite sharp spikes during the January cold snap in the Pacific Northwest, the ISO’s Department of Market Monitoring said.

FERC Commissioner David Rosner told members of the American Clean Power Association that one of his main goals is to successfully manage the energy industry’s transition.