Utilities should put customer benefits first when deciding on which Western day-ahead electricity market to join, New Mexico Commissioner Gabriel Aguilera said.

State utility commissioners who launched the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative in July 2023 have praised the initiative’s “Step 2” proposal to create a “regional organization.”

A new study may dispel the notion that New Mexico utilities must follow the day-ahead market choice of their Arizona counterparts in order to realize benefits from market participation.

Utility staff charged with managing real-time operations will be equipped to deal with the seams between two Western day-ahead markets, but the situation will be far from ideal, Western state energy officials heard at the CREPC-WIRAB spring conference.

New Mexico commissioners voted to accept PNM's 2023 integrated resource plan despite concerns about an escalation in costs and resources since the 2020 IRP.

Despite the recent release of results from a study on the two competing day-ahead markets in the West, two New Mexico utilities said they need to conduct more analysis before they make a choice.

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission will dive into a report on the financial implications of a Western day-ahead electricity market.