Six Western U.S. senators came out in support of the California legislation needed to transform CAISO’s market into an independent regional energy market, saying in a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom that the bill promises “improved grid reliability and significant energy cost savings.”
Democratic U.S. Senators from Oregon, Washington and California issued the letter in support of SB 540, urging Newsom to help get the bill passed before the Golden State’s legislative session ends Sept. 12.
A heavily amended version of the bill passed the state Senate on a 36-0 vote in early July but stalled in the Assembly after many backers pulled their support in protest of the amendments.
While one of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Josh Becker (D), recently expressed confidence about passage of a suitable version of the bill this session, supporters are under pressure to ensure a stripped-down version of the legislation is printed before midnight Sept. 9 to comply with a rule requiring an amended bill to be in print for 72 hours before lawmakers take a vote on it. (See Pathways Bill Will Make It to Newsom’s Desk, Author Says.)
The bill would implement the plans of the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative, a multistate effort to create an independent “regional organization” (RO) to govern CAISO’s Western Energy Imbalance Market and Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM), the latter set to launch in 2026.
“In California, Oregon and Washington, broad participation in an expanded regional power market will result in improved grid reliability and significant energy cost savings for our constituents,” the senators’ letter said.
Sens. Jeffrey Merkley and Ron Wyden of Oregon, Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington, and Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla of California signed the letter.
The lawmakers emphasized many of the arguments EDAM supporters have made, including claims that the day-ahead market option will result in expanded access to generation resources across the West, improved grid resiliency and affordable electricity.
They also noted that the onset of new load from data centers, onshoring manufacturing and increased electrification “is straining both the grid and our constituents’ pocketbooks.”
“In tandem, consumer electric bills have soared — a result of rising demand, increasing wildfire risk and the misguided, impractical policies of the Trump administration,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is now being reported that around 80 million Americans are sacrificing basic expenses like food or medicine just to keep the lights on. Expanded regional power markets would allow for better utilization of existing generation, helping to meet growing demand while lowering energy costs.”
“We urge you to take this extraordinary opportunity to jump-start the expansion of regional markets by enabling the CAISO, through legislation, to partner with an independent RO, thereby improving grid reliability and electric bill affordability for all West coast states as soon as possible,” the lawmakers stated.
In tandem with CAISO’s EDAM, SPP is developing a competing day-ahead market for the West — Markets+.
One of the largest participants in Markets+ is the Bonneville Power Administration, which manages the output from 31 hydroelectric dams in the federal Columbia River Power System, while also operating more than 15,000 miles of transmission lines — about 75% of the Northwest grid.
In the lead-up to BPA’s day-ahead market choice, the U.S. senators from Oregon and Washington issued multiple letters, including one in December 2024 saying BPA had failed to make a financial case for joining Markets+. (See BPA Has not Made ‘Business Case’ for Markets+, NW Senators Say.)
After BPA issued its final record of decision in favor of Markets+ in May, Wyden and Merkley told RTO Insider that the agency had rushed its decision, expressing disappointment. (See BPA Chooses Markets+ over EDAM.)
Robert Mullin contributed to this article.
