Calpine, Eugene Water & Electric Board, Portland General Electric and Public Service Company of New Mexico have joined NV Energy in leaving the Western Resource Adequacy Program, while Idaho Power signaled its continued commitment, reflecting the complexity surrounding the emergence of day-ahead markets in the West.

PNM, PGE, EWEB and Calpine announced their intent to withdraw from the Western Power Pool’s WRAP in four separate letters posted on WPP’s website Oct. 29. NV Energy informed the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada about its plans earlier in 2025, but its formal withdrawal notice was published on WPP’s website Oct. 27. (See NV Energy to Withdraw from WRAP.)

PNM, PGE and EWEB each cited different reasons for leaving WRAP, while Calpine offered no details about its departure.

PNM’s Senior Vice President Laurie Williams said the decision to withdraw followed “careful consideration of several factors, most notably the emergence of two day-ahead markets in the West: the CAISO Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM) and SPP Markets+ (M+).”

All load-serving entities in Markets+ must participate in WRAP. By contrast, EDAM won’t require participation in an organized resource adequacy program. Instead, it will use a resource sufficiency evaluation to ensure participants’ RA going into the day-ahead and real-time time frames to meet their own needs without depending on others.

But some EDAM participants have discussed launching a separate RA program. NV Energy and the Imperial Irrigation District, both of which have committed to joining EDAM, have said they are discussing the potential for a new Western RA program. (See EDAM Participants Exploring Potential New Western RA Program.)

PNM’s withdrawal notice provided fodder for this idea, with Williams writing that the utility “believes it is prudent to pursue resource adequacy programs aligned with each market, consistent with practices in other ISO/RTOs.”

Williams commended WPP’s efforts to address concerns with day-ahead markets, planning reserve margins and deficiency charges. She noted that WPP has created task forces aimed at tackling those issues but said “these initiatives remain preliminary and require further development, and as such, PNM is unable to make a binding commitment to the program in its current state.”

“PNM remains committed to resource adequacy in the West and will continue to engage with WRAP and participate in [Resource Adequacy Participants Committee] during our transition over the next two years,” Williams wrote. “We remain confident that the foundational work of WRAP entities will support future efforts to coordinate across evolving market structures.”

PGE CEO Maria Pope said the utility would exit WRAP before the Oct. 31 deadline, citing “continued uncertainty regarding program design, technical readiness, and alignment with evolving market structures.”

Just like the other participants that submitted their exit notices, Pope expressed appreciation for WPP’s efforts, saying PGE “remains committed to working collaboratively with the Western Power Pool and regional partners to strengthen WRAP. We remain a member in good standing of the WRAP in a non-binding status with all the privileges and requirements of a member.”

NV Energy kept its formal withdrawal notice brief, stating it “appreciates the collaborative efforts of the WRAP community and looks forward to future opportunities for regional coordination.”

NV Energy announced its plans to leave WRAP in filings with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada. The utility cited five “critical issues,” including “steep penalties for capacity deficiencies identified seven months before the compliance season,” and potential disadvantages for EDAM participants.

Calpine’s withdrawal letter was similarly brief, with Senior Vice President Neil Bresnan providing no explanation for the move. The independent power producer operates about 27 GW of resources across the U.S., with most of its Western plants concentrated in California, along with one combined cycle gas plant each in Arizona and Oregon.

‘Strong Supporter’

Of the five entities notifying WPP of their withdrawal from the WRAP, EWEB is possibly the only one seriously leaving the door open for future participation.

In its letter, the Oregon-based municipal utility, which sits within the Bonneville Power Administration’s balancing authority area, said its decision “is based on our need to align future participation in the Binding Program phase with the start of our next Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Power and Transmission contracts, which take effect October 2028,” noting that BPA serves as the utility’s “primary energy/transmission supplier.”

“This notice reflects EWEB’s specific operational and contractual circumstances and should not be interpreted as a criticism of WRAP or its objectives,” EWEB CEO Frank Lawson wrote in the letter. “EWEB remains a strong supporter of the development of regional resource adequacy standards and recognizes the vital role WRAP plays in advancing reliability across the Western Interconnection. We value the opportunity to have participated in the program’s formation and remain committed to advocating for WRAP’s continued success.”

Lawson said the utility would seek to meet with WPP staff “to discuss the appropriate steps, timing and obligations associated with our participation during the notice and withdrawal period” and to ascertain “available options for fulfilling any residual obligations under the tariff during this time.”

EWEB spokesperson Aaron Orlowski told RTO Insider the views set out in the utility’s letter “weren’t just words” but genuinely reflected its position on the WRAP, including its continued support for the program. He said the financial risks of participating in the program’s penalty phase ahead of securing the BPA contracts prevented EWEB from committing at this point, but that it looked forward to joining in the future.

‘Continued Refinement’

Idaho Power was the clear standout in announcing its intention to remain in the WRAP, especially given that the Boise-based utility has signaled it is leaning toward joining EDAM rather than Markets+ — although it may be better positioned than most to avoid penalties. (See WRAP Participants Find Value in Program’s Nonbinding Phase.)

In its letter, CEO Lisa Grow lauded the “dedication and hard work” of WPP staff and stakeholders in developing the WRAP but pointed to “several key areas that warrant continued attention and improvement,” including issues related to the “ongoing volatility and variability” of planning reserve margins, day-ahead markets and deficiency penalties.

On the evolving markets in the West, Grow wrote that “[i]t is essential that WRAP continues to evolve in a way that equitably accommodates participants across different market structures — or those not in a market at all — to ensure broad and sustained participation.”

Grow noted the utility supports the WRAP’s recently approved deficiency charge deferral resolution and the “continued refinement” of deficiency charge provisions.

“This provision is especially critical for entities like Idaho Power that are making substantial investments in new generation and transmission infrastructure over the next five years,” she wrote.

Grow said that while Idaho Power is prepared for the first binding season, the utility thinks “it will be important to evaluate program and entity readiness between now and then,” pointing out that the WRAP tariff allows for potential delay in binding operations.

Looming Deadline

The withdrawal notices come as an Oct. 31 deadline looms for participants to commit to the WRAP’s first binding phase in winter 2027/28. Of the 11 members that so far have committed to the program’s first binding season, all but one are expected to join Markets+.

Carrie Simpson, SPP vice president of markets, told RTO Insider that “Markets+ continues to move forward with strong participant commitment. While some entities have provided notice of their intent to exit WRAP, it does not impact the viability of Markets+.”

The recent withdrawal notices come as other WRAP participants have expressed some concerns with the program. For example, PacifiCorp requested additional time before committing to the program’s binding phase. (See PacifiCorp Asks WPP to Delay WRAP ‘Binding’ Phase Commitment Date.)

PacifiCorp and PGE are slated to become EDAM’s first participants in 2026.

In response letters to PacifiCorp and PGE, WPP Board Chair Bill Drummond said delaying the binding phase “would have a detrimental effect on reliability for the region, including undermining confidence in WRAP data and modeling, limiting program compliance and preventing us from unlocking the full benefits of the program.”