The California Energy Commission will hold a workshop to discuss the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative, signaling the state may consider a proposal to alter CAISO’s governance structure to accommodate broader concerns about the ISO’s lack of independence from politics.

The California Energy Commission has updated its energy demand forecast for data centers after receiving revised figures from Pacific Gas and Electric about data center growth.

California regulators voted to keep the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility running, saying the site of a massive gas leak in 2015 remains necessary to maintain reliability and reasonable rates.

The Pathways Step 2 proposal offers a blueprint for divvying up functions between CAISO and the RO that backers envision will provide an independent framework for governing the ISO’s Western markets.

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.

The Inflation Reduction Act and other policies have made the U.S. into one of the most attractive places to invest in clean energy, but completing the energy transition will require additional advances, according to panelists at the Aurora Energy Transition Forum.

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.