BPA will be on the hook for nearly $27 million in funding for the next phase of SPP’s Markets+ — and potentially more depending on the market’s final footprint, according to a document SPP filed with FERC.

Public Service Company of Colorado asked the Colorado Public Utilities Commission for permission to join SPP’s Markets+.

The RTO said it has received signed Phase 2 funding agreements from eight interested participants in its proposed day-ahead service offering — including the Bonneville Power Administration.

Tacoma Power has signed an agreement to join SPP’s Markets+, making the Washington utility the second Pacific Northwest entity to commit to participating in the market in the past month.

BPA would have to strike several types of agreements, many of which are complex and could take years to implement, to tackle seams that could arise if BPA joins a day-ahead market, agency staff said during a workshop.

BPA could face high implementation fees and operating costs under both SPP’s Markets+ and CAISO’s EDAM, but exact amounts are in flux.

El Paso Electric says it will join SPP’s regional day-ahead Markets+ service offering in a “strategic move … tailored” to meet expected customer load growth and evolving needs.

Arizona Corporation Commissioner Kevin Thompson said he thinks his state’s four major utilities may have erred in committing to joining SPP’s Markets+ instead of CAISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market.

Arizona regulator Nick Myers, chair of the Markets+ State Committee, is drafting a document as part of SPP's compliance filing that better explains the role Western state commissioners will play in the day-ahead market's development and operations.