Outgoing FERC Chair Mark Christie and former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter both emphasized that the West controls the future of the Western interconnection, not Washington.
The panel of SPP board members overseeing the development of Markets+has approved the governance transition plan for the construction phase of the day-ahead market.
FERC rejected a request by four Western utilities to rehear its approval of the “transmission contributors” option in the SPP Markets+ tariff but provided the utilities clarification on the boundaries of that provision.
The study, conducted by Aurora Energy Research, found EDAM could provide the Denver-based utility $11.2 million more in average annual savings from 2028 to 2040 compared with Markets+, rising to $13.2 million through 2060.
SPP is preparing participants for the next phase of Markets+ development, when stakeholders will build the day-ahead market's systems, processes and procedures.
BPA will not see further staffing cuts, CEO John Hairston said during the agency’s quarterly business review, adding that he hopes to strengthen the workforce when the government lifts federal hiring freezes.
Though BPA removed any uncertainty by selecting SPP’s Markets+ over CAISO’s EDAM, the debate over whether BPA made the right choice likely will heat up as the West confronts a split into two major markets.
Puget Sound Energy said it is joining Markets+, marking another win for SPP shortly after the Bonneville Power Administration issued its final market policy in favor of the day-ahead market.
