SPP reached a key milepost in its Western efforts when FERC conditionally approved its tariff for Markets+, a highly anticipated decision likely to ramp up the competition with CAISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market.

An SPP executive closely involved with developing Markets+ said recent Brattle Group studies on Western day-ahead markets appear to be aimed more at swaying utilities in favor of CAISO’s EDAM than providing an unbiased assessment.