CAISO’s Western Energy Imbalance Market saw an increase in battery storage capacity and coal use in 2025 compared with 2024, although the total load across the market did not increase over the year.

It’s an “all-hands-on-deck” moment for CAISO to open its extended day-ahead market in less than two months, CAISO’s CEO Elliot Mainzer said at a Western Energy Market Board of Governors meeting.

Conversations remained cordial despite the ongoing competition between CAISO and SPP in the west as the RTOs’ top executives took the stage at Yes Energy’s annual EMPOWER conference.

Black Hills Energy and PowerWatch are to join CAISO’s Western Energy Imbalance Market, extending the market’s geographical reach into South Dakota, the ISO announced.

The California Public Utilities Commission ordered 6 GW of new capacity to meet forecast data center and electric vehicle loads — among other new demand — in the state.

CAISO released a set of guiding principles for upcoming discussions about seams between the ISO, SPP and other entities as the Extended Day-Ahead Market nears its opening in May.

FERC has rescinded the West-wide wholesale electricity price cap mechanism it implemented in response to widespread price manipulation during the Western energy crisis of 2000/01, saying development of new markets and expanded authority has led to improved monitoring capabilities.

California Public Utilities Commission President Alice Reynolds is leaving the CPUC and joining CAISO’s Board of Governors after more than four years at the helm of the state’s utility regulator.

CAISO’s Western Energy Imbalance Market surpassed $8 billion in cumulative economic benefits since its 2014 launch after providing participants with $415.65 million in gross benefits in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to an ISO report.

The Regional Organization of Western Energy selected Western Freedom Executive Director Kathleen Staks as its interim president, while regulatory attorney Lisa Tormoen Hickey will assume the role of interim secretary.