The volume of data center load growth in the U.S. will depend on how things play out in the broader economy, a Google representative told a gathering of Western state energy officials.

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.

Utilities should put customer benefits first when deciding on which Western day-ahead electricity market to join, New Mexico Commissioner Gabriel Aguilera said.

The Western Resource Adequacy Program’s key stakeholder body approved a plan that would postpone the start of its penalty phase by one year, to summer 2027.

Utility staff charged with managing real-time operations will be equipped to deal with the seams between two Western day-ahead markets, but the situation will be far from ideal, Western state energy officials heard at the CREPC-WIRAB spring conference.

Backers of the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative say they want to move quickly on first part of their proposed plan to shift CAISO’s governance to an independent entity.

Western Resource Adequacy Program participants still strongly support the program despite recently appealing to delay its “binding” penalty phase by one year due to concerns about capacity shortages, WPP's Sarah Edmonds said.

The CREPC-WIRAB spring meeting focused on regional markets and transmission planning in the West, including FERC's recent transmission planning NOPR.