California state lawmakers introduced a much-anticipated bill to implement “Step 2” of the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative, marking a significant step toward the creation of a new independent “regional organization” to oversee governance of CAISO’s markets.

The deadline to submit bills for California’s 2025 session is looming, and backers of the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative expect legislation without unnecessary fluff that will change CAISO’s governance structure and allow a new regional organization to oversee Western energy markets.

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.

The California Energy Commission will hold a workshop to discuss the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative, signaling the state may consider a proposal to alter CAISO’s governance structure to accommodate broader concerns about the ISO’s lack of independence from politics.

The Bonneville Power Administration continued to argue that SPP’s Markets+ is preferable to CAISO’s EDAM, stating in a letter to Seattle City Light that potential benefits of a single West-wide market footprint must be viewed with “significant skepticism."

The West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative still grapples with political uncertainties and governance concerns despite efforts to fix those issues, proponents of SPP’s Markets+ contended.

The Bonneville Power Administration says following through on its $25 million funding commitment to the development of SPP's Markets+ is simply a matter of preserving choice.