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.

The Pathways Step 2 proposal offers a blueprint for divvying up functions between CAISO and the RO that backers envision will provide an independent framework for governing the ISO’s Western markets.

BPA's biggest risks in joining SPP’s Markets+ come down to footprint size and the limited transmission connectivity between the Northwest and Southwest entities most inclined to join the market, agency executives said.

The Western Area Power Administration said its Sierra Nevada region will pursue “final negotiations” to join CAISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market, notching another — if expected — victory for the ISO in its competition with SPP’s Markets+.  

A representative of one of the staunchest opponents of past efforts to transform CAISO into an RTO said his labor union plans to sponsor the legislation needed to implement the “Step 2” proposal of the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative.