Colorado’s investor-owned utilities must compare available alternatives when asking regulators for approval to participate in an RTO or ISO, but not to join a day-ahead market.

The West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative applied for the money in January in response to a DOE Funding Opportunity Announcement, seeking two tranches of $400,000 each to be disbursed over two years to help support the effort build an independent Western RTO.

Backers of an initiative to create an independent Western RTO that builds on CAISO’s markets have floated a plan to untangle the snag that’s hung up past efforts to “regionalize” the ISO: a lack of independent governance.

Nevada regulators approved NV Energy’s plan to convert its last coal-fired power plant to natural gas, while also allowing the company to move forward with a $1.5 billion, 400-MW solar-plus-storage project.

SPP met a major milestone in its Western efforts as a Markets+ committee approved the day-ahead market’s proposed governing document.

When it comes to choosing between Western day-ahead market offerings, who else is participating in the market is a key consideration, a representative of a New Mexico utility said.

While some stakeholders are ‘charmed’ by SPP’s market initiative effort, others urge need for deeper tie to CAISO.