The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) has signed an implementation agreement with Xcel Energy-Colorado, which paves the way for its participation in the CAISO Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) in 2022.
The agreement also provides for participation of three other utilities: Black Hills Energy Colorado Electric Colorado Springs Utilities, and Platte River Power Authority.
The four utilities currently share resources and balance demand for electricity during peak periods through a Joint Dispatch Agreement (JDA).
These utilities launched a study last year to determine which market, the Western Energy Imbalance Service proposed by the Southwest Power Pool or CAISO’s Western EIM, would provide greater benefits to customers.
The study concluded that the Western EIM, as the larger of the two markets, offers greater potential to lower production costs because of the size of its market footprint and the diverse resources within the Western EIM territory. The Western EIM also offers lower administrative costs and is exploring adding day-ahead market services, which could help participants to make wider use of renewable energy resources.
During the transition period, the CAISO will coordinate with the JDA partners to provide resource schedules, load forecasts, and outage reporting directly to the ISO. Settlement documentation for each of the entities load and resources will be developed by the CAISO for each of the JDA partners. The CAISO also plans to conduct a stakeholder process to develop the tariff modifications to make these provisions available to other entities.
With the addition of Xcel Energy - Colorado, the Western EIM will consist of 21 balancing areas and represent 82% of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council’s total load by 2022.
In addition to the CAISO, the Western EIM’s active participants include PacifiCorp, NV Energy, Arizona Public Service, Puget Sound Energy, Portland General Electric, Idaho Power, Powerex, Balancing Authority of Northern California (BANC) Phase 1, Seattle City Light, and Salt River Project.
Over the next two years, the Western EIM is scheduled to expand with the additioof the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, NorthWestern Energy, Turlock Irrigation District, Public Service Company of New Mexico, and BANC Phase 2 in 2021, and the addition of Tucson Electric Power, Avista, Tacoma Power, Bonneville Power Administration, and Xcel Energy - Colorado in 2022.
Wyoming, Neb. public power entities join SPP Western market
The Wyoming Municipal Energy Agency (WMPA) and Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN) will be participants of Southwest Power Pool’s Western Energy Imbalance Service (WEIS) Market when it launches, which is planned for February 2021, SPP said in December.
WMPA is the wholesale electricity provider for 8 public power communities in Wyoming. Created in 1981, MEAN provides cost-based power supply, transmission and related services to 69 participating communities in four states: Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska and Wyoming.
Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, and the Western Area Power Administration previously announced their decisions to join the WEIS.
When the market goes live in 2021, if approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, SPP will centrally dispatch energy from market participants to meet demand throughout the region every five minutes.
