California senators heard arguments for and against the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative, with some lawmakers voicing concerns about guardrails against market manipulation and what the effort means for the state's autonomy to set its own policies.

The Bonneville Power Administration announced it intends to join SPP’s Markets+, saying in its draft policy that the day-ahead market “is the best long-term strategic direction for Bonneville, its customers and the Northwest.”

Proponents of SPP’s Markets+ argued in their last “issue alert” that the day-ahead market option provides a robust footprint with “exceptional generation and load diversity” across the region while also claiming recent warnings about its seam with CAISO’s EDAM are overblown.

The Bonneville Power Administration should remain in CAISO’s WEIM and hold off on joining a day-ahead market, Seattle City Light and other Northwest parties urged in a letter sent to BPA CEO John Hairston.

The federal government has put on hold nearly $1 million in funding toward the development of a new independent Western RO to oversee CAISO’s WEIM and EDAM, the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative’s Launch Committee said.

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.