The partial solar eclipse of Oct. 14, 2023, knocked 4,500 MW of solar generation off the CAISO grid — about 1,000 MW more than the reduction seen during the August 2017 total eclipse.
Future historians of the U.S. electricity sector one day might conclude the development of an RTO in the West hinged on two separate but interrelated events occurring on one day in July 2023.
The group working to establish a single Western RTO heard summaries of five potential options for a new governing body that could be independent of CAISO.
CAISO's Department of Market Monitoring explained that self-scheduled exports to support stressful conditions led to the declaration of emergency alerts in July.
CAISO staff and stakeholders again dove into the details of the ISO’s resource adequacy construct, including potentially creating year-ahead requirements and refining the existing capacity procurement mechanism.
CAISO’s net energy exports have increased sharply this year, with imports being displaced by increased output from California’s hydroelectric and natural gas resources.
CAISO is moving quickly to gain approval for a proposed transmission line that would allow California to meet targets for tapping Idaho wind resources while helping both states bolster their resource adequacy.
CAISO and its stakeholders are still in the early stages of grappling with how to redesign the ISO’s resource adequacy program to account for rapidly changing conditions on the grid.
