The Bonneville Power Administration’s first day-ahead markets workshop since issuing the draft policy stating its intention to join SPP’s Markets+ left little opportunity for critics to probe agency officials about the decision.

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.”

Former BPA Administrators collaborated on a public letter distributed in the Pacific Northwest about the “tremendous risk being created” in the region by workforce reductions at the federal agency.

BPA will be on the hook for nearly $27 million in funding for the next phase of SPP’s Markets+ — and potentially more depending on the market’s final footprint, according to a document SPP filed with FERC.

The language for the proposed bill to implement “Step 2” of the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative stipulates the conditions under which CAISO and California utilities can participate in energy markets governed by an independent regional organization.

The deadline to submit bills for California’s 2025 session is looming, and backers of the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative expect legislation without unnecessary fluff that will change CAISO’s governance structure and allow a new regional organization to oversee Western energy markets.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed an executive order to create a team that will explore the impact of data center growth on the Evergreen State.

BPA would have to strike several types of agreements, many of which are complex and could take years to implement, to tackle seams that could arise if BPA joins a day-ahead market, agency staff said during a workshop.