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.”

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.

BPA could face high implementation fees and operating costs under both SPP’s Markets+ and CAISO’s EDAM, but exact amounts are in flux.

The Bonneville Power Administration tamped down expectations that it is all in on SPP’s Markets+, clarifying in a recent letter to lawmakers representing Oregon and Washington that it’s still weighing the pros and cons of joining a day-ahead market.

The Bonneville Power Administration continued to argue that SPP’s Markets+ is preferable to CAISO’s EDAM, stating in a letter to Seattle City Light that potential benefits of a single West-wide market footprint must be viewed with “significant skepticism."