To ensure a cost-effective energy transition, stakeholders must approach transmission planning holistically and avoid piecemeal investments, panelists argued during the NARUC Annual Meeting.
The New Mexico utility announced its intention to join CAISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market, extending EDAM’s reach farther into the Desert Southwest in its latest victory over SPP’s Markets+.
Utilities should put customer benefits first when deciding on which Western day-ahead electricity market to join, New Mexico Commissioner Gabriel Aguilera said.
An SPP executive closely involved with developing Markets+ said recent Brattle Group studies on Western day-ahead markets appear to be aimed more at swaying utilities in favor of CAISO’s EDAM than providing an unbiased assessment.
Markets+ proponents argue that the SPP framework allows more flexibility for integrating greenhouse gas emission reduction programs across various states than CAISO’s EDAM.
FERC Order 1920 eventually may provide a structure for long-term, interregional transmission planning, but its anticipated yearslong implementation could mean states will have to lead in planning nearer-term transmission needs, according to a report from the American Council on Renewable Energy and The Brattle Group.
The study comparing key features of CAISO’s EDAM and SPP’s Markets+ contains “several material misstatements of facts” and overlooks evidence “directly contrary to its conclusions,” Powerex contends.
BPA would earn $65 million in annual benefits from joining CAISO’s EDAM but face $83 million in increased yearly costs from participating in SPP’s Markets+, according to a new Brattle study.
Unlocking the full potential of Quebec hydropower to balance renewables through the Northeast will require major efforts to overcome barriers to transmission planning, according to speakers at a webinar led by the Acadia Center.
The white paper by The Brattle Group offers a point-by-point comparison of CAISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market and SPP’s Markets+ that leans in favor of EDAM but stops short of endorsing either market.
