The Bonneville Power Administration says following through on its $25 million funding commitment to the development of SPP's Markets+ is simply a matter of preserving choice.

The Pathways Step 2 proposal offers a blueprint for divvying up functions between CAISO and the RO that backers envision will provide an independent framework for governing the ISO’s Western markets.

BPA's biggest risks in joining SPP’s Markets+ come down to footprint size and the limited transmission connectivity between the Northwest and Southwest entities most inclined to join the market, agency executives said.

The Western Area Power Administration said its Sierra Nevada region will pursue “final negotiations” to join CAISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market, notching another — if expected — victory for the ISO in its competition with SPP’s Markets+.  

A representative of one of the staunchest opponents of past efforts to transform CAISO into an RTO said his labor union plans to sponsor the legislation needed to implement the “Step 2” proposal of the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative.

Key backers of the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative told state energy officials they’re confident California lawmakers next year will pass a bill needed to relax state oversight on CAISO’s markets and establish the "RO" envisioned by the initiative.

The West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative has revised its “regional organization” stakeholder process proposal to expand the size of a key stakeholder committee and boost representation for some groups.

State utility commissioners who launched the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative in July 2023 have praised the initiative’s “Step 2” proposal to create a “regional organization.”

The CAISO Board of Governors and Western Energy Markets Governing Body passed two proposals that address different issues within Western markets.