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.

SPP attempted to allay concerns about its ability to dispatch power among various Western regions during a webinar intended to illustrate its experience with seams management.

The change of heart comes as participants in the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative work to build the framework for an independent RTO.

State regulators have launched a process to develop “guiding principles” regarding participation in a regional day-ahead market or RTO.

Utility regulators from Oregon and California discussed their proposal for a new independent RTO covering the entire West for the first time publicly.

Members of the California Assembly Utilities & Energy passed a bill to give CAISO independent governance but uniformly expressed their dislike of it as written.

SPP Markets+ stakeholders kicked off the development phase of a proposed “RTO-light” service in the West, heating up the race with CAISO.

FERC commissioners weighed the pros and cons of Western regionalization, which one commissioner likened to dating, at the CREPC-WIRAB spring meeting in Nevada.

Panelists at the CREPC-WIRAB spring meeting argued over whether the West would benefit more from a day-ahead market run by CAISO or with another run by SPP.