California’s grid operator on Friday activated a new regional electricity market, a major milestone in the yearslong push to expand energy trading across the West.
What happened: The California Independent System Operator launched its new Extended Day-Ahead Market early Friday morning. For the first time, California’s investor-owned utilities and the sprawling Northwestern utility PacifiCorp are now able to trade electricity on the regional market.
The new market connects entities that deliver electricity to residents and businesses with power producers looking to sell energy each day. That makes it easier for utilities to adjust their power supply based on the latest forecasts.
CAISO President Elliot Mainzer called the launch “a major milestone for the Western grid” at a press conference. “A broader market has been proven to make it easier to move electricity to where it’s needed most at the lowest cost,” he said.
