Federal regulators approved the Southwest Power Pool’s push to create a real-time and day-ahead electricity market for western states, a major step that could transform how utilities from Arizona to the Pacific Northwest buy and sell power.
The unanimous approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday gives the Arkansas-based grid operator the green light to expand its territory, which currently covers the central U.S., west of the Rocky Mountains. That sets the stage for the new market, known as Markets+, to go live in the second quarter of 2027.
FERC Chair Willie Phillips said Thursday that the new market was a “good step in the right direction for consumers” and would help improve “reliability, affordability and sustainability” in the West.
“I believe this proposal, now approved, checks all three boxes,” Phillips told reporters.