Nevada regulators on Friday gave their state’s largest utility the go-ahead to join a new Western electricity market that California’s grid operator is launching.
What happened: The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada voted to approve NV Energy’s application to join the California Independent System Operator’s nascent Extended Day-Ahead Market.
Why it matters: It’s a significant victory for boosters of a Westwide electricity market anchored by California. The CAISO has been competing for participants with the Arkansas-based Southwest Power Pool, which is setting up its own regional market, called Markets+.
Kathleen Staks, president of the formation board of the Regional Organization for Western Energy, a new nonprofit group being set up to oversee the EDAM, said in an interview that the NV Energy development is “very significant.” It’s simpler for an electricity market to have geographic continuity, and that makes NV Energy a valuable asset, according to Staks.
