The California Independent System Operator (ISO) released a final study on the potential effects of creating a multi-state, regional wholesale electric market in the West.

The study claims that customers would save $1.5 billion by 2030 under the expanded market.

Savings are from: (1) savings from reduced capital investments for RPS-related procurement; (2) reduced production, purchase, and sales costs for wholesale electricity; (3) reduced capital investments from regional load diversification; and (4) reduced grid management charges for system and market operations

The study analyzed the bookends for the scope of a regional market: at one end, a regional market that consists only of CAISO and PacifiCorp in 2020; and at the other end, an expanded regional ISO that includes most of the U.S. portion of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council

See the study here

Consumer Watchdog denounced the study as a "snow job" written to justify the use of California ratepayers to build new plants and transmission to allow utilities to profit from exports. Consumer Watchdog said that a regional market, "would once again commoditize electricity, divorce the costs of generation from the needs of ratepayers, and threaten consumers with higher costs to benefit investors."

Tags:
California   California ISO   Deregulation   Wholesale  

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