BPA, Tucson Electric Power newest to join CAISO’s Western Energy Imbalance Market
Bonneville Power Administration and Tucson Electric Power are the newest participants in the California Independent System Operator’s Western Energy Imbalance Market after formally joining May 3.
WEIM now has 19 participants serving 77% of the demand for electricity in the Western United States, according to a May 3 CAISO statement.
“The Federal Columbia River Power System is a vital source of clean energy that will bring significant resource diversity and transmission capability to the WEIM,” CAISO President and CEO Elliot Mainzer said in the May 3 statement about BPA’s participation.
BPA membership
BPA is a nonprofit federal power marketer that sells carbon-free hydropower from 31 federal dams in the Columbia River Basin and markets the output of the region’s only nuclear plant. BPA delivers nearly a third of the power generated in the Northwest to more than 140 electric utilities, serving millions of Northwest consumers and businesses. It also owns and operates more than 15,000 circuit miles of high-voltage power lines and 261 substations, and provides transmission service to more than 300 customers.
Joining the WEIM is a monumental and meaningful step in the modernization of BPA operations that unlocks a range of benefits, BPA Administrator and CEO John Hairston said in a statement.
“As we explore additional market-based opportunities to maximize the value of our surplus power and the Northwest’s federal transmission system, we will ensure that they are consistent with our statutory authority and further our ability to deliver affordable, reliable energy to our customers,” Hairston said.
