Portland General Electric (PGE) and the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) filed an implementation agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the first step in allowing the Oregon utility to share resources in the western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM).
The western EIM, which includes California’s investor-owned utilities and Warren Buffett-owned PacifiCorp utilities, is expanding quickly. Nevada’s NV Energy will enter as of December 1, 2015, Washington’s Puget Sound Energy and Arizona Public Service will join next year.
CAISO uses its advanced automated market systems to do 5 minute and 15 minute dispatch of the lowest-cost electricity available in its wholesale market to meet participant load serving entities’ needs when supply and demand do not match. The EIM optimizes renewables consumption by making excess generation available to the system that would otherwise be curtailed.
