Wyoming’s Largest Utility Joins a New Western Day Ahead Market for Electricity

Wyoming’s largest utility today began participating in a new “Extended Day Ahead Market” for electricity on the Western grid, a potentially landmark shift in the way energy is sold in the state that could lower rates as energy costs soar. The new market, which went live Friday, gives Rocky Mountain Power, a subsidiary of PacifiCorp, and other utilities and power producers across the West access to more buyers and sellers. It also allows them to meet forecasted demand with electricity produced elsewhere in the region. The new system runs on the network of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which manages the flow of electricity in the Golden State. But it will be overseen by an independent board of electricity experts from across the western U.S. PacifiCorp began trading in the market Thursday night after a period of simulations to fix bugs and assess how the expanded market’s prices, demand and supply all interacted. Thursday’s purchases were delivered Friday, CAISO and the company announced on a press call. PacifiCorp will be “the first participant alongside CAISO” in the market, according to Omar Granados, a spokesperson for the utility company. “We expect even greater reliability and affordability benefits for customers as