Ceres applauds proposal for regional energy market in the West

Ceres welcomes the recommendations issued today by the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative in pursuit of a regional wholesale electricity market, a key milestone toward improving grid reliability, affordability, and clean energy deployment while maximizing benefits for large energy customers across western states. 

“Businesses across the West support a regional organized electricity wholesale market for its many benefits — including a more reliable and efficient electric grid, more affordable utility bills, increased transparency, improved resource planning, and greater opportunities to power their operations with the clean energy resources they need to meet their climate goals,” said Geoff Crook, state policy director for the West, Ceres. “Ceres applauds the Pathway Initiative for issuing its recommendations today, and we celebrate them as a sign of serious momentum toward a better energy future across the western states.” 

Today’s proposal outlines three steps to create an independent regional entity covering the largest possible footprint in the West. The first step calls for making substantive changes, within the scope of current law, to the independence of the Western Energy Imbalance Market’s Governing Body. The next step would be to create a new, independent regional organization that could leverage existing market infrastructure to minimize costs. These steps would in turn allow for enabling a full suite of market services. 

Ceres has long supported the establishment of a regional electricity market in the West and has helped organize business advocacy for large commercial, industrial, and institutional energy customers in the region highlighting their design and feature recommendations.  

About Ceres

Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. Through our powerful networks and global collaborations of investors, companies and nonprofits, we drive action and inspire equitable market-based and policy solutions throughout the economy to build a just and sustainable future. For more information, visit ceres.org and follow @CeresNews.