CAISO California Independent System Operator Cor : Western EIM Records $68.86 Million in Fourth-Quarter Gross Benefits

News Release

For immediate release | January 29, 2021	Media Hotline  [e-mail]
For more information, contact:
Vonette Fontaine |[e-mail]
Anne Gonzales |[e-mail]

Western EIM records $68.86 million in fourth-quarter gross benefits

The real-time market closes out 2020 reaching $1.18 billion since 2014

FOLSOM, Calif. - The Western Energy Imbalance Market's (EIM) 2020 fourth-quarter benefits results pushed the West's real-time energy market's cumulative benefits to $1.18 billion.

Operated by the California Independent System Operator (ISO), the Western EIM's 2020 fourth-quarter gross economic benefits achieved $68.86 million.

"These strong results demonstrate the value of the Western EIM to market participants and consumers in California and across the West," said ISO President and CEO Elliot Mainzer. "I look forward to the ISO's ongoing efforts to increase the economic, environmental, and reliability benefits of the EIM through the continued growth in participants, and future market enhancements."

The fourth-quarter economic benefits by participant is:

	(millions $)
Arizona Public Service	$	8.70
BANC	$	5.42
California ISO	$	7.54
Idaho Power	$	6.56
NV Energy	$	5.72
PacifiCorp	$	10.90
Portland General Electric	$	6.73
Powerex	$	0.91
Puget Sound Energy	$	3.73
Seattle City Light	$	2.14
Salt River Project	$	10.51
Total	$	68.86

As the amount of renewable energy on the grid increases, there are times when output from variable resources exceeds the demand for electricity. To balance the grid, those resources are often curtailed. During the previous quarter, the regional collaboration of the EIM participants to transfer energy across the West to serve demand led to a 39,956 megawatt hour (MWh) reduction in curtailments. Since 2014, the EIM participants have used 1.3 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable energy that would have otherwise been curtailed.

Because of the increased generation of carbon-free electricity, the cumulative CO2 emissions have been reduced by 586,553 metric tons, or the equivalent of taking 119,115 passenger cars off the road for one year.

The market will experience significant growth in April with the addition of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Public Service Company of New Mexico, NorthWestern Energy, Turlock Irrigation District, and the Balancing Authority of Northern California (BANC) Phase 2 as participants. BANC Phase 2 consists of Redding Electric Utility, Roseville Electric Utility, City of Shasta Lake, Modesto Irrigation District, Trinity Public Utilities District, and the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) - Sierra Nevada Region.

By 2022, the ISO estimates more than 82 percent of Western Electric Coordinating Council (WECC) will participate in the Western EIM.

To learn more about the market, benefits, participants, initiatives, and upcoming meetings visit the Western EIMwebsite.

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The California Independent System Operator (ISO) is a nonprofit public benefit corporation dedicated, with its partners, to continuous

improvement and secure operation of a reliable grid operated for the benefit of consumers. It provides comprehensive grid planning, open and

nondiscriminatory access to one of the largest networks of high-voltage transmission power lines in the world, and operates a $9 billion

competitive electricity market. Recognizing the importance of the global climate challenge, the ISO is at the forefront of integrating renewable

power and advanced technologies that will help provide a sustainable energy future efficiently and cleanly.

The Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) Governing Body is the governing authority designed by regional stakeholders with delegated

authority from the ISO Board of Governors to resolve rules specific to participation in the Western EIM.