This bill summary was last updated January 25, 2025.
Electricity markets are important because they allow electric power producers and utilities to efficiently allocate power, helping to lower both consumer costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The most highly developed US markets are those directed by Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs), which consolidate electricity operations and planning in many parts of the East, Midwest and South.
The Pacific Northwest is not part of an RTO, which hampers the region’s ability to efficiently plan the expansion of electric power production and transmission needed to meet increasing demand. Presently, when utilities such as Portland General Electric (PGE) need more power, they enter into bilateral agreements with other utilities or power producers. They also participate in a centralized real-time market, known as the Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM), that allows supply and demand bids to be matched over very short 5 or 15 minute intervals. WEIM is run by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which oversees transmission planning and operations in that state.
Most experts think that an additional “day ahead” market would be helpful. Here, an authority like CAISO forecasts electricity demand one day in advance, giving power suppliers and grid operators time to plan for anticipated changes. This has worked well elsewhere in the country.
The issue prompting this bill is that both CAISO and another group, an RTO known as the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), have each proposed to operate a day-ahead market in the Pacific Northwest Region. Some utilities such as PGE favor CAISO, but the federally operated Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) – which operates dozens of hydroelectric dams and owns a sizable part of the transmission infrastructure – has indicated a preference for the SPP. A key issue prompting BPA’s choice is that CAISO is controlled by California’s state government.
This bill would involve the Oregon Legislature in this decision process. If it passes, a letter would be sent by the Legislature to the US Congress, secretary of the federal Department of Energy, and BPA administrator, asking that they urge BPA to only join a day-ahead electricity market that moves the Pacific Northwest region toward net economic benefits and is beneficial for energy consumers. This letter mirrors a similar request recently made of BPA by all four Oregon and Washington Senators. The new letter would also request that these groups urge BPA to (i) increase its use of Grid Enhancing Technologies (GETs); (ii) take on more low-cost federal debt to enhance buildout of the transmission infrastructure; (iii) follow a recent order by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requiring long-term planning for regional transmission; (iv) increase transparency on construction costs.