Energy Imbalance Markets in WECC

Since the 1990's there have been a number of efforts to develop an energy imbalance market to provide the benefits of real-time balancing and congestion management to balancing authority areas in the WECC outside California. The challenges in balancing intermittent resource output has given renewed impetus to these efforts since 2011. The current focus of these efforts is on designs similar to the initial implementation of competitive electricity markets in the MISO and SPP which also initially retained the role of the individual balancing authority areas.

The first step in the extention of real-time balancing markets to WECC regions outside California was the California ISO's implemention of the EIM with PacifiCorp on November 1, 2014. Since then, many large and small balancing areas within the WECC have joined the Western EIM, and additional balancing areas have announced plans to join in coming years.

The papers in this section discuss issues relating to the coordination of spot energy markets among independent balancing areas as well as the challenges of coordinating spot energy markets across states with differing CO2 emission pricing designs.

James Bushnell, Scott M. Harvey, and Benjamin F. Hobbs, "Opinion on Extended Day-Ahead Market," Market Surveillance Committee of the California ISO, January 27. 2023.

James Bushnell, Scott M. Harvey, and Benjamin F. Hobbs, "Opinion on Energy Imbalance Market Resource Sufficiency Evaluation Enhancements, Phase 2," Market Surveillance Committee of the California ISO, December 6, 2022.

Scott M. Harvey, "EDAM GHG Design: Resource Shuffling and the GHG Supply Stack," California ISO-Western EIM MSC Meeting, October 21, 2022.

Scott Harvey "Offer Price Mitigation in the Western EIM," California ISO, Market Surveillance Committee, Folsom CA, August 3, 2018 (revised).

William W. Hogan, "An Efficient Western Energy Imbalance market with Conflicting Carbon Policies," September 28, 2017.

Scott M. Harvey, "The Western EIM, Energy Markets and Trading," Northwest Public Power Association, 2016 Power Supply Conference, Portland, OR, August 2, 2016.

Scott M. Harvey, "Review of EIM Operation," Infocast: California Energy Summit, San Francisco, CA, May 11, 2015.

Scott M. Harvey, "Discussion on Energy Imbalance Market Pricing: Ramp Constraints and Load Balance Penalties in Electricity Markets," California ISO Market Surveillance Committee meeting, April 17, 2015.

James Bushnell, Scott M. Harvey, Benjamin F. Hobbs, Shmuel S. Oren, "Opinion on LMPM Implementation in the Energy Imbalance Market," Market Surveillance Committee of the California ISO, July 7, 2014.

Scott M. Harvey, "Full Network Model Development," Folsom California, January 16, 2014.

James Bushnell, Scott M. Harvey, Benjamin F. Hobbs, Shmuel S. Oren, "Opinion on Initial Implementation of the Energy Imbalance Market and Related Market Design Changes," October 30, 2013.

Scott M. Harvey, "EIM Design Issues," California ISO Market Surveillance Committee meeting, July 2, 2013, Folsom California.