Press Releases

July 27, 2021

SPP board of directors approves western RTO expansion terms and conditions

Southwest Power Pool’s board of directors and Strategic Planning Committee approved the submitted policy-level terms and conditions for regional transmission organization (RTO) expansion in the Western Interconnection during its quarterly joint stakeholder meeting July 27.

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May 12, 2021

Colorado Springs Utilities joins Southwest Power Pool’s western market, will evaluate RTO membership

Colorado Springs Utilities will join Southwest Power Pool’s (SPP) Western Energy Imbalance Service (WEIS) Market in April 2022 and join other western utilities in evaluating membership in SPP’s regional transmission organization (RTO).

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April 9, 2021

Additional utility joins evaluation of RTO expansion to the west; study anticipates $49M in annual savings for current and new members

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Southwest Power Pool (SPP) received a letter from Western Area Power Administration’s (WAPA) Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP) expressing interest in evaluating membership in the organization.

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February 1, 2021

Southwest Power Pool expands offerings to western utilities with launch of new electricity market

Southwest Power Pool (SPP) launched its Western Energy Imbalance Services (WEIS) market at midnight Feb. 1. The real-time balancing market is the latest of SPP’s contract-based Western Energy Services to be implemented in the Western Interconnection and is expected to lower wholesale electricity costs, increase price transparency, and mitigate congestion on the transmission system for market participants.

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December 23, 2020

SPP receives approval of western market tariff

On Dec. 23, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Southwest Power Pool’s (SPP) Western Energy Imbalance Services (WEIS) tariff. The commission’s order paves the way for SPP’s planned launch of the real-time balancing market on Feb. 1, 2021. It comes after SPP entered into a period of parallel operations with its market participants in early December, during which participants continue testing and training in the WEIS market’s production environment.

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November 12, 2020

SPP and stakeholders will consider RTO expansion to the west; study anticipates $49M in annual savings for current and new members

Little Rock, Ark. — Southwest Power Pool (SPP) has received letters from several western utilities committing to evaluate membership in the organization. An SPP Brattle study found that the move would be mutually beneficial and produce $49 million a year in savings. Additionally, SPP anticipates its wholesale electricity market, resource adequacy program and other regionalized services can help western members achieve renewable-energy goals, reinforce system reliability and leverage new opportunities to buy, sell and trade power.

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September 1, 2020

SPP’s role in western reliability continues to grow with addition of new customers in four states

Southwest Power Pool’s western reliability coordination service will expand in 2021 with the addition of eight new generating resources managed by Gridforce Energy Management in Washington, Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico. The agreement with Gridforce comes as SPP finishes its first year ensuring reliability on behalf of customers in the Western Interconnection.

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August 10, 2020

Northwest Power Pool hires Southwest Power Pool to aid in resource adequacy program development

PORTLAND, OR – Northwest Power Pool (NWPP) has hired Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (SPP) to act as the Program Developer in its effort to develop a resource adequacy program for its member utilities.

In this role, SPP will work with the NWPP and its participating member utilities to expand and refine the preliminary program design into a comprehensive resource adequacy program.

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February 21, 2020

SPP files WEIS Tariff with FERC

On Feb. 21, 2020, SPP filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) a tariff that defines rates, terms and conditions for the Western Energy Imbalance Services (WEIS) market. The WEIS Tariff defines the market’s rules and obligations for market participants and for SPP as the market operator. The tariff includes a market participant agreement effective on the date each market participant begins participating in WEIS. SPP will administer the WEIS Tariff separate from its Open Access Transmission Tariff.

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December 12, 2019

SPP’s western market gains two new participants

Two more utilities will be participants of Southwest Power Pool’s Western Energy Imbalance Service (WEIS) Market when it launches in February 2021. The Wyoming Municipal Power Agency (WMPA) and Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN) have announced they are joining SPP’s new contract service that will provide a real-time balancing market in the Western Interconnection.

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