The California Independent System Operator (ISO) welcomed today’s announcements by Idaho Power and PacifiCorp to receive Reliability Coordinator (RC) services from the ISO.
Their announcements came after Balancing Authority of Northern California (BANC) recently committed to receive ISO RC services.
“These commitments by entities to take the ISO’s RC services reinforce the vision of a robust and unified RC organization, one that could eventually stretch throughout the western United States, Canada, and Mexico,” said Steve Berberich, ISO President and CEO. “We understand the trust these entities are placing in our operations, and we are committed to engaging stakeholders moving forward to form durable RC operations to serve the West.”
The ISO announced in January that it will withdraw from Peak Reliability Coordinator by September 1, 2019, and form its own RC to serve the ISO and other entities in the Western Interconnection. Since then, the ISO has engaged with interested balancing authorities and transmission operators throughout the interconnection.
ISO completed a proposal on its RC service rate design, terms, and conditons, which was approved by the ISO’s Board of Governors and will be filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on August 31, 2018.
The announcements to join ISO RC come in advance of a September 4, 2018 deadline from the Western Electric Coordinating Council (WECC), requesting entities provide their plan to obtain RC services. The ISO plans to launch the new services by July 2019.
PacifiCorp, headquartered in Portland, OR, serves roughly 1.9 million electricity customers in six states. Idaho Power, based in Boise, ID, serves more than a half million customers spanning 24,000 square miles in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon.
