Advanced Energy Perspectives

For the second time this year, Nevada’s energy leaders are convening to discuss the future of Nevada’s transmission system. Born from bipartisan (and AEE-supported) Senate Bill 448 (2021), the Regional Transmission Coordination (RTC) Task Force is charged with studying issues and policies related to transmission development and regional electricity markets for the Silver State. At the meeting today, the Task Force will hear about several competing efforts to create a more efficient and affordable western grid. There will be presentations from the California Independent System Operator, the Southwest Power Pool, and the Western Power Pool – each vying for Nevada’s attention and consideration. And while the exact contours of the West’s “Grid of the Future” remain to be determined, the benefits of a west-wide power system are becoming increasingly clear.

As the West deals with a record-setting heat wave that is fueling catastrophic droughts and wildfires and is testing the limits of America's aging power grid, our team at AEE is focused on how we can improve grid resilience and connect more clean energy by establishing a regional transmission organization (RTO) to operate the power grid for Western states. Now, we can say with certainty just what the West would gain in savings, jobs, and economic growth - and it’s a lot.

Record-breaking heat waves and drought in the western U.S. are threatening the reliability of electric power, as electricity use is up and hydropower and energy imports from neighboring states are down. In California, Flex Alerts – asking consumers to conserve energy to relieve grid stress – are becoming a regular occurrence. And these weather patterns are no longer unusual: “This is really the new normal,” AEE policy director Leah Rubin Shen recently told Fox 40 of Sacramento. “These weather events are becoming more and more common and more and more frequent.” The energy crisis that results points to the need for a regional transmission organization (RTO) in the west, connected with a more expansive transmission network, to move power – especially renewable energy – where it’s needed, when it’s needed, at lowest cost.

It’s no secret that Fortune 500 companies want more advanced energy. Over the past five years, these companies have signed contracts for more than 24 GW of large-scale renewable energy, pursued thousands of onsite solar installations, and embraced newer technologies like battery storage. The role of organized competitive wholesale markets as enablers of advanced energy procurement by large buyers is, however, a bit of a trade secret. Which is too bad, because policymakers could meet the needs of businesses and accelerate the transition to a cleaner economy all at once by expanding and reforming these markets. Here’s how.