BPA issues draft decision to join the EIM

The Bonneville Power Administration released a draft decision on July 29 to join the Western Energy Imbalance Market. The draft decision follows an extensive EIM assessment and public process over the last three years where BPA worked closely with customers and constituents to fully assess the impacts and make necessary policy decisions that enable the agency’s participation.

In the newly issued Draft EIM Close-out Letter, Administrator John Hairston proposes joining the EIM in March 2022 and does not see any barriers or concerns preventing BPA from joining the market. However, he will not make a final decision until after reviewing all input from the public in the ongoing final leg of the decision process, Phase V: Close-out.

“Market opportunities such as the EIM have the potential to both reduce our costs through greater efficiencies and increase our revenues by providing a new way to market surplus power,” said Hairston. “The proposed decision comes after years of thorough analysis and a robust public process. I appreciate all of the input from customers and constituents, as well as the hard work of BPA staff. I look forward to reading comments and considering this final input before making this important decision.”

To address customer concern about a limited comment period, BPA posted the draft letter four days in advance of the Aug. 2 target date in order to give customers more time for review. BPA is accepting comments on its Draft EIM Close-out Letter until Aug. 23. The agency will make its final determination on whether to join the EIM in September and expects to release the Final EIM Close-out Letter on Sept. 28.

For more background information, see the EIM webpage. BPA also has several grid modernization projects that support its readiness to join the EIM. Learn more about the portfolio of projects and see all that is happening with grid modernization on the Grid Modernization webpage.