SDCP staff outline benefits and timing of Western extended day-ahead market (EDAM)

Janine Chimera, director of portfolio management, briefed the board on Sept. 24 about the Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM), an expansion of regional coordination intended to extend day-ahead scheduling across additional Western balancing authorities.

Chimera reviewed the evolution from the Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM), launched in 2014, to EDAM and explained EDAM’s goal of expanding day-ahead coordination to unlock additional efficiency and reliability gains. She said EDAM launched in May with the California ISO and Pacific Northwest participants and that additional areas, including Portland General Electric, Northern California balancing authorities and NV Energy, have agreements to join. Chimera noted that broader participation and a more neutral governance model, authorized in state legislation, aim to encourage more joining members and are part of a multi-year transition.

Chimera described three core benefits EDAM is designed to deliver: affordability through wider-area optimization and reduced curtailments, reliability through improved coordination between operators, and sustainability by enabling better integration of variable renewable resources. She said the ultimate value to SDCP depends on the size and diversity of jurisdictions that join and that the new market should help protect the agency’s renewable investments by improving dispatch opportunities for batteries and reducing curtailments.

Board members asked about governance concerns and whether a broader governance structure implies a loss of local control. Chimera said the market constructs are designed to preserve local decision-making over procurement, reliability and transmission planning while enabling greater regional optimization. The presentation was received and filed.