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2 additional members joining US Western Energy Imbalance Market

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2 additional members joining US Western Energy Imbalance Market

The Balancing Authority of Northern California and the Western Area Power Administration-Sierra Nevada region have signed agreements to join the Western Energy Imbalance Market, expanding the membership of the real-time wholesale power trading market.

As part of the pacts, both BANC and the WAPA region will enter the energy imbalance market, or EIM, in April 2021, the California ISO announced Sept. 5.

"We are delighted to partner with more BANC members including WAPA's Sierra Nevada region that recognize the Western EIM delivers meaningful results," California ISO President and CEO Steve Berberich said in a news release. "A transparent and open market, the Western EIM provides resource efficiencies while also providing environmental benefits to its
customers."

The development comes after the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, the nation's sixth-largest municipal utility, on April 3 became the first BANC member to participate in the EIM. That, BANC said in a separate news release, was the first phase of its members' participation in the EIM. BANC's new agreement, its phase two, with the EIM includes the Modesto Irrigation District and WAPA-Sierra Nevada region. The cities of Redding and Roseville also will participate in the EIM once they receive final government body approval.

In late August, the Modesto Irrigation District's board of directors unanimously voted to have the district's electric power service participate in the EIM by 2021.

WAPA, a federal government power marketing administration, noted that its decision to participate in the EIM applies only to its Sierra Nevada region, which covers Northern California and portions of Nevada. The federal government agency has four other regions.

"Joining the western EIM will help [Sierra Nevada] ensure the reliable delivery of our hydropower while adjusting to a changing energy mix," WAPA Senior Vice President and Sierra Nevada Regional Manager Sonja Anderson said. "Given our footprint within the BANC balancing authority area, the western EIM is the best fit for [Sierra Nevada]."

The Western EIM employs state-of-the-art technology to automatically locate and deliver the lowest-cost available resources to meet real-time energy demand across eight Western states. Since its launch in 2014, the EIM has generated $736 million in benefits for its nine participating entities while cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 403,546 metric tons, the California ISO said.