For more information, visit or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.ĪPS serves more than 1.3 million homes and businesses in 11 of Arizona’s 15 counties, and is a leader in delivering affordable, clean, and reliable energy in the Southwest. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources at competitive prices. Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) provides the energy that powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states. WMEG’s discussions will not impact participation in or evaluation of those markets in the short-term, as the group is focused on long-term market solutions. Many of the companies in the group are currently participating in, or preparing to join the California Independent System Operator’s Western Energy Imbalance Market, or have announced plans to evaluate energy imbalance services. “Partnering with our neighboring electricity providers and exploring potential models to deliver on that promise is something we are excited to be a part of.” “PacifiCorp has long believed that further connecting the West with new transmission, clean energy resources and market efficiencies will unlock greater savings, reliability and improved environmental outcomes for our customers across the six states we proudly serve,” said Stefan Bird, President and CEO of Pacific Power, a unit of PacifiCorp.
“By exploring opportunities to greater diversify and maximize Western energy resources, we will help bring cost savings, improved reliability and carbon reduction benefits to not only Nevada, but to the entire region.” “Today’s announcement represents the next step toward achieving Nevada’s vision for a clean energy economy,” said Doug Cannon, NV Energy president and chief executive officer. “We believe that a Western energy market is key to transforming the electricity system throughout the West, integrating more renewables onto the system, while reducing costs and maintaining reliability.” “We are excited to join with the other companies to explore creating new ways of sharing resources to better serve our customers with affordable and reliable power," said Alice Jackson, president of Xcel Energy-Colorado. That includes incorporating lessons learned from existing regional markets as well as other efforts across the West. The group, which began discussions this summer, includes Xcel Energy-Colorado (PSCo), Arizona Public Service, Black Hills Energy, Idaho Power, NV Energy, Inc., PacifiCorp, Platte River Power Authority, Portland General Electric, Puget Sound Energy, Salt River Project, Seattle City Light, and Tucson Electric Power.ĭiscussions are in the early stages and are focused on developing long-term solutions to improve market efficiencies in the West. The group hopes to identify market solutions that can help achieve carbon reduction goals while supporting reliable, affordable service for customers. Members of the informal Western Markets Exploratory Group (WMEG) are exploring the potential for a staged approach to new market services, including day-ahead energy sales, transmission system expansion, and other power supply and grid solutions consistent with existing state regulations. The company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.Several electric providers that serve millions of customers in the Western United States announced plans today to evaluate regional market solutions together. The All Others segment engages in steam, appliance repair services, nonutility real estate activities, processing solid waste into refuse-derived fuel and investments in rental housing projects that qualify for low-income housing tax credits. The Regulated Natural Gas Utility segment transports, stores, and distributes natural gas primarily in portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Michigan and Colorado. It also includes commodity trading operations. In addition, this segment includes sales for resale and provides wholesale transmission service to various entities in the United States. The Regulated Electric Utility segment generates, transmits and distributes electricity primarily in portions of generates, transmits and distributes electricity in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Texas and New Mexico. It operates through the following three segments: Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility and All Others. operates as a holding company, which engages in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity.