SPP expansion brings new market opportunities for Basin Electric

On April 1, Southwest Power Pool (SPP) expanded its service territory into the Western Interconnection, one of three major electrical power grids in North America. This expansion made SPP the first regional transmission organization (RTO) to offer services across two interconnections, broadening operational and market benefits for member organizations.

Basin Electric has been a member of the SPP Integrated Marketplace since October 2015 and is one of the utilities expanding its participation to the Western Interconnection.

"We already operate in SPP's Eastern Interconnection, and we're able to apply much of that experience to the Western Interconnection," Alycia Kramer, director of market analytics and strategy at Basin Electric, said. "Our team is actively building knowledge of the new market areas so we can effectively operate within each area."

This expanded market participation is expected to strengthen reliability and provide Basin Electric with greater flexibility in delivering affordable power to its members.

Kramer noted that preparing for the expansion required years of coordination across the cooperative. "Energy markets are complex," she said. "This was a multi-year effort involving teams from energy markets, resource planning, transmission, operations, legal, IT, and finance. It wouldn't have been successful without the collaboration of multiple teams across the cooperative, from analysis and setting a direction to implementation."

In addition to the April 1 SPP Western Market Expansion, Basin Electric also joined the new Black Hills Balancing Authority and the Public Service Company of Colorado Balancing Authority. Valerie Weigel, Basin Electric's senior vice president of energy markets and Dakota Coal Company operations, said, "I'm very proud of the teams that worked to make Basin's expansion into new market areas possible. The collaboration and willingness to take on complex challenges were critical to achieving this major milestone for Basin Electric."