Wider West Committee

WPTFs Wider West Committee (2WC) provides information and advocacy for electricity market issues in the “wider West" outside of California. The 2WC is active in advocating for broader Western energy markets, including the expansion of the Energy Imbalance Market (EIM), day-ahead market opportunities (including the Extended Day-Ahead Market and Markets+), and other regional market opportunities. The 2WC also follows important developments as they arise in a multitude of venues including the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), select western utility filings at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, notable utility stakeholder processes, and key industry meetings.

The 2WC has been active and successful in various Western energy market developments. For instance, the 2WC was critical in persuading the first EIM Entity (PacifiCorp) to implement EIM policies that offered fairer access to the new market and more equitable treatment to all potential participants. The 2WC’s advocacy resulted in transmission policies that allow independent power producers to offer into the EIM without the unduly burdensome requirements to purchase transmission service which were originally proposed. Today, the 2WC continues to actively participate in market formation and expansion issues, including (in coordination with WPTF’s CAISO and Carbon & Clean Energy Committees) the Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM) forum. The 2WC is also monitoring and participating in the process to design the Southwest Power Pool “Markets+” day-ahead market concept. In both of these market design forums, the 2WC is particularly focused on how the potential new markets will interact with the Open Access Transmission Tariffs, and contract path transmission service as well as how the designs can ensure broad participation and access to the markets.

Other market development and reliability-based activities are also covered by the committee, including the Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP) and Regional Transmission Organization (RTO)-formation/expansion activities. The Committee also monitors key activities at the WECC, providing updates on the most relevant activities and reports coming out of WECC. The 2WC has also been active in interconnection process modifications for large utilities in the West and will engage on future interconnection changes as more utilities seek to address queue delays and streamline or further modify their interconnection processes. Given the breadth of electricity policy activities across the West, the 2WC’s participation and advocacy is guided, not only by WPTF’s mission, but also by the interests of our committee participants.

Contact Person
Caitlin Liotiris is a Principal at Energy Strategies, where she has more than 15 years of experience supporting a wide range of clients in the electricity sector, including supporting market analyses and transmission development activities. Caitlin coordinates WPTF’s Wider West Committee (2WC), which engages on market, policy, reliability and technical developments in the “wider West,” generally outside of California. The 2WC is active in advocating for broader western energy markets, which includes active participation in the Western Power Pool’s Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP), and in coordination with the CAISO Committee on the EIM and EDAM, especially as they relate to tariff provisions and impacts outside of the CAISO. Caitlin brings her analytical, regulatory, policy and strategic expertise to bear in supporting 2WC members by providing information and advocacy on a wide variety of issues affecting the electricity industry.

Caitlin Liotiris
Energy Strategies
Office: 801-355-4365
Mobile: 801-891-3081
ccollins@energystrat.com