In June of 2006, the CAISO initiated the Information Products and Services (IP&S) Project to identify new and improved ways of to serve information to stakeholders and leverage technology. These offerings will: (1) increase the transparency of CAISO markets and operations; and (2) provide information to facilitate effective client decision-making. To ensure that CAISO stakeholder needs drive the development of these products and services, the CAISO is involving stakeholders in each stage of the IP&S Project. The Project consists of the following phases:
• Needs Assessment: Identification and prioritization of stakeholder needs;
• Initial Plan: Initial CAISO plan and schedule to address high-priority stakeholder needs; and
• Final Plan: Final CAISO plan and schedule to address high-priority stakeholder needs, incorporating stakeholder comments on the Initial Plan.
In the future, the CAISO expects to conduct this type of information services review and development planning as a regular annual process
Outcome The IP&S project resulted in CAISO completion of a long list of system and process enhancements requested by Market Participants (please see IP&S Project Quarter 4, 2007 Final Status Report for details). The CAISO finalized the project in January 2008, and will initiate a new project to address changing stakeholder information needs after MRTU is well established, no sooner than six months after implementation.