Offshore wind big part of ISO’s 2023-2024 Transmission Plan

The California Independent System Operator (ISO) has posted a draft of its 2023-2024 Transmission Plan, recommending 26 new projects ...

An Energy Matters Conversation on Control Center improvements

Strategic Objective 1 in the California ISO’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan is to “Reliably and efficiently integrate new resources by proactively ...

Board Chair Jan Schori talks about her career; ...

When Jan Schori brings down the gavel at her first meeting as Chair of the California ISO Board of Governors this week, ...

The great transformation: Designing the grid ...

California ISO executives and staff members are frequently asked to address energy conferences across the U.S. and ...

WEIM Governing Body has two positions to fill ...

In 2024, the Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM) Nominating Committee will reconvene and lead the stakeholder effort to …

California ISO 2023 Year in Review

Last year, following extensive engagement with our partners and stakeholders, the California ISO published its 2022-2026 Strategic …

Enhancing resource adequacy

California, on its way to the reliable carbon-free electrical grid called for in state energy policy, has made notable strides related to ...

Inside the October eclipse: Listen to the experts discuss its impact on the grid

Ever wonder how a solar eclipse affects the electrical grid now that California uses so much solar energy to power the system?

Working with stakeholders toward a “significantly reformed interconnection process”

Since working with stakeholders to identify the best ways to address overheated interconnection queues in 2022 and 2023, the ...

October 14 eclipse: what we’re doing to prepare

Rapid growth in grid-scale and distributed energy resources have transformed the Western electricity market in recent years.

Evolution of the WEIM

At the ISO’s August 30 forum on an Extended-Day Ahead Market, Elliot Mainzer, the California …

Debut of Energy Matters Conversations, a new ISO communications vehicle

When we launched the California Independent System Operator’s Energy Matters Blog in June of 2021, we wanted to provide new ...

EDAM gains more momentum at recent Las Vegas forum

On August 30, about 240 people from across the West attended the California Independent System Operator’s (ISO) Extended ...

A big step forward on transmission infrastructure

As anyone in the electricity business knows, planning, siting, permitting, financing and building transmission infrastructure ...

Storage surpasses 5,000 MW on the CAISO grid

California has ambitious climate targets in an effort to decarbonize its electric grid and combat climate change. To help reach these …

Working with stakeholders to find the right improvements on interconnections

Last December, when the California ISO signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the state’s two principal energy entities ...

Ready for summer? We spent the winter getting prepared

During even the coldest and wettest days of winter, the California Independent System Operator (ISO) was intently focused on the …

2023 Summer Loads and Resources Assessment has been posted

The California Independent System Operator has released its 2023 Summer Loads and Resources Assessment, which shows …

Control Center improvement & modernization are well underway

As the complexity of the electrical grid continues to increase with a rapidly changing resource mix …

ISO forecasters honored for work on probabilistic solar forecasting

Two California ISO forecasters, Amber Motley and Rebecca Webb, have won a 2022 EPRI Technology Transfer Award ...

Draft 2022-2023 Transmission Plan posted

Today, the California Independent System Operator (ISO) posted a draft of its 2022-2023 Transmission Plan. The plan reflects a more  ...

A better way to address interconnections

With the state’s vastly accelerated pace of new resources that need to be connected to the grid and the more than doubling of interconnection requests in recent years ...

G-PST and the value in global efforts supporting low-emission solutions

Many people know that one of the California Independent System Operator’s primary responsibilities …

An agreement regarding transmission and resource planning and implementation

Alice Reynolds, president of the California Public Utilities Commission; David Hochschild, chair of the California Energy Commission …

Ashutosh Bhagwat: An Appreciation

The ISO’s Board of Governors and WEIM Governing Body meetings last week presented …

EDAM progress “is very encouraging”

The California Independent System Operator’s (ISO) proposal for an extended day-ahead market (EDAM) in the West gained ...

Storage initiative will improve reliability

After nearly two years of work by many people at the California ISO and constructive input from stakeholders …

Reflections on a collaborative and productive year

The past year was another fast-paced, productive time for all of us at the California Independent System Operator.

CAISO joins cross-collaborative initiative to strengthen power sector’s approach to...

I am very excited that the California Independent System Operator (ISO) will be participating in a new, three-year global research initiative ...

A conversation about transmission

“If you like [renewable] generation, you need to love transmission.” Joanne Serina ...

ISO’s 2022 Stakeholder Symposium showcases the interconnected West

The ISO’s 2022 Stakeholder Symposium held November 9-10 in downtown Sacramento got off to an inspired start with remarks ...

The California ISO implements suite of transparency enhancements

One of the pillars of the ISO’s latest strategic plan is to “foster broad stakeholder trust through transparency, collaboration and mutually ...

Interconnection queue reforms going to ISO Board

Much of the impetus for the ISO’s initiative to improve its interconnection queue process can be found in the numbers ...

California ISO Stakeholder Symposium is fast approaching

The California ISO Stakeholder Symposium is fast approaching and is set for Nov. 9 and 10 at the SAFE Credit Union Convention ...

Revised EDAM straw proposal continues to progress

Our next big milestone is approaching in our work to develop an extended day-ahead market (EDAM) for electricity throughout ...

Reliability and California’s clean energy future

Mark Rothleder, the ISO’s chief operating officer, participated virtually on August 9 in the state Senate’s Energy, Utilities and ...

Offshore wind could boost California’s transition towards clean-energy future

In May of 2021, the vision for California’s clean-energy future came more sharply into focus when Gov. Gavin Newsom and the …

Next phase in EDAM stakeholder initiative

Working with hundreds of stakeholders in California and across the West, our Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM) team has made ...

BOSR and RIF – Important contributors to the WEIM’s success

Diversity has always been pivotal to the success of the WEIM and that success requires diversity of participants, perspectives, and resources.

“A golden age of energy storage”

Just a few years ago, the notion that battery storage would play a key role in California’s energy future was seen by many as ...

Improved clarity on available capacity

On a hot summer day in California, the system operators in the California ISO control room were preparing and reviewing …

Reliability and the growing importance of forecasting

When we say forecasting is an important part of our work at the California Independent System Operator, that is just one ...

Our roadmap for the next five years - The ISO’s new Strategic Plan

The most effective organizations have clear, easy to understand strategic plans articulating what they hope to achieve ...

Background on new grid emergency notifications

Seamless and clear communications are never more important than during an emergency and the California Independent System ...

The benefits of an expanded Western electricity market

Win-win solutions can be hard to come by but the latest news about the Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM) topping ...

Heather Zichal of American Clean Power Association discusses grid resiliency ...

Recently, Heather Zichal, CEO of the American Clean Power Association (ACP), had an informal discussion with Quentin Foster ...

2021-22 Transmission Plan approved by ISO Board

Each year, the California ISO conducts its transmission planning process to identify potential system limitations ...

Our evolving grid

It has been talked about so long that it’s sometimes easy to forget California’s transition to a carbon-free electric grid is still ...

New video on historic growth of battery storage ...

Battery storage played an important role in helping to enhance grid resiliency during the summer of 2021, and the California ISO has ...

Storage was the compelling story of 2021, according to our newly published Annual Stats

The clean energy transition is gathering momentum, and nowhere is that more evident than the California ISO’s ...

Thinking more proactively about the grid’s long-term needs - Our first-ever 20-Year ...

Every year, the California Independent System Operator conducts its annual transmission analysis, providing an update ...

Locating solar and storage together – a value proposition

The California Independent System Operator (ISO) is working to help meet the state’s clean-energy goals to generate electricity ...

EDAM working groups off to a positive start on key market issues

The ISO’s Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM) initiative is one of our key priorities for 2022 and beyond ...

The CAISO in 2022: perspectives from a long board tenure

Hello. My name is Ash Bhagwat, and on January 1, I became the new Chair of the California Independent System Operator’s ...

A look back and ahead – ISO CEO Report for ...

For my end-of-the-year CEO Report to the California ISO Board and the Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) Governing ...

ISO return to building now set for mid-March

After careful consideration, the California ISO has decided to push back its plans for employees to return to work in ISO ..

Another side of the battery storage story

California has been receiving a lot of positive attention in the media and elsewhere for the large amount of lithium-ion ...

New ways of measuring demand response being explored

When electricity demand outstrips the capacity of all the power plants and imported energy...

Next steps on EDAM

With momentum building across the West for greater regional coordination, it was exciting to formally begin our ...

Good news on the transmission front

In my role as the California Independent System Operator’s vice president for Transmission Planning ...

CAISO President to speak at international climate change conference

The California Independent System Operator (ISO) will be represented at the United Nations Climate Change Conference that began ...

Storage Forum to explore Future Energy Markets

With storage development growing rapidly in California and across the country, the California ISO is hosting the Storage Forum ...

A positive and constructive EDAM forum

On behalf of the entire ISO, I want to say how much I appreciated the engaging dialogue and spirit of collaboration ...

Developing an Extended Day-Ahead Market framework

The agenda for our upcoming Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM) Forum is set and I could not be more excited about the important ...

Women in Leadership speaker series is a hit

When we began to think about scheduling the first monthly California ISO “Women in Leadership” speaker series” for our employees ...

Joanne Serina moves into new VP position for Stakeholder Engagement and Customer ...

Joanne Serina, who has served as the California Independent System Operator’s executive director of Customer Service and ...

Storage: An intersection between reliability today and climate goals of tomorrow

Summer months are particularly challenging for electrical grid operators in the West. Climate change ...

The reasons for Flex Alerts

When the California ISO notifies the public that it plans to call a Flex Alert, it is signaling an operational call for assistance because ...

ISO Interns: Future energy leaders get real-life experience

Whether it was writing legal briefs, seeing renewable energy integration in action, or helping develop emergency procedures, ...

Grid update at Capitol includes sharp focus on transmission

California ISO President and CEO Elliot Mainzer testified on Wednesday Aug. 25, 2021 at the Oversight hearing of the ...

"An important milestone” – enhanced shared governance approved by ISO and Western EIM

An enhanced governance framework was approved on Friday, August 20 by the California ISO Board of Governors and the ...

Vision and tradition at new storage site

One of the more exciting recent energy related developments in California has been the addition of so much battery storage capacity being dispatched onto the state’s electrical grid. Last ...

Improving the resource sufficiency evaluation

Conditions on the electrical grid are dynamic, a situation that creates additional challenges and opportunities for the ISO and its ...

First summer report on market performance released

The California Independent System Operator (ISO) has released the first of four monthly reports assessing how its markets perform ...

Changing conditions require extraordinary action

ISO President and CEO Elliot Mainzer participated in a media availability on Friday, July 30 to discuss Governor Newsom’s ...

EIM quarterly results set new record; 15 balancing areas share over $132 million in benefits

The Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) has released its second quarter benefits report for 2021 on Monday, August 2, ...

Stakeholder call on 20-Year Transmission Outlook set for Tuesday, July 27

When the ISO kicked off its new 20-Year Transmission Outlook planning process in May it signaled a growing recognition ...

Collaboration highlighted at stakeholder workshop on accessing the CAISO grid

Elliot Mainzer, president and chief executive officer of the California Independent System Operator, and Marybel Batjer, president of the California Public Utilities ...

Event with SDG&E stresses conservation and storage for grid reliability

Conservation and energy storage were the focus in San Diego this week when the ISO’s Elliot Mainzer and Caroline Winn, San Diego Gas and Electric’s chief executive officer ...

The CPUC and CEC request the ISO procure additional energy; early extreme heat events ...

Due to the extraordinary early heat events in California and across the West and several other factors, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Energy ...

ISO statement on important FERC decision

Today (Friday, June 25) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the ISO’s modification to its load, exports, and wheeling-through priorities.

Opinion: California electricity conservation needed this summer

Commentary by ISO President and CEO Elliot Mainzer, published Sunday June 27, 2021 in the East Bay Times.

As California transitions to much greater use of renewable energy resources like solar and wind power, and new battery technology to store that power, the state’s electricity grid remains vulnerable to widespread heatwaves like the one that hit much of the Western United States last summer.

Early heat shows we need to be prepared for anything; big thanks to consumers and other ISO...

By Elliot Mainzer, President and Chief Executive Officer

Triple-digit heat across California and much of the West last week underscored the new volatility and uncertainty we are facing when it...

Montana added to list of states served by EIM

The ISO’s Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) and NorthWestern Energy, which serves customers in ...

Flex Alerts called for Thursday and Friday, June 17 and 18

The first Flex Alert of the year on Thursday, June 17 was extended into Friday as ISO grid ...

Welcome to New ISO Blog

With summer almost here, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our new blog, Energy Matters, which debuts in this space today ...

Sen. Alex Padilla Visits ISO, Briefed on Summer Readiness

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla came back to California June 1 to draw attention to infrastructure negotiations in Washington ...

Californians Do Conserve When Asked – Flex Alerts Are Vital

Flex Alerts work. They have been shown to help California conserve energy when the Independent System Operator anticipates ...