In this Episode
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Host: Todd Snitchler, President and CEO, Electric Power Supply Association
Guest: Kathleen Staks, Executive Director, Western Freedom
Building the Western Power Market
The American West is entering a new era of electricity demand and grid challenges, making regional coordination increasingly important to reliability, affordability, and investment.
Electricity demand is growing across the region as data centers, manufacturing, electrification, and population growth create new load. At the same time, drought, wildfires, extreme weather, and a changing resource mix are putting new pressure on the Western power system.
In this episode of Energy Solutions, EPSA President and CEO Todd Snitchler welcomes Kathleen Staks, Executive Director of Western Freedom, for a conversation about the evolution of Western electricity markets and what greater regional coordination could mean for the region’s energy future.
Kathleen draws on her experience across the public and private sectors, including roles with the Colorado Energy Office and Colorado Department of Natural Resources, to explain how she came to focus on electricity markets and regional coordination in the West.
The discussion explores the benefits of the Western Energy Imbalance Market and the Extended Day-Ahead Market, and why a larger regional footprint can help make better use of the West’s diverse resources. From Wyoming’s abundant energy resources to the major population centers of Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, Kathleen explains why the ability to move electricity across state lines is increasingly important as demand grows and weather conditions become more challenging.
A Grid Built By the West, for the West
Todd and Kathleen also discuss the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative and the effort to establish an independent governance structure “built by the West, for the West.” Kathleen explains why independent governance can help maintain stakeholder confidence, strengthen regional participation, and create a foundation for additional market services and efficiencies.
The conversation also examines the West’s incremental approach to market development. Rather than adopting a single, top-down model, the region has moved step by step, expanding real-time and day-ahead market participation while building trust among states, utilities, generators, large customers, and other stakeholders.
As Kathleen emphasizes, markets are not a solution by themselves—but they can be an important tool for making the broader electricity system work more efficiently. Greater coordination can help connect resources with customers, reduce wasted energy, improve reliability, and create stronger incentives for investment and innovation. Competitive markets can play an important role in helping the West adapt to a rapidly changing power system.
The conversation closes with a look at the future of Western energy, including the importance of bipartisan collaboration, the opportunity to think more regionally about large loads like data centers, the growing affordability challenges facing utilities and consumers, and why Kathleen remains optimistic that the West can build a more coordinated and efficient electricity system.
Topics include:
- The evolution of Western electricity markets and what “energy freedom” means for the West
- Drought, hydropower constraints, wildfire, and extreme weather impacts on grid reliability
- Growing electricity demand from data centers and other large loads
- How larger regional markets can strengthen reliability, improve efficiency, and support investment and innovation
- The Western Energy Imbalance Market, Extended Day-Ahead Market, the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative, and the push for independent regional governance
- Building bipartisan support and stakeholder trust – and what’s next for the Western electricity system
Power Quote:
“The more resources we have at the disposal, the more coordination there is, the better off we’re going to be from a reliability standpoint.”
KATHLEEN STAKS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WESTERN FREEDOM
Key Takeaways
Markets Can Help Unlock the West’s Diverse Resources: From Wyoming’s abundant energy resources to California and Arizona’s strong solar production, the West has resources that can complement one another across different locations and times of day. Regional markets can help connect those resources with customers that need them.
“If Wyoming can’t share with its neighbors, it’s in a world of hurt. And if Las Vegas can’t tap into Wyoming’s resources, it’s in a world of hurt.”
The West Is Building Markets Incrementally: Rather than replicating the market structures used in other regions, the West has taken a step-by-step approach to regional coordination. Kathleen says that incremental progress allows stakeholders to see the benefits firsthand and build the trust needed for the next step.
“We are experiential learners out here in the West. You can’t just tell me it’s going to be fine, I have to feel it for myself.”
Independent Governance Could Strengthen the Western Market: The West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative is designed to establish an independent governance structure that gives stakeholders across the region a greater voice while maintaining the technical expertise of CAISO as the market operator.
“The idea was the CAISO has operated these markets. The EIM has been in operation since 2014. It’s delivered a ton of benefits.”
Growing Demand Is Raising the Stakes: Data centers, manufacturing, electrification, and population growth are creating new electricity demand across the West. Kathleen says the rapid pace of load growth is creating urgency around market development, generation, transmission, and other infrastructure.
“It just raises the urgency for an industry that until recently really doesn’t move very fast.”
Markets Are a Tool, Not the Entire Solution: Regional markets cannot solve every challenge facing the Western grid, but they can help make other investments and policies work more efficiently by connecting resources, reducing waste, and creating greater certainty for developers.
“The markets help give more certainty to some of the developers.”
Trust Is Critical to Regional Progress: With deep political, geographic, and institutional differences across the West, building relationships is essential. Kathleen emphasizes that stakeholders are more likely to find common ground when they understand the people and motivations behind different positions.
“You have to humanize it. You have to get those people in the room together.”
The West Can Offer Lessons for Other Regions: Kathleen argues that the West’s incremental approach may offer a useful model for other regions looking to test new market structures or governance arrangements without disrupting the entire system.
“I think some of these small pieces that we’re doing in the West are worth having others take a look at and evaluating.”
The Future Is Incremental—but Promising: Kathleen expects the Western electricity system to continue evolving over the next five to ten years, with fewer balancing authorities, greater coordination, and a larger regional footprint.
“I think we have built enough momentum that we’re going to continue to see progress and change.”
Producer, Audio Editor: Anna Varnell, associate, communications, EPSA
Senior Producer: Christina Nyquist, senior director, communications, EPSA
Music Composed by: Let Me Hold That, Ltd.
