Basin Electric is no stranger to the market. After becoming a participant in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) regional transmission organization (RTO) in 2007 and then fully joining the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) in 2015, the cooperative is once again ready to take a step forward to ensure its members get the power they need at the lowest-possible cost.
On Feb. 1, Basin Electric, along with Class A member Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), and two other participating utilities, will go live with SPP’s Western Energy Imbalance Service (WEIS) market. WEIS is a real-time market that takes advantage of a diverse mix of generating resources to optimize the use of the Western Interconnection transmission system while minimizing overall costs for the participants’ end-use customers.
“Because SPP will be operating both the existing SPP market in the Eastern Interconnection and the new WEIS market in the Western Interconnection, there is the potential that in the future there could be a more efficient use of the DC ties,” says Valerie Weigel, Basin Electric director of asset management and commodity strategy. “Between Basin Electric, Tri-State, and WAPA, we own 640 megawatts of DC tie transfer capacity that directly connects the SPP east market with the SPP west market. Additionally, with a longer-term view, there is the possibility for the WEIS market to develop into a full SPP West RTO, which could be another tremendous benefit.” See page 17 for more information.
Once WEIS goes live, it will provide its participants several benefits, including:
While the go-live date is right around the corner, Basin Electric staff members in finance, information services and telecom, legal, marketing, operations, transmission, and pretty much everything in between have been working for over a year to ensure the co-op’s readiness to operate in this new market.
“Making sure every step is accounted for and completed prior to February is extremely important because we want to see Basin Electric be successful in the WEIS right from the start,” says Jason Mazigian, Basin Electric RTO market specialist II and head of the co-op’s internal WEIS implementation team. “Thanks to all the hard work the implementation team has been doing for the past year, I have no doubt Basin Electric will experience success in this market.”
Basin Electric wants all interested and qualified candidates to apply for employment opportunities. If you are an applicant with a disability who is unable to use our online tools to search and apply for jobs, or who needs other assistance or accommodations, please contact us at 701-223-0441. Please indicate the specifics of the assistance needed or provide your contact information, and a Basin Electric Human Resources representative will contact you. Basin Electric is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer regarding race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, and veterans status.