The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) is a non-profit

Independent System Operator A regional transmission organization (RTO) in the United States is an electric power transmission system operator (TSO) that coordinates, controls, and monitors a multi-state electric grid. The transfer of electricity between states is considere ...

(ISO) serving

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. It oversees the operation of

's bulk electric power system,

transmission line In electrical engineering, a transmission line is a specialized cable or other structure designed to conduct electromagnetic waves in a contained manner. The term applies when the conductors are long enough that the wave nature of the transmi ...

s, and

electricity market In a broad sense, an electricity market is a system that facilitates the exchange of electricity-related goods and services. During more than a century of evolution of the electric power industry, the economics of the electricity markets had u ...

generated and transmitted by its member utilities. The CAISO is one of the largest ISOs in the world, delivering 300 million megawatt-hours of electricity each year and managing about 80% of California's electric flow.

History

The

California Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislature ...

created the CAISO in 1998 as part of the state restructuring of electricity markets. The legislature was responding to

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in ...

(FERC) recommendations following the passage of the federal

Energy Policy Act of 1992 The Energy Policy Act of 1992, effective October 24, 1992, (102nd Congress H.R.776.ENR, abbreviated as EPACT92) is a United States government act. It was passed by Congress and set goals, created mandates, and amended utility laws to increase cl ...

, which removed barriers to competition in the wholesale generation of electricity business. FERC regulates CAISO because interstate transmission lines fall under the jurisdiction of federal commerce laws.

Management

CAISO's leadership consists of executive management and a governing board members appointed by the Governor of California. The current executive leaders are: * President and CEO: Stephen Berberich * Vice Presidents: Roger Collanton, Stacey Crowley, Neil Millar, Petar Ristanovic, Mark Rothleder, Ryan Seghesio, Eric Schmitt, and Jodi Ziemathis.

Renewables

In 2018,

ranked first in the nation as a producer of electricity from solar, geothermal, and biomass resources and fourth in the nation in conventional hydroelectric power generation. As of 2017, over half of the electricity (52.7%) produced was from renewable sources. CAISO provides a daily report on California renewable electricity generation, compared to overall system demand.

Settlement for blackout

California Independent System Operator settled with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation for $6 million for violations of standards related to the

2011 Southwest blackout The 2011 Southwest blackout, also known as the Great Blackout of 2011, was a widespread power outage that affected the San Diego–Tijuana area, southern Orange County, Imperial Valley, Mexicali Valley, Coachella Valley, and parts of Arizona. I ...

2020 rolling blackouts

Starting August 5 2020, CAISO ordered the utilities operating on its power grid to cut off power to 200,000 - 250,000 customers. While CAISO stated the high temperatures and corresponding high demand for air conditioning necessitated

rolling blackout A rolling blackout, also referred to as rota or rotational load shedding, rota disconnection, feeder rotation, or a rotating outage, is an intentionally engineered electrical power shutdown in which electricity delivery is stopped for non-overl ...

s, it enacted the blackouts with significant power reserves still being available. When causing the rolling blackouts, CAISO acted contrary to its own policy, with its 2019 resource assessment calling for stage 3 emergency only with 3% or less available power resources. When stage 3 was first enacted on 8/15, the CAISO power grid had 8.9% available resources, about three times the required threshold.

References

External links

Official website

Western Energy Imbalance Market
managed by CAIS
video
{{Authority control Energy in California Electric power transmission system operators in the United States Companies based in California