Day-Ahead Market Impacts Study: Benefit of a Regional Market to California Customers
Prepared for the State of California Energy Commission
Brattle experts were engaged by the California Energy Commission (CEC) to analyze the benefits and costs for California customers due to the expansion of day-ahead markets in the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC).
The study assumes a minimum regional market footprint that includes only the entities with a signed implementation agreement to join EDAM. The authors analyze three other potential regional market footprints that assume different levels of participation in EDAM and Markets+. They find that expansion of day-ahead markets in the WECC creates net benefits for California customers under all scenarios analyzed, with benefits ranging from approximately $100 million/year to over $1 billion/year, depending on the market footprint that emerges in the region.
The preliminary analysis, presented at the CEC’s January 24, 2025, IEPR Commissioner Workshop, is available below.
The updated analysis, presented at the CEC’s June 5, 2025, IEPR Commissioner Workshop, is available below.
