Senate Rules advances two CAISO board nominees after wide-ranging hearing on grid reliability and regional markets

The Senate Rules Committee on Thursday voted to advance the nominations of Jan Shorey and Dr. Severn Borenstein to the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) Board of Governors after a confirmation hearing that included detailed questioning on grid reliability, transmission, and regional market expansion.

The nominees addressed the committee and answered lawmakers’ questions about California’s path to a decarbonized grid and the operational challenges facing the ISO. “The independent system operator's role is to help ensure that the lights stay on and that the grid operates reliably while we make this transition to a clean energy future,” Jan Shorey said in her opening remarks, citing SB 100 as the state mandate to reach carbon-free resources by 2045.

Why it matters: The CAISO governs real-time operation and market platforms that affect reliability and electricity costs across the state. Committee members pressed nominees on transmission lead times for offshore wind, how the system handles surplus solar and the so-called duck curve, and whether regional market structures would preserve California’s policy priorities.

Shorey and Borenstein described operational progress and remaining challenges. Shorey, a former SMUD executive and current ISO board member, pointed to recent gains: “We have added 7,000 megawatts of new clean generation in the last year,” and said battery capacity on the system has grown from about 200 megawatts to “more than 12,000 now.” She emphasized coordinated planning with the California Energy Commission (load forecasting), the California Public Utilities Commission (resource portfolio) and CAISO (operations and transmission planning).

Dr. Severn Borenstein, seeking a third term, said CAISO is in a stronger position than in 2019 but still must address medium- and long-term resource adequacy, cybersecurity and large backlogs in the interconnection queue. “We have, and we've really gotten that under control,” he said of interconnection backlogs, while noting the queue had more than tripled and required new rules to reduce speculative entries.

Committee members focused extensive questioning on three topics:

- Transmission and offshore wind: Senators asked how transmission would be planned and staged to accommodate potential offshore wind lease areas. The nominees said CAISO’s 20-year transmission plan includes offshore wind scenarios but stressed the need to avoid committing billions to transmission that may go unused if projects do not materialize. Nominees described efforts to use advanced conductors and optimize existing facilities before building new lines.

- Regional markets and EDAM: Lawmakers pressed nominees about the Western day-ahead market (EDAM) and competition from the Southwest Power Pool (SPP). Shorey and Borenstein said EDAM and the existing Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) provide reliability and economic benefits, noting the real-time market has produced about $7 billion in benefits for 22 participants across 11 states and that California captured roughly $2 billion of that total. They warned that some Western entities are considering SPP, which would introduce seams that complicate trade.

- Technology, demand flexibility and firm clean power: Senators asked about nuclear and small modular reactors, demand-side flexibility (shifting consumption in high-demand hours) and storage. Borenstein said CAISO is resource-agnostic and that the California Public Utilities Commission makes resource planning decisions, but he raised concerns about nuclear cost and spent-fuel disposal. Both nominees urged greater use of demand flexibility and said a mix of approaches — storage, clean firm generation, regional trade and demand response — will be needed.

Public testimony included support from industry groups. Jan Smutney Jones of the Independent Energy Producers Association said she represented a mix of non-nuclear generators and called the nominees “two of the most qualified people we’ve had on our board.” Representatives from municipal utilities and other energy organizations also registered support.

Formal action: Senator Laird moved to advance both nominees to the full Senate for confirmation. The committee first recorded four aye votes with the roll left open for the Senate Pro Tem; the roll was subsequently closed as 5–0 in favor.

The committee’s advance does not complete confirmation; the nominations will proceed to the full Senate for a final vote.