Senate Rules Committee advances two California ISO board nominees after hour-long hearing on grid reliability and regional markets

The Senate Rules Committee voted to advance Jan Shorey and Dr. Severn Borenstein to the full California Senate after a confirmation hearing that centered on grid reliability, transmission planning, the interconnection queue and regional market proposals.

In opening remarks, Jan Shorey said the Independent System Operator’s (ISO) central responsibility is to keep the lights on while California pursues its decarbonization goals under SB 100. She described progress on summer reliability and resource adequacy and cited the ISO’s increased transmission planning and staff technical capabilities. “I think I have helped bring some practical operational experience to the board’s deliberations, and I would appreciate the opportunity to continue my service,” Shorey said.

Dr. Severn Borenstein told the committee he was seeking a third term on the ISO board and said the state is in a stronger short- and medium-term supply position than in 2019 but still faces challenges: managing a much larger interconnection queue, maintaining physical and cyber security, and building transmission to meet decarbonization goals. “There are also new challenges…we needed to make big changes. We have, and we've really gotten that under control, but it's been a real challenge,” he said.

Why it matters: The nominees will help oversee how California integrates large volumes of renewable energy, batteries and other resources while maintaining reliability and controlling costs. Committee members focused much of their questioning on transmission to move offshore wind and inland renewable energy, the prospects for broader Western market participation through an extended day-ahead market (EDAM), and the roles of demand flexibility and “clean firm” resources in the transition.

Key discussion points and committee questions

- SB 100 and reliability: Shorey and Borenstein reiterated that SB 100 sets the state policy to move toward carbon-free electricity by 2045 and that the ISO’s role is operational: ensuring reliability and enabling transmission for resources identified by the California Energy Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission.

- Interconnection queue and grid upgrades: Borenstein and Shorey described reforms that substantially cut the interconnection backlog, reduced speculative applicants, and introduced zones and more public information for prospective projects. Shorey said the ISO had added roughly 7,000 megawatts of new clean generation in the prior year and batteries increased from about 200 megawatts to more than 12,000 megawatts since she joined the board.

- Transmission and offshore wind: Senators asked how transmission for large offshore wind lease areas (including potential projects in Humboldt and areas served by Diablo Canyon) would be staged and paid for. Shorey said the ISO’s 20-year transmission plan includes offshore wind and is meant to be staged so as not to build transmission far ahead of actual generation availability.

- EDAM and regionalization: Committee members probed the ISO representatives about the Western EDAM proposal, competition from the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), and concerns about governance. Borenstein and Shorey said EDAM and the ISO’s existing Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) provide reliability and economic benefits; they noted the potential for “seams” if Western entities join different markets and described ongoing discussions about independent governance of market rules. The witnesses said the ISO would continue to operate market and reliability functions while a regional entity could take on tariff and market-rule filing rights.

- New technologies and demand flexibility: Senators raised small modular nuclear reactors and other “clean firm” resources. The witnesses said the ISO is resource-agnostic and that the Public Utilities Commission decides longer-term resource portfolios. They also emphasized demand flexibility—particularly from large commercial and industrial loads, including data centers—as an underused tool for reducing peak stress.

Public comment and endorsements

Three public speakers spoke in support of the nominees: Jan Smutney Jones of the Independent Energy Producers Association, Tiffany Phan (representing the California Efficiency and Demand Management Council, Intersect Power, and MCE), and Mike Robson of the California Municipal Utilities Association. Each urged the committee to advance the nominees.

Committee action

Senator Laird moved to advance both appointees to the Senate floor for full confirmation. The committee recorded a 5–0 vote (Maguire: aye; Grove: aye; Caballero: aye; Jones: aye; Laird: aye) to forward the nominations.

Ending

The committee left the roll open briefly to await a returning senator before finalizing the forwarding action. The nominations will next appear on the full Senate floor for final confirmation.