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UAMPS briefs Murray council on joining CAISO's EDAM and new pooling agreement; council to consider opt-in decision later
Summary
Representatives from UAMPS told the council the amended-and-restated pooling agreement modernizes how member utilities move energy into the CAISO Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM) beginning May 1; the agreement includes an annual purchase plan and an annual opt-out mechanism at the member level. Council members asked about price impacts, dispatch of Murray's Hunter plant and timing; staff said formal approval and the opt-in/opt-out decision will come before the council at a later meeting.
Representatives from the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) briefed the Murray City Council Committee of the Whole on an amended-and-restated pooling agreement required for participation in the California Independent System Operator's Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM), which UAMPS expects to join when Pacificorp goes live with the market on May 1.
UAMPS presenters explained the core change: under EDAM, generation resources are pooled into a centralized market where dispatch and settlement occur on short timelines (resources can be dispatched on five-minute intervals) while members' loads are recognized and settled separately. That means members that own dispatchable resources (peakers, municipal plants, hydro) can capture value when market prices rise, while members with mostly self-scheduled renewables will get less dispatch-driven benefit.
A UAMPS representative said the amended agreement includes an "annual purchase plan" that will set expected load and resource forecasts; UAMPS would be authorized to execute market purchases under that plan without getting separate approvals for each transaction, and members would retain an annual opt-out for the pooled annual procurement. "We still allow that member autonomy," a presenter said, describing the opt-in/opt-out process and audit provisions to monitor market performance.
Council members asked how the change would affect Murray's generators, including the Hunter plant. A presenter described the mechanics: dispatchable resources like Hunter can be bid into the market and will be run when market prices make it economic; if Hunter's variable cost is below market price, Murray could be paid the market price for generating. Presenters said some resources (solar, landfill gas) will remain self-scheduled but still participate in the settlement processes.
UAMPS staff told the committee that the amended agreement must be approved by member governing boards and that Murray will have two weeks before a scheduled council action to review the pooling appendix and the opt-in decision; the annual purchase plan will be developed starting in October, with the first plan adopted later in the year. Presenters said the agreement is intended to modernize procurement and to give members the ability to act faster in trading windows the current bilateral system misses.
Council did not vote on the agreement during the committee meeting; staff said the pooling agreement and the specific opt-in/opt-out decision will return for formal action at a future council meeting.
