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News
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LCG, March 205, 2025--The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) today announced it will soon be the first regional transmission organization (RTO) in the nation to provide full services in both the Eastern and Western Interconnections of the U.S. power grid. On March 20, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) unanimously approved Southwest Power Pool’s amended tariff that includes provisions that enable Western members to join the RTO. The expansion of the SPP RTO is scheduled to go live April 1, 2026.
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LCG, March 20, 2025 – LCG Consulting (LCG) has released a second edition of its annual outlook of the ERCOT wholesale electricity market for 2025, highlighting the region's rapid transition toward increased reliance on renewable energy resources and battery storage.
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Industry News
CPUC Approves SDG&E's Westside Canal Battery Energy Storage Expansion Project
LCG, March 14, 2025--The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved an expansion of San Diego Gas & Electric's (SDG&E) Westside Canal Battery Energy Storage facility. The expansion project is located in California's Imperial Valley and will add 100 MW of energy storage capacity to the existing 131 MW facility. The new capacity is expected to be fully operational by June 2025. Upon completion, the Westside Canal facility, with a total capacity of 231 MW, will be the largest storage asset in SDG&E's utility-owned battery storage portfolio.
SDG&E expects its utility-owned battery storage portfolio to approach 480 MW of power capacity and more than 1.9 GWh of energy storage by year-end, including the Westside Canal expansion and two additional projects in San Diego County currently under construction.
The Chief Executive Officer of SDG&E stated, "The expansion of Westside Canal is a critical step toward strengthening our region's energy resiliency and advancing California's clean-energy goals. By increasing storage capacity, we can allow more clean energy to be efficiently stored and dispatched when it's needed most, helping to create a more resilient and sustainable grid for our communities."
SDG&E claims that the expansion of Westside Canal will enhance grid reliability and efficiency. First, the storage system will provide backup power to ensure sufficient electricity supply during peak-demand periods. Second, the system will help maintain a stable and reliable power supply by supporting grid functions such as frequency regulation and voltage control. Third, the system will store excess energy (e.g., output from intermittent renewables) when demand is low and discharge it when demand is high, enabling more efficient energy use and more stable electricity prices. Lastly, the system will improve power flow efficiency and grid stability by storing energy near generation sources and releasing it when transmission line congestion is lower.
Battery storage is also seen by SDG&E as a means to improve energy affordability through securing federal tax credits to reduce electric infrastructure costs. SDG&E stated that it was able to lower the average electric delivery bill for residential customers for the second year in a row, in part, because SDG&E returned $200 million in federal tax credits to customers for recently completed battery storage.
SDG&E is not alone in developing battery storage systems in California. Battery storage capacity statewide increased from 500 MW in 2019 to more than 13,300 MW in 2024, when over 4,000 MW of new battery storage was added.
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UPLAN-NPM
The Locational Marginal Price Model (LMP) Network Power Model
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UPLAN-ACE
Day Ahead and Real Time Market Simulation
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UPLAN-G
The Gas Procurement and Competitive Analysis System
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PLATO
Database of Plants, Loads, Assets, Transmission...
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