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January 24, 2025 • Industry-related News

El Paso Electric Joins Southwest Power Pool Markets+ to Enhance Energy Reliability, Efficiency and Sustainability

EL PASO, Texas (January 24, 2025) - El Paso Electric (EPE) is proud to announce its decision to join the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) Markets+, a new energy market designed to provide enhanced grid reliability, increased customer savings and advancing sustainability efforts across the Western United States. This strategic move is tailored to meet the anticipated customer load growth and evolving needs, ensuring EPE continues to deliver exceptional value and reliability. The transition to this new market is expected in 2028.

This milestone decision follows an extensive evaluation process and builds on EPE’s prior experience as a participant in the California Western Energy Imbalance Market. SPP Markets+ will provide utilities across the region, including EPE, access to a diverse pool of energy resources, enabling a more efficient and reliable energy grid.

Key Benefits of Joining SPP Markets+:

• Increased Reliability: EPE will leverage SPP’s advanced market structures to enhance regional energy flows, ensuring reliable service for customers. Participation standards require utilities to maintain specific generation levels to meet real-time and long-term energy needs efficiently.
• Cost Savings: By optimizing the use of generation resources, SPP Markets+ is expected to lower operational costs and pass those savings on to customers.
• Clean Energy Integration: The market will enable the seamless integration of renewable energy technologies into the grid. This supports EPE’s commitment to sustainability and clean energy goals while maintaining affordability for customers.

SPP’s extensive experience as a regional transmission operator, along with its proven track record of expanding renewable energy resources, makes it a trusted partner in this endeavor. Through Markets+, EPE will continue to play a key role in shaping a more sustainable energy future for the communities it serves.

EPE’s participation in SPP Markets+ represents the culmination of two years of collaboration and planning with stakeholders across the region.

About SPP

Southwest Power Pool, Inc. is a regional transmission organization: a not-for-profit corporation mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to ensure reliable supplies of power, adequate transmission infrastructure and competitive wholesale electricity prices on behalf of its members in 14 states. SPP ensures electric reliability across a region spanning parts of the central and western U.S., provides energy services on a contract basis to customers in both the Eastern and Western Interconnections, and is expanding its RTO and developing a day-ahead energy market in the west. The company’s headquarters are in Little Rock, Arkansas. Learn more at SPP.org.