Western electricity market appoints independent board, as momentum grows

• The Regional Organization for Western Energy elected its inaugural five-member Board of Directors, marking a major step toward independent governance of Western electricity markets; EDF has participated in the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative since 2023.
• The Western electricity market is gaining momentum and delivering benefits: The Extended Day-Ahead Market has saved customers $11 million since launching in May 2026.
• The market continues to expand: BHE Montana and NV Energy recently became the eighth and ninth utilities to commit to EDAM, bringing its projected footprint to 55% of Western electricity load by 2028.

(SAN FRANCISCO — September 25, 2026) Today, the first slate of Board of Directors for the Regional Organization for Western Energy were elected, marking a major step toward creating independent governance of the new day-ahead electricity market in the West that allows utilities to share low-cost power across the region. The five new Board Directors were approved by the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative Launch Committee, which Environmental Defense Fund has served on since its inception in 2023.

“The Western energy market is gaining momentum, creating a huge opportunity to lower electricity costs, reduce pollution and strengthen reliability for communities across the West,” said Michael Colvin, Director of California Energy program at Environmental Defense Fund and the Pathways Launch Committee representative. “The appointment of these Board Directors moves the West closer to strong, inclusive governance that represents the interests of the entire region.  

“John, Evie, Paul, Deb and Rebecca represent an exceptional array of experience and expertise in the clean energy transition; their placement on the ROWE Board should be a vote of confidence for all market stakeholders in the West,” Colvin continued. 

The ROWE will have oversight of a real-time energy market (known as the Western Energy Imbalance Market) and the newly launched day-ahead market (known as the Extended Day-Ahead Market). Launched in 2014, the Western Energy Imbalance Market has delivered over $9 billion in benefits to customers and reduced emissions by over 1 million metric tons. Since its launch in May 2026, the Extended Day-Ahead Market is already proving its effectiveness – saving customers $11 million, with more accruing back to customers every month. It’s also quickly gaining momentum with new participants signing on.

In the last month, BHE Montana and NV Energy became the eighth and ninth utilities to sign commitment into the day-ahead market, bringing the market’s projected footprint to 55% of the electricity load in the West by 2028. Other recent activity includes the launch of a new rulemaking at the California Public Utilities Commission to determine if the state’s investor-owned utilities should join the market, as directed by Assembly Bill 825.

“During the last three years, a diverse set of dedicated stakeholders demonstrated that tremendous progress could be made by working together. This level of collaboration is now incorporated into in the DNA of the Regional Organization for Western Energy’s administration of Western electricity markets.” Colvin added. 

The elected ROWE Board members are:

• John Di Stasio: Former president of the Large Public Power Council (LPPC), where he advocated for America’s largest public power systems in Washington, DC. Prior to this role, Di Stasio spent 35 years working for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), the nation’s sixth-largest public power utility. 
• Evelyn Kahl: Most recently General Counsel and Chief Policy Officer of the California Community Choice Association (CalCCA). Kahl also spent three decades in private legal practice representing generators, marketers, large energy consumers, load-serving entities, and Community Choice Aggregators. 
• Paul Kjellander: Former Commissioner of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, Idaho Governor’s Energy Advisor, Administrator of the Idaho Office of Energy Resources and three-term member of the Idaho House of Representatives.
• Deborah Smith: Member of the CAISO Western Energy Markets Governing Body and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Energy & Environment Directorate Advisory Committee. Previously, Deb served as General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of Seattle City Light and served as General Manager and CEO of Central Lincoln People’s Utility District in Oregon.
• Rebecca Wagner: Former Commissioner on the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, Chair of the Energy Imbalance Market Transitional Committee, Vice Chair of the Western Energy Imbalance Market Governance Review Committee, and member of the Western Energy Markets Governing Body.

Additional information on the newly elected board members of the Regional Organization for Western Energy and other details about the ROWE are available at https://rowesternenergy.org/