Colorado utilities take step into energy markets as they evaluate what’s to come

As Xcel Energy prepares to join California’s imbalance market, other utilities in the state have looked east instead. Like the Continental Divide that splits Colorado waters into those flowing toward the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, the state’s electrical utilities have decided to go either east or west to take advantage of new or growing energy markets. But will this new seam in energy imbalance markets remain as utilities seek even greater benefits of a regional transmission organization? The questions percolated in filings submitted by 25 organizations to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission late last year. The comments were a response to a legislative mandate for the commission to study how markets could aid the state in achieving its goals of deeply decarbonizing electrical and other sectors of the economy. But the ultimate answer of what electricity markets look like in Colorado will also depend upon what lawmakers in California decide. But first some explaining.