July 19, 2026 | Source: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Order in Docket No. AD26-10 (Item E-2), issued July 16, 2026
FERC Puts the CAISO–SPP Seam on the Clock
At its July 16 open meeting, FERC ordered the California Independent System Operator and Southwest Power Pool to file a joint report on how they coordinate operations along their seams.
The report is due September 30, 2026. It has to cover current coordination initiatives, the specific operational challenges created by new market developments, plans and schedules for resolving them, and — notably — the areas where the two operators still have not aligned.
The scope is not limited to the CAISO–SPP boundary itself. FERC also wants coordination addressed between either market and the neighboring balancing authorities around them. Public comment will be open for 30 days after the report is filed, restricted to seams management and market coordination.
"Bringing CAISO and SPP together isn't just another procedural step, it's about making sure our grid operators are aligned, and operations remain coordinated across the region," said FERC Chairman Laura V. Swett.
What This Means If You Sit a Desk
Seams have always been the messiest part of the job. Two control rooms, two sets of tools, two market timelines, one set of flows that does not care where the boundary is drawn. Much of what makes it work has historically been operator-to-operator relationships and habit.
This order moves a chunk of that into the docket. When a Commission filing has to name where two operators are not aligned, informal workarounds stop being invisible. Whatever your desk has been quietly absorbing at the seam — inconsistent flow assumptions, awkward congestion handoffs, data that arrives late or in the wrong shape — becomes something that gets written down.
Two things worth doing before September 30. First, if your BA touches either footprint, expect to be asked for input; the order explicitly reaches neighboring balancing authorities, not just the two RTOs. Second, the existing coordination framework — RC-to-RC coordination and operational data specification obligations — is the baseline any report will be measured against. Gaps that surface in a joint filing tend to reappear later as compliance questions.
The West has been reshaping its market boundaries for several years now. This is the first time the seams question has come with a filing date attached.
EPG Solutions Can Help
Seams problems are visibility problems before they are market problems — you cannot coordinate across a boundary you cannot see across in real time. Wide-area situational awareness work, built around RTDMS and PGDA data, is how control rooms turn a neighboring footprint from a blind spot into something they can actually operate against. If your team is about to be asked what coordination looks like at your seam, that is the honest place to start.