Nevada Co-op becomes first out-of-state utility to join California grid

Valley Electric Association became ISO participating transmission owner at midnight

The California Independent System Operator Corporation (ISO) welcomed Valley Electric Association, Inc. (VEA) as the newest transmission owner to join the California grid as a participating member. The Pahrump, Nevada, electric cooperative and its wholly owned subsidiary, Valley Electric Transmission Association, LLC, serve more than 20,639 meters across a 6,849 square mile service territory in southwestern Nevada along the California-Nevada border. VEA also serves parts of Mono and Inyo counties in California.

The new cross-state partnership highlights the value of regional collaboration in greening the grid, creating jobs and benefiting ratepayers across the region. VEA and the ISO can share efficiencies and be the conduit for cost-effective renewable resources. This win-win relationship also adds competition and liquidity to our energy markets. 

"We highly value the transmission alliance we now have with Valley Electric. The collaboration will continue to strengthen as we realize the benefits our interregional partnership will produce in the months and years ahead advancing renewable power and creating efficiencies for ratepayers in both California and Nevada," said ISO President and CEO Steve Berberich.

The partnership with VEA is part of a larger ISO effort to work with its western neighbors in mutually beneficial ways to achieve efficiencies through regional collaboration. The small network expansion will strengthen reliability in the corner of the ISO grid that overlaps with Nevada.

"VEA is excited to join the California ISO and provide renewable resources in VEA's service area access to California markets. VEA also looks forward to working with other ISO market participants to enhance the regional transmission grid," said Thomas H. Husted, VEA chief executive officer.

Also praising the new partnership is the Senate majority leader. "I commend Valley Electric and the California Independent System Operator Corporation for forging an alliance that will help improve and foster a more open and vibrant Western clean energy market. I hope that we can continue to build on these types of successes because they will be critical to Nevada's and California's shared goals of attracting new clean energy industries and jobs and creating markets for our products and renewable power," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.