Wholesale electricity markets are providing improved reliability and quantifiable value despite many challenges the electricity industry is facing. That was the positive message delivered to a conference of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) by T. Graham Edwards, chief executive officer of the Midwest ISO.

The July 1 conference, “Review of the Current and Future State of Regional Wholesale Electricity Markets,” brought together several CEOs from the nation’s independent system operators (ISOs) and regional transmission organizations (RTOs). The objective was to provide FERC commissioners with an overview of the current and future states of the wholesale electricity markets.

“In 2007, the Midwest ISO undertook a comprehensive evaluation to demonstrate, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the value the Midwest ISO provides,” said Edwards. “That project revealed significant value in the operational areas of improved regional reliability, more efficient market operations, more coordinated regional planning, and a better platform to prepare for the future challenges facing our industry such as how to integrate renewables and demand response and get infrastructure built.”

David Patton of Potomac Economics, the Midwest ISO’s independent market monitor, also addressed the conference. He provided an overview of his recently issued “State of the Market” report, a review of the Midwest ISO markets for 2007. Patton highlighted many of the benefits of the Midwest ISO market and talked about the two new market improvements for the Midwest ISO: the launch of the Ancillary Services Market in September 2008 and the clarification of resource adequacy requirements. The report also includes a number of additional recommendations intended to further improve the performance of the Midwest ISO market.

“Our assessment shows that the Midwest ISO markets produced substantial benefits and savings in 2007,” Patton said. “Savings specifically noted in the report come via better generation commitment, lower dispatch costs, improved system reliability and impact of price signals in the market.”