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The electricity grid doesn't stop at state lines, and neither does SPP.
Last month, SPP hosted its inaugural Western Seams Symposium in Tempe, Ariz., bringing together industry leaders from across the West to find common ground on one of the most practical challenges in energy: what happens at the edges where electricity systems meet.
In the energy world, those edges are called seams. They are the boundaries between markets, transmission systems and balancing authorities. When managed well, seams are invisible. When they aren't, the result can be inefficiencies, higher costs and reliability risks.
SPP Chief Operating Officer Antoine Lucas opened the event with a clear message: competition and coordination are not opposites. "Competition and redundancy will actually strengthen the western grid," he said. "Transparency builds trust. Fairness and reciprocity are what sustains cooperation."
Carrie Simpson, SPP vice president of markets, echoed that theme in her closing remarks, reminding attendees that everyone is working toward the same goal. "The key to seams is good coordination and communication between neighbors," she said. "Much of that good coordination and communication exists today and has for years. The next step is implementing it, together."
The symposium covered topics including reliability coordination, grid security and how to turn seams into opportunities rather than obstacles. Simpson also outlined five guiding principles for SPP's western work: prioritizing reliability, improving market efficiency, increasing transparency, seeking fairness and reciprocity, and balancing independence with inclusivity.
SPP's RTO West expansion is scheduled to begin April 1, with Markets+ targeting a launch October 1, 2027.
Read the full recap and watch Simpson's closing remarks at the SPP blog: blog.spp.org
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