Across the U.S., people are facing an electricity affordability crisis. One in three Americans is foregoing necessities like food and medical care to pay rising utility bills. A variety of factors, all of which need their own solutions, are driving up electricity costs. Regional electricity markets, where generation and transmission are procured to meet increasing electricity demand, are significant determinants of electricity costs. It’s the policies that comprise these regional electricity markets that dictate how competitive they are and whether innovation results in more consumer savings or more profits for suppliers.The operators of these regional markets — called regional transmission organizations (RTOs) or independent system operators (ISOs) — are also the primary governance authority for determining the policies of these regional markets. With few exceptions, however, the governance processes of these RTOs and ISOs weigh inputs from utility companies far more heavily than those of other stakeholders – whose voices have, at times, also been misrepresented.Research shows that utility-centric governance of some RTOs/ISOs has stymied reforms that would make it easier to integrate low-cost electricity resources. Such governance has also contributed to excessive costs for transmission projects, undermining efforts to build out the transmission grid more affordably. Together, these outcomes raise consumer electricity prices, so much so that federal regulators have recently targeted the governance structure of one particularly fraught RTO — PJM — as the potential root cause of the many issues it faces.But there is good news. Stakeholders in the western U.S. are currently developing a new form of regional market governance, known as the Regional Organization for Western Energy (ROWE or ‘The ROWE’). They are building upon lessons learned from other regional markets by creating a more equitable governance structure for regional markets. It’s a structure that has the potential to facilitate more affordable, reliable and sustainable electricity across the West.Here, we explain how this new form of regional market governance works and the new participation opportunities it provides for western stakeholders.Western Energy Markets are Evolving Rapidly Western stakeholders are facing a rapidly evolving landscape when it comes to regional electricity markets. Currently, California Independent System Operator (CAISO) operates the Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM) and, after launching on May 1, the Extended Day Ahead Market (EDAM). These markets provide real-time and day-ahead energy markets to western utilities outside of California. In parallel to CAISO’s WEIM and EDAM, an RTO called Southwest Power Pool (SPP) also offers multiple western market services. SPP’s offerings include its RTO Expansion, SPP’s full RTO services offered to utilities in western states; and Markets+, a more limited service offering for western utilities who don’t want full RTO membership. SPP’s RTO Expansion launched on April 1, and SPP is still developing the details of Markets+ alongside utilities who have committed to join.What are the Benefits of Regional Electricity Markets?Regional energy markets have the potential to deliver major benefits to utilities, households and businesses by enabling utilities to share power, transmission capacity and other resources across state lines. Regional markets allow for more efficient trading of electricity across many utilities, enabling improved grid reliability while incentivizing the use of low-cost energy resources. One substantial benefit is significant cost savings for customers of participating utilities.The more utilities that participate in a given market, the more opportunities there are to purchase low-cost power and the more reliable the grid becomes. As others have explained, ‘the bigger the market, the bigger the savings.’ For example, to date, the Western Energy Imbalance Market has saved more than $8.6 billion as of July for western ratepayers served by participating utilities. Similarly, the Extended Day Ahead Market, which began operating on May 1, expects to achieve significant savings by having utilities tap into a broader regional resource pool in advance of operations. This broader pool also helps utilities manage extreme weather events by facilitating the flow of electricity from areas under mild conditions to areas under stress from extreme heat and cold. This will allow utilities to share resources when planning how they will meet forecasted electric demand — for example, by pre-positioning supply and choosing options with higher savings.These regional market offerings differ considerably in governance structure. The governance authority over WEIM and EDAM is currently held jointly by the CAISO Board of Governors, which is confirmed by the governor of California and the Western Energy Markets (WEM) Governing Body. The five members of the WEM Governing Body are selected by a Nominating Committee composed of western stakeholders representing diverse sectors and not tied to the state of California.Nonetheless, the CAISO Board of Governors’ tie to the governor of California means that WEIM and EDAM are partly under the influence of California’s state government. Meanwhile, SPP’s Markets+ and RTO Expansion each have their own governance structure. The RTO Expansion is under SPP’s existing governance structure, with a Board of Directors that is elected by SPP’s members (who are mostly utilities).Scholars have noted that while the SPP Board of Directors has authority on paper to act independently when shaping SPP policy, in practice it is heavily influenced by SPP member utilities. Separately, SPP’s Markets+ has its own governance structure, with an independent board that must have at least one member of SPP’s board. Markets+ is subject to oversight from SPP regarding financial matters and matters that impact SPP.Against this backdrop, the ROWE will introduce a totally different governance structure. ROWE will use a Board of Directors that has no tie to any RTO or ISO, neither through nominations nor through board membership. ROWE will offer a very diversified array of stakeholder voting sectors to advise policy development (discussed further below). And ROWE will fund specific offices to assist engagement with consumer advocates and the general public. ROWE’s design creates opportunities for extensive consultation with a variety of stakeholders while allowing the board to remain independent and take action when needed to address regional challenges. How is ROWE Taking Shape?The ROWE was officially incorporated with governing bylaws in December 2025, allowing it to begin taking shape as an independent governance entity. The bylaws were developed through an open stakeholder process involving participants from across the west and were later voted on and adopted by the Pathways Launch Committee. The Pathways Launch Committee — a group of volunteers from diverse western stakeholder groups, including many western utilities — is also involved with establishing further details of ROWE’s governance, including the process for selecting the ROWE board. The ROWE currently has a temporary Formation Board consisting of six directors with limited authority. Under the bylaws, the Formation Board will temporarily manage corporate affairs and help establish governance structures. The Formation Board does not have authority over market and tariff decisions.The Formation Board will be succeeded by the initial ROWE Board. A stakeholder‑based Nominating Committee will propose candidates, the Pathways Launch Committee will review and approve a slate of these candidates, and the Formation Board will formally appoint the initial ROWE Board. The Nominating Committee includes representatives from utilities, consumer advocates, NGOs, regulators and other electricity‑sector participants. Once seated, the initial ROWE Board will hold full decision‑making authority, including approvals of tariffs, business practices and agreements. Some of these decisions will require simple majority of the board’s votes, while other decisions will require a two-thirds majority.Authorities and Responsibilities of the ROWE BoardAdministering ROWE and its MarketsStakeholder EngagementMajor Decisions (Requires 2/3 vote)Manages ROWE’s business and affairs. Receives public and stakeholder input. Remove a director.Exercises all corporate powers.Supports Body of State Regulators and main stakeholder process.Amend bylaws.Approves tariff changes.Maintains Public Policy Committee.Amend certificate of incorporation.Approves operational agreements with CAISO and other contracted entities. Supports Consumer Advocate Organization.Merger/consolidation.Considers state policy impacts.Maintains Office of Public Participation.Sale of substantially all assets. Note: Formation Board cannot approve tariffs, business practices or agreements with CAISO — those powers belong to the initial and future ROWE Board only. Source: ROWE bylaws. Designed from Experience: How ROWE’s Governance Learned from Peer MarketsROWE’s governance structure and participatory dimensions treat current RTOs’ and ISOs’ best practices as a floor, not a ceiling. Each element of ROWE’s governance design — from board selection and member committee structure to civil society participation and state authority interface — is based on lessons drawn from regional market governance structures nationwide. How ROWE Improves on Governance Features for Public Interest Accountability Across RTOs Governance FeaturePrecedent Across RTOs and ISOsROWE’s ApproachCivil society participationUnderfunded and informal participation structures hinder consumer advocates, public interest groups and Tribal Nations from meaningfully contributing to rule-setting processes.A dedicated, tariff-funded Consumer Advocate Organization (CAO) to support participation; An Office of Public Participation (OPP) to assume public education responsibilities, likely to include a Tribal Nations liaison role.State authorityState influence can either be too direct (reducing multi-state trust) or limited (multi-state governance interests underrepresented). ROWE provides states with a formal advisory role, a voting seat on the Nominating Committee, a consultation before tariff votes, access to market data, and a penalty-free exit from ROWE if the state chooses to remove its utilities.Sector definitionsSectors which are too large contain diverging interests which, when lumped together, ultimately dilutes their voices.ROWE has nine cohesive stakeholder sectors, including public interest groups, who use their consensus to advise the ROWE Board.TransparencyAcross RTOs, open meetings and information sharing practices vary widely; when transparency is limited, stakeholder participation becomes weak. Across RTOs, open meetings and information sharing practices vary widely; when transparency is limited, stakeholder participation becomes weak. Source: Authors. The desire of ROWE’s designers to build upon prior regional market governance designs has led to a nuanced structure with many interrelated components reinforcing public sector engagement. Some of these components are internal and only interact with other ROWE components, while other components are external-facing and interact with western states and other stakeholders. Much of this structure is described in ROWE’s Step 2 Final Proposal — a 162-page document developed by the Launch Committee over a two-year period through a public stakeholder process. These are draft policies that must be formally adopted by ROWE before taking effect. For stakeholders looking to weigh in, this ongoing policy development is where engagement can now shape ROWE’s governance model before it’s finalized.What is the Role of Western States in ROWE?ROWE’s governance structure will offer multiple avenues for western states and other stakeholders to participate in and influence its policymaking.What is the Role of State Utility Commissioners?State utility commissioners will be able to influence ROWE policymaking through ROWE’s Body of State Regulators (BOSR), which advises the ROWE Board on the development of market rules, consults on matters of policy and tariff modifications, and serves as a forum for state utility commissioners to provide feedback. BOSR’s indicative voting is advisory and provides a transparent signal of state utility commissioner preferences, as voting results will be shared publicly. In addition to this advisory role, the BOSR holds one voting seat on the Nominating Committee responsible for selecting ROWE Board members. Utility state commissioners not serving on the BOSR can also participate in the ROWE through collaborative outreach sessions conducted by the ROWE’s Office of Public Participation (OPP). These feedback avenues are intended to strengthen ROWE’s energy governance and oversight capacity. Furthermore, all participating state utility commissions will have confidential access to ROWE market data.How Does ROWE Handle Different State Policies?ROWE’s governance will offer a novel avenue for reflecting state energy policies in regional markets via a Public Policy Committee (PPC). The PPC would consist of at least two members from the ROWE Board who would be responsible for consulting government stakeholders on public policy matters. These government stakeholders would include states, local governments and federal power marketing administrations. Input collected from these parties would be shared with the ROWE Board before votes on tariff changes, serving as a formal checkpoint for states to provide input before a binding decision is made.States Have Highlighted Opportunities to Expand their Role in ROWESome states have offered ideas for expanding the BOSR’s influence and improving transparency between the ROWE and state governments. In February, the state energy offices in Idaho, Utah and Wyoming submitted a joint letter making an overarching ask for the ROWE Board to consult with the BOSR on tariff changes that will impact state policies, resource adequacy and market issues. The letter also proposed revisions to ROWE’s bylaws that would allow third-party consultants to access ROWE market data under confidentiality agreements, allow states to publish findings based on this data and create an independent data monitoring framework for ROWE. The letter encourages ROWE to adopt these changes as further measures for state engagement and transparency.Underscoring these concerns, the Wyoming Energy Authority submitted comments May 1 on the design of the ROWE’s public outreach via its new OPP. Noting that many stakeholders — such as some states, small utilities and public interest groups — might need more support to engage effectively, the Wyoming Energy Authority suggested that ROWE empower the OPP to provide assistance to these stakeholders. The Wyoming Energy Authority also recommended that the OPP be empowered to deliver testimony and briefings to state legislators and requested clarity on how state energy offices and other state agencies not explicitly mentioned in ROWE’s governing documents may engage. What’s the Role of Public Interest Groups in ROWE?Representing public interests and ensuring customer benefits is a key priority for the ROWE. The Pathways Launch Committee has developed durable public interest engagement tools to ensure diverse stakeholder representation through various entities.How Will ROWE Engage the Public?The ROWE will engage the general public through its OPP, which serves the purpose of ‘addressing barriers to participation for individuals, entities, and non-governmental interest groups in regional market issues and governance by providing accessible, reliable, and neutral explanations of ROWE processes and issues.’ ROWE stakeholders finalized the scope of OPP’s work on May 29.OPP will provide education on regional market issues and governance by creating policy proposal summaries and hosting public engagement opportunities. The OPP will also produce neutral and informative content that can be distributed across a variety of diverse media. Additionally, it will be required to monitor the effectiveness of public participation and periodically provide updates and suggestions for improvements to the ROWE Board. The Pathways Initiative is also working with representatives from Tribal Nations to develop a proposal for how ROWE should support their engagement on policy matters.How Will ROWE Engage Stakeholders?The Stakeholder Representatives Committee (SRC) will be the primary stakeholder engagement and policy development body of ROWE. The SRC members — 21 in total — will be selected to represent nine diverse sectors. The primary responsibility of the SRC representatives will be to coordinate and facilitate within their sector, and then to meet with other representatives at the SRC to work toward consensus across sectors. The SRC will convene regularly to propose and review policy initiatives and tariff decisions. While the SRC will be able to make recommendations to the ROWE Board, these are strictly advisory – the SRC would have no decision-making authority. Unlike the BOSR, the SRC will not participate in the nomination of the ROWE Board. The Pathways Initiative published a narrative document on June 29 outlining details of the SRC’s function, such as developing an issues roadmap and developing policy proposals and submitting them to the ROWE Board.ROWE SRC Sector DefinitionsSector NameDefinitionSRC SeatsExtended Day Ahead Market (EDAM) EntitiesA Balancing Authority that represents one or more EDAM Transmission Service Providers and that enters into an EDAM Entity Agreement with the CAISO to enable the operation of the Day Ahead and Real-Time Markets in its Balancing Authority Area. Can be investor-owned utilities, federal power marketing agencies, or publicly owned utilities.2Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM) EntitiesA Balancing Authority that represents 1+ WEIM Transmission Service Providers and that enters into a WEIM Entity Agreement with the CAISO to enable the operation of the RealTime Market in its Balancing Authority Area. Can be both investor-owned utilities, federal power marketing agencies, or publicly owned utilities.3[no PMA standalone sector]There will be one additional seat in either the EDAM or WEIM Entities sector for a Federal Power Marketing Agency, assuming the PMA is either a WEIM or EDAM Entity. If there are no PMAs in either the WEIM or EDAM, there will be no PMA seat on the SRC.1ISO Participating Transmission Owners (PTOs)A party to the Transmission Control Agreement who has placed its transmission assets and Entitlements under the CAISO’s Operational Control in accordance with the Transmission Control Agreement. Can be investor-owned utilities or publicly owned utilities.2Non-IOU load serving entities serving load from WEIM or EDAMUtilities or load serving entities located within the market footprint that are not included in another sector may include but are not limited to public power, municipal utilities, cooperatives, or community choice aggregations. May include trade associations.4Public Interest Organizations (PIOs)501(c)(3) organizations that seek to influence market policy in favor of the general public or a broad segment of it, rather than focusing on the interests of its own members and are actively involved in energy issues within the market footprint.2Consumer AdvocatesState sanctioned consumer advocates from states with load in the market footprint that represent residential and small commercial end-use utility customers. May include a representative from the Consumer Advocate Organization.2Large Commercial & Industrial (C&I) CustomersLarge commercial and industrial customers with load in the market footprint. May include trade associations.2Independent Power Producers (IPPs), independent transmission developers, and marketersOrganizations within the market footprint that have generation, transmission or load but are not an electric utility, or organizations that engage in power marketing activities within the WEIM or EDAM footprint. This sector includes Independent Power Producers, Independent Transmission developers, and Power Marketers. May include trade associations. 3Distributed Energy Resources (including distributedCompanies that own, manage, or develop generation, storage, or demand response resources interconnected to the distribution grid, DER aggregators, and providers of enabling hardware and software that are active within the market footprint. May include trade associations.1Source: Authors based on Step 2 Final Proposal.What is the ROWE Consumer Advocate Organization?The Consumer Advocate Organization (CAO) is a 501(c)(3) designed to facilitate the participation of state-designated utility consumer advocates — within this designation, the bylaws allow for a flexible composition of the group. It was created in response to limited funding and capacity concerns from western ratepayer advocates. The CAO will have modest, tariff-based funding to facilitate the participation of consumer advocates in regional energy processes. It will be a separate entity from the SRC consumer advocate sector, though CAO staff can hold one of the consumer advocate seats. What Can States and Other Stakeholders Do Now?The details of ROWE’s structure continue to evolve rapidly, and states, customers, public interest groups and other stakeholders need to plug in so they can shape the policies governing regional energy markets in the West.These stakeholder groups would serve themselves well by engaging in the discussions that are defining the details of ROWE’s new structures. The ROWE Formation Board continues to hold meetings to discuss these details, and the agenda items and presentation materials for these meetings can be found on the ROWE website. The Pathways Initiative, under the auspices of the Western Interstate Energy Board, continues to organize discussions of some of the features of ROWE and post important materials from those discussions. States, customers, public interest groups and other stakeholders should engage in the public meetings of these organizations and submit comments to voice how ROWE can be better organized to meet their needs.In states where utilities have not yet joined a regional market, stakeholders can share information about the advantages of doing so with their utilities and their state regulators. Stakeholders can also highlight the opportunities for influencing regional market policy within the governance structures of each of the western regional market offerings.ROWE’s innovative governance offers an opportunity to learn from other regional market governance structures and test out a new process that holds the potential to deliver better policies and more affordable energy for the West. But it can only succeed if states, ratepayers, public interest groups and other stakeholders seize this opportunity and make the most of it.