How would RTO West affect the Northwest?
RTO West would fundamentally change the way the Northwest manages and prices our transmission system. Control of our electricity system would shift from our congressional delegation and state and local officials to an appointed board overseen by a federal bureaucracy in Washington, D.C. The region s residents would also have to pay new start-up costs (at least $82 million), new operating expenses ($125-150 million annually) and new taxes ($166-210 million annually). The greatest long-term threats, however, stem from vulnerability to market abuse and manipulation that would result from RTO West s implementation of a “standard market design” proposal, which would replicate California s disastrous restructuring. All these changes would result in steep rate increases for Northwest citizens, without creating any certain public benefits.
