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CAISO expects a “solid launch” for EDAM (the first Western day‑ahead market)…
Brief
The April 29, 2026 Load Management briefing highlights major operational and market moves across U.S. power systems: CAISO’s new EDAM day‑ahead market is expected to launch smoothly after 90 days of parallel operations, per PacifiCorp’s Mike Wilding. Retail innovation in Texas continues as Octopus Energy and Lunar Energy introduce plans that pair deeply discounted home batteries with grid‑support services and backup capability. Utilities are also managing shifting demand and costs — Consumers Energy’s sales were lifted by industrial loads even as emergency coal plant orders raised costs and prompted analyst questions about regulatory strategy following DTE’s comments on pausing future rate requests. On infrastructure, CenterPoint targets 8 GW of data center load by 2029, and TVA plus Plus Power announced a 200 MW / 800 MWh Crawfish Creek BESS as part of a path to 1.5 GW of storage. Meanwhile EIA data show retail electricity revenue per kWh jumped sharply in several states (Virginia +26.3%, Ohio +21.9%, Pennsylvania +19.5%) and averaged a 9% U.S. price increase in February.
Why it matters
CAISO expects a “solid launch” for EDAM (the first Western day‑ahead market); PacifiCorp’s Mike Wilding said 90 days of parallel operations before launch gave confidence the market is “working as intended” (reported Apr 29, 2026).
Key details
- Octopus Energy and Lunar Energy rolled out battery‑enabled retail plans in Texas that include deeply discounted home batteries designed to provide grid support and backup power to customers.
- Consumers Energy saw sales growth driven by industrial loads while costs tied to a coal plant emergency order have risen; at least one analyst flagged regulatory strategy concerns after DTE Energy said it may pause future rate‑hike requests if its current request is approved.
- CenterPoint Energy plans to energize 8 GW of data center load by 2029 (CEO Jason Wells said Houston is a choice location for hyperscalers), and TVA with Plus Power will deploy a 200 MW / 800 MWh BESS at Crawfish Creek, Alabama — one of TVA territory’s first grid‑scale batteries and part of a board plan for up to 1.5 GW of storage by 2029.
- EIA data show average U.S. electricity prices rose 9% year‑over‑year in February 2026; revenue per kWh increased 26.3% in Virginia, 21.9% in Ohio and 19.5% in Pennsylvania.