Beatrice Lang
Colorado is a monopoly state that does not currently belong to a Regional Transmission Organization (RTO). However, Colorado utilities with transmission assets are mandated to join a wholesale market by 2030, with two big markets emerging: those run by Southwest Power Pool (SPP) and CAISO. The SPP RTO West will include a cohort of utilities and transmission providers currently participating in the SPP Western Energy Imbalance Service (WEIS) market, including Colorado Springs Utilities and Platte River Power Authority. The transition to the SPP RTO West will reduce the number of transmission provider-related seams between transmission providers in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| RTO options | SPP, CAISO, or a Colorado-centric RTO |
| RTO benefits | Cost savings, improved grid reliability, efficiency, and affordability, boost investments in clean energy |
| RTO functions | Designing and running energy spot markets, managing capacity markets, transmission planning, providing transmission service, administering a generator interconnection process |
| Colorado RTO legislation | Colorado S.B.072 enacted in 2021 requires transmission utilities to join an organized wholesale market by 2030 |
| Colorado utilities proposing to join SPP | Mountain West Transmission Group (MWTG), Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association |
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What You'll Learn
- Colorado's electric Western RTO is the Southwest Power Pool (SPP)
- SPP is a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)-approved tariff
- SPP's market includes Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Colorado Springs Utilities, and more
- SPP's transition will reduce transmission provider-related seams in Colorado
- SPP's RTO West will combine two BAs to form the SPP West BA
Colorado's electric Western RTO is the Southwest Power Pool (SPP)
Colorado is looking to join a Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) by 2030. RTOs are responsible for designing and running energy markets, managing capacity, transmission planning, providing transmission services, and administering a generator interconnection process.
Colorado does not currently belong to an RTO, but a group of Colorado utilities called the Mountain West Transmission Group (MWTG) is proposing to join the Southwest Power Pool (SPP). The SPP is an RTO to the east of Colorado, and hearings on the proposal are ongoing at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CoPUC).
The SPP RTO West would include a cohort of utilities and transmission providers currently participating in the SPP Western Energy Imbalance Service (WEIS) market, including Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Colorado Springs Utilities, and Platte River Power Authority. The transition to the SPP RTO West will reduce the number of transmission provider-related seams between transmission providers in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska.
Tri-State, a power supply cooperative serving electric distribution cooperatives and public power district member-owners in four states, has filed an application to the CoPUC to expand its participation in the SPP. Tri-State's application outlines the significant benefits of joining the SPP RTO, including increased reliability, affordability, efficiency, and responsibility for the region's power grid.
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SPP is a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)-approved tariff
Colorado is currently a monopoly state that does not belong to any RTO. However, a group of Colorado utilities called the Mountain West Transmission Group (MWTG) has proposed joining the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), which is the RTO to the state's east. The SPP is a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)-approved tariff that manages transmission in portions of 14 states, including Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming.
The SPP, founded in 1941 as an 11-member tight power pool, achieved RTO status in 2004. It ensures reliable power supplies, adequate transmission infrastructure, and competitive wholesale electricity prices for its members. The SPP's members include investor-owned utilities, municipal systems, generation and transmission cooperatives, state authorities, independent power producers, power marketers, and independent transmission companies. In 2007, the SPP began operating its real-time Energy Imbalance Service (EIS) market and became a FERC-approved Regional Entity, serving as the reliability coordinator for the NERC region and overseeing compliance with reliability standards.
As an RTO, the SPP is responsible for designing and running energy spot markets, managing capacity markets, transmission planning, providing transmission services, and administering a generator interconnection process. It operates high-voltage transmission lines that move wholesale electricity across significant distances, and its market rules are based on input from stakeholders such as electric suppliers, consumer organizations, and utilities. The SPP's activities and rule changes are subject to regulatory oversight and approval by FERC, which governs the rates, terms, and conditions of SPP through its Open Access Transmission Tariff (OATT or Tariff), Membership Agreement, and Bylaws.
Colorado has adopted rules requiring its utilities to join a day-ahead energy market or RTO by 2030. This is a critical step toward meeting the increasing demand for reliable, affordable, and clean energy in the state and the West. The new rules establish a transparent process for utilities to join, and the Western Resource Advocates commend the Colorado Public Utilities Commission for this initiative. Colorado's potential alternatives to joining the SPP include the expanding Western RTO CAISO and other possible new RTOs.
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SPP's market includes Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Colorado Springs Utilities, and more
Colorado is a monopoly state that currently supports neither wholesale competition nor retail competition. However, in 2021, Colorado enacted S.B.072, which requires transmission utilities to join an organized wholesale market by 2030 and modernize the state’s electricity grid system.
Colorado Springs Utilities, along with Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Deseret Power Electric Cooperative, the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, and WAPA’s Upper Great Plains-West and Loveland Area Projects, notified the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) RTO of their intent to evaluate membership in 2020. SPP's Western Energy Imbalance Service (WEIS) market facilitates efficient real-time energy dispatch and provided an estimated $31.7 million in net benefits for participants in 2022, along with reducing wholesale energy costs.
Colorado Springs Utilities and the Platte River Power Authority are set to join SPP as full members on April 1, 2026. SPP expects the expansion of its service territory to create economic and reliability benefits for its member companies through access to a larger generation fleet, greater geographic diversity, and increased trading opportunities in its energy markets.
SPP, whose grid stretches across all or parts of 14 states from Texas to North Dakota, approved 89 transmission projects worth $7.7 billion in 2024. SPP is also looking to expand into the Western states, creating an opportunity for Western states to join an already-formed RTO.
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SPP's transition will reduce transmission provider-related seams in Colorado
Colorado is a monopoly state that currently supports neither wholesale competition nor retail competition. However, in 2021, Colorado adopted legislation requiring transmission utilities to join an organized wholesale market by 2030. This is a critical step toward establishing efficient, effective solutions to meet the increasing demand for reliable, affordable, and clean energy in Colorado and the West.
Colorado utilities with transmission assets are mandated to join a wholesale market by 2030, and it looks like two big markets are emerging: those run by the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) and CAISO. SPP is a Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) that operates a competitive wholesale electricity market where electricity producers bid into the market and the lowest bids are chosen to dispatch their electricity to consumers. RTOs are responsible for designing and running energy spot markets, managing a capacity market, transmission planning, providing transmission service, and administering a generator interconnection process.
In March 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved SPP’s amended tariff, enabling SPP to become the first RTO to operate across both the Eastern and Western Interconnections, improving operational flexibility and resiliency across regions. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a power supply cooperative serving electric distribution cooperatives and public power district member-owners in four states, has filed an application with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CoPUC) to expand its participation in SPP. Tri-State’s application outlines the significant benefits of joining the SPP RTO, including increased reliability, affordability, efficiency, and responsibility for the region’s power grid.
The transition to the SPP RTO West will reduce the number of transmission provider-related seams between transmission providers in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska through the consolidation of seven transmission providers’ tariffs into a common tariff, also reducing the costly “pancaking” of transmission rates. In Colorado, the seam currently between the WACM BA (which becomes part of the SPP West BA) and the Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy) BA will still exist.
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SPP's RTO West will combine two BAs to form the SPP West BA
Colorado is a monopoly state that does not currently belong to an RTO (Regional Transmission Organization). However, a group of Colorado utilities called the Mountain West Transmission Group (MWTG) has proposed joining the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), which is an RTO to the state's east.
The SPP RTO West would include a cohort of utilities and transmission providers currently participating in the SPP Western Energy Imbalance Service (WEIS) market. These include Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Colorado Springs Utilities, Deseret Power Electric Cooperative, the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, Platte River Power Authority, and the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA).
The transition to the SPP RTO West will reduce the number of transmission provider-related seams between transmission providers in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska. This will be achieved through the consolidation of seven transmission providers' tariffs into a single SPP RTO common tariff, also reducing the costly "pancaking" of transmission rates.
SPPs RTO West will combine two BAs to form the SPP West BA. In Colorado, the seam currently between the WACM BA (which becomes part of the SPP West BA) and the Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy) BA will still exist.
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. has filed an application with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CoPUC) to expand its participation in the SPP RTO in the West. Tri-State's application outlines the significant benefits of joining the SPP RTO, including greater reliability, affordability, efficiency, and environmental responsibility.
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Frequently asked questions
RTO stands for Regional Transmission Organization. Wholesale markets and electricity transmission between states are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and are often organized through RTOs. RTOs are responsible for functions like designing and running energy spot markets, managing capacity markets, transmission planning, providing transmission services, and administering a generator interconnection process.
Colorado does not currently belong to an RTO. However, Colorado utilities are mandated to join a wholesale market by 2030. There are two big markets emerging: those run by SPP (Southwest Power Pool) and CAISO. A group of Colorado utilities called the Mountain West Transmission Group (MWTG) is proposing to join SPP, which is already an RTO to Colorado's east.
Joining an RTO could produce \$230 million in annual savings for electric utilities in Colorado. RTOs can also help with transmission development, improve grid reliability, affordability, and efficiency, and boost investments in clean energy.
