PGE Launches Day-ahead Energy Market Operations, Unlocking New Savings For Customers - 10/01/26
Years of investment and regional leadership position PGE to save customers an estimated $14 million annually while strengthening grid reliability
Portland, Ore – Portland General Electric today began buying and selling energy through the California Independent System Operator’s (CAISO) new Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM), putting years of technology investment and regional collaboration to work for customers.
PGE is among the first utilities to participate in EDAM, which allows participating utilities to buy and sell energy in the day-ahead timeframe. Participation could save PGE customers approximately $14 million annually once the market is fully built out by optimizing supply, demand and transmission across a broader geographic footprint. In addition to lower costs, EDAM participation improves reliability and supports greater use of renewable energy.
“PGE has been long preparing for a reginal energy system that is dynamic and interconnected,” said Maria Pope, president and CEO of Portland General Electric. “Our early investments in advanced systems and operational capabilities as well as regional collaboration have positioned us to lead while staying focused on reliable service and affordability.”
EDAM builds on years of preparation at PGE. At its Integrated Operations Center in Tualatin, Ore., the company has invested in the technology, systems and operational expertise needed to manage an increasingly dynamic energy system. Since joining the Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM) in 2017, PGE has generated approximately $377 million in cumulative benefits for customers. The imbalance market, which is a real-time market operating in 15-minute and 5-minute intervals, has grown to include 24 participating entities serving nearly 80 percent of electricity demand in the West. That scale gives utilities a foundation to unlock even greater savings by expanding into the day-ahead market.
"PGE's participation in EDAM reflects the growing momentum behind regional market collaboration in the West," said Elliot Mainzer, president and CEO of the California ISO. "The addition of PGE expands resource diversity and strengthens the market's ability to deliver economic and reliability benefits to participants and their customers."
PGE's decision to join EDAM followed years of evaluating regional market options and active participation in EDAM’s design. Studies commissioned by PGE concluded that EDAM offered greater economic benefits than alternative market options. EDAM also enables more efficient use of the diverse energy resources available across the West, including hydropower and wind from the Pacific Northwest and solar generation from California and the desert Southwest.
About Portland General Electric Company
Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) is an integrated energy company that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to nearly 960,000 customers serving an area of approximately 2 million Oregonians. Since 1889, Portland General Electric (PGE) has been powering economies, delivering safe, affordable and reliable electricity while working to transform energy systems to meet evolving customer needs. PGE continues to make progress toward emissions reduction targets, and customers have set the standard for prioritizing clean energy with the No. 1 voluntary renewable energy program in the country. PGE is ranked a top ten utility in the 2025 Forrester U.S. Customer Experience Index. In 2025, PGE employees and retirees volunteered over 18,300 hours to more than 400 nonprofit organizations. Through the PGE Foundation, along with corporate contributions and the employee matching gift program, more than $5 million was directed to charitable organizations supporting economic growth and community resilience across our service area. For information: portlandgeneral.com/news. Contact Info: PGE Communications, PGECommunications@pgn.com; 503-464-2067
About the California ISO
The California Independent System Operator (ISO) is a nonprofit public-benefit corporation responsible for the reliable operation of California’s bulk electric grid. The ISO provides transmission planning, open and nondiscriminatory access to one of the world's largest high-voltage transmission networks and operates competitive wholesale electricity markets for the benefit of consumers.
About the Western Energy Markets
The Western Energy Markets include the Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM) and the Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM), which provide regional market coordination across the West. The WEIM, launched in 2014, helps participants balance electricity supply and demand in real time and has delivered billions in benefits to market participants and their customers. EDAM began operation in 2026 and extends those benefits into the day-ahead timeframe through broader regional coordination. The Western Energy Markets Governing Body has primary decision-making authority over market rules specific to the WEIM and EDAM.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding expected customer savings, reliability benefits, renewable energy integration and the anticipated benefits of PGE’s participation in the EDAM. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, changes in market conditions, energy prices, transmission availability, regional market participation, market design and implementation, regulatory developments, operational performance, weather, customer demand and other risks described in PGE’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and PGE undertakes no obligation to update them, except as required by law.