Sacramento, California - California Energy Commission Chair Robert B. Weisenmiller issued the following statement regarding the expansion of the Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) to include Portland General Electric (PGE). PGE has signed an implementation agreement to participate in the EIM with a goal of joining in 2017.

The EIM is a real-time energy wholesale market that automatically dispatches the lowest cost electricity resources over a large geographic area of the western United States, including California.

"The addition of Portland General Electric to the Energy Imbalance Market will allow larger amounts of wind and solar power to be integrated into our region's energy network and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As more utilities join the Energy Imbalance Market, there are more customers for renewable energy and more options to balance power supply and demand throughout a broader region."