Should Seattle City Light join the energy imbalance market?

Since last September, Seattle City Light has been trying to convince the City Council’s Energy and Environment Committee that it should be allowed to join the California Independent Systems Operators (CAISO) Energy Imbalance Market (EIM). On its face, it seems like an easy decision, and if SCL had done a better job on its initial pitch to the Council it might have gone through quickly. But they didn’t, and the Council members asked for more information. As the details have emerged, the case for joining the EIM has become murkier. It’s an interesting case study on the state of the …

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Notes from this morning’s Council Briefing

Here are some quick hits from this morning’s weekly Council Briefing. Council President Harrell noted that this week’s Education, Equity and Governance Committee will have a  presentation from the FTC on combatting fraud in the African-American and Latino communities. Also, the Seattle Election and Ethics Commission will discuss their plan to roll out the Democracy Voucher Program. Council member Sawant mentioned that there are openings on the Seattle City Light customer review panel; in particular they are looking for a residential customer and someone with strong environmental advocacy interests. Sawant also said that at the next Energy and Environment Committee …

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NCIS went live today, with a couple of problems

The new NCIS billing and customer information system for Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Utilities went live this morning — mostly. According to the team, they had two problems with one of the 40 external applications that NCIS connects to. One of the problems is just slightly annoying; the other one is a small privacy breach that was caught and plugged quickly.

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