(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
Two of Berkshire Hathaway’s utilities, PacifiCorp and NV Energy, saved a combined $19.77 million in the second quarter through the western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM).
The California Independent System Operator (ISO) has released its western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) 2019 second quarter benefits report that shows total savings have reached $736.26 million since the market’s launch in November 2014.
The benefits for the second quarter reached $86 million for the nine participating members, and the gross benefits for Berkshire’s NV Energy was $4.62 million and PacifiCorp was $15.15 million.
The western EIM platform automatically finds and delivers low-cost energy to serve consumers in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Optimizing diverse resources from a large geographic area enables more effective use of carbon-free generation besides reducing costs.
The benefits report estimates the Western EIM reduced CO2 levels by 56,897 metric tons by using surplus renewable energy that otherwise would have been curtailed. Since 2015, the effective use of carbon-free generation from the market has resulted in a gross reduction of 403,546 metric tons of CO2, which is the equivalent of removing the emissions of 84,844 passenger cars driven for one year.
Looking forward, the market continues to grow with benefits anticipated to increase as other participants enter the market. Those future participants include Arizona’s Salt River Project and Seattle City Light in April 2020. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, NorthWestern Energy, Turlock Irrigation District, and the Public Service Company of New Mexico are slated to begin participation in 2021. Tucson Electric Power in Arizona and Avista, which serves parts of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, announced plans to participate in 2022.
© 2019 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.of future results.