The Electricity Oversight Board (EOB) serves as an investigator and advocate to ensure that wholesale energy markets and the electric transmission system function reliably, at fair costs to consumers and consistent with achievement of other state policy objectives, such as goals for renewable energy production and environmental emissions reductions. In order to achieve these ends, the EOB:

• Investigates the structure, function, competitiveness of markets for bulk energy, transmission, and generating capacity that serve California consumers, and participates on behalf of California in western interstate regional market monitoring and grid management structures.
• Conducts oversight and performance evaluation of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and the wholesale markets and grid services CAISO administers.
• Represents consumer interests and State policy objectives regarding wholesale energy markets and electricity transmission before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Federal Courts and in regional forums. These actions include cases to obtain refunds for market overcharges, change rules to prevent future market abuses, alter market structures to better serve California public interests, improve reliability rules, and set rates for use of the transmission grid.