Open Access and Priority Rights on Interconnection Facilities, 24646-24656 [2012-9848]
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 25, 2012 / Proposed Rules
requirements of this paragraph for that
replaced flight deck windshield.
(1) For flight deck windshields
manufactured by GKN Aerospace (GKN) with
screw/lug electrical connections, repeat the
detailed inspection thereafter at intervals not
to exceed 12,000 flight hours or 48 months,
whichever occurs later.
(2) For flight deck windshields
manufactured by PPG Aerospace (PPG) with
screw/lug electrical connections, repeat the
detailed inspection thereafter at intervals not
to exceed 6,000 flight hours or 24 months,
whichever occurs later.
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(h) Compliance Time Exception for Previous
Inspection
For airplanes on which inspections of the
J1, J4, and J5 terminals, as specified in the
Accomplishment Instructions of Boeing
Special Attention Service Bulletin 757–30–
0019, Revision 2, dated April 19, 2010 (for
Model 757–200, –200PF, and –200CB series
airplanes); or Boeing Special Attention
Service Bulletin 757–30–0020, Revision 2,
dated March 31, 2010 (for Model 757–300
series airplanes); were accomplished before
the effective date of this AD: Do the actions
required by paragraph (g) of this AD at the
applicable compliance time specified in
paragraphs (h)(1) and (h)(2) of this AD.
Repeat the inspection thereafter at the
applicable intervals specified in paragraphs
(g)(1) or (g)(2) of this AD.
(1) For flight deck windshields
manufactured by GKN with screw/lug
electrical connections: At the later of the
times specified in paragraphs (h)(1)(i) and
(h)(1)(ii) of this AD.
(i) Within 12,000 flight hours or 48
months, whichever occurs later, after
accomplishing the inspection.
(ii) Within 500 flight hours after the
effective date of this AD.
(2) For flight deck windshields
manufactured by PPG with screw/lug
electrical connections: At the later of the
times specified in paragraphs (h)(2)(i) and
(h)(2)(ii) of this AD.
(i) Within 6,000 flight hours or 24 months,
whichever occurs later, after accomplishing
the inspection.
(ii) Within 500 flight hours after the
effective date of this AD.
(i) Inspection for Replaced Windshield or
Reassembled Heat Power Connection
For any windshield replaced after the
effective date of this AD with a windshield
that uses screws and lugs for electrical heat
connection, or if a windshield heat power
connection is reassembled on windshields
that use screws and lugs for windshield heat
connections: Do the actions required in
paragraph (g) of this AD within 500 flight
hours after the windshield replacement or
connection reassembly, and thereafter at the
applicable interval specified in paragraph
(g)(1) or (g)(2) of this AD, as applicable.
(j) Exception to Compliance Time for Certain
Windshield Replacement
If, during the inspection required by
paragraph (g) or (i) of this AD, the screw is
found cross threaded: Do the applicable
actions specified in paragraph (j)(1) or (j)(2)
of this AD.
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(1) If the terminal lug is loose and cannot
be tightened: Before further flight, replace
that windshield, in accordance with the
Accomplishment Instructions of Boeing
Special Attention Service Bulletin 757–30–
0019, Revision 3, dated December 16, 2011
(for Model 757–200, –200PF, and –200CB
series airplanes); or Boeing Special Attention
Service Bulletin 757–30–0020, Revision 3,
dated December 16, 2011 (for Model 757–300
series airplanes).
(2) If the terminal lug is tight or can be
tightened: Replace that windshield within
500 flight hours after the inspection, in
accordance with the Accomplishment
Instructions Boeing Special Attention Service
Bulletin 757–30–0019, Revision 3, dated
December 16, 2011 (for Model 757–200,
–200PF, and –200CB series airplanes); or
Boeing Special Attention Service Bulletin
757–30–0020, Revision 3, dated December
16, 2011 (for Model 757–300 series
airplanes).
(k) Optional Terminating Action
Replacing a flight deck windshield that
uses screws and lugs for the electrical
connections with a flight deck windshield
that uses pins and sockets for the electrical
connections, in accordance with the
Accomplishment Instructions of Boeing
Special Attention Service Bulletin 757–30–
0019, Revision 3, dated December 16, 2011
(for Model 757–200, –200PF, and –200CB
series airplanes); or Boeing Special Attention
Service Bulletin 757–30–0020, Revision 3,
dated December 16, 2011 (for Model 757–300
series airplanes); ends the repetitive
inspection requirements of paragraph (g) of
this AD for that windshield.
(l) Related AD Termination
Accomplishing the actions required by this
AD terminates the requirements of AD 2010–
15–01, Amendment 39–16367 (75 FR 39804,
July 13, 2010), paragraphs (g), (j), and (k), for
that airplane only.
(m) Credit for Previous Actions
This paragraph provides credit for the
actions required by this AD, if those actions
were performed before the effective date of
this AD using Boeing Special Attention
Service Bulletin 757–30–0019, Revision 2,
dated April 19, 2010 (for Model 757–200,
–200PF, and –200CB series airplanes); or
Boeing Special Attention Service Bulletin
757–30–0020, Revision 2, dated March 31,
2010 (for Model 757–300 series airplanes).
(n) Alternative Methods of Compliance
(AMOCs)
(1) The Manager, Seattle Aircraft
Certification Office, FAA, has the authority to
approve AMOCs for this AD, if requested
using the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19.
In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, send your
request to your principal inspector or local
Flight Standards District Office, as
appropriate. If sending information directly
to the manager of the ACO, send it to the
attention of the person identified in the
Related Information section of this AD.
Information may be emailed to: 9–ANM–
Seattle–ACO–AMOC–Requests@faa.gov.
(2) Before using any approved AMOC,
notify your appropriate principal inspector,
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or lacking a principal inspector, the manager
of the local flight standards district office/
certificate holding district office.
(o) Related Information
(1) For more information about this AD,
contact Elias Natsiopoulos, Aerospace
Engineer, Systems and Equipment Branch,
ANM–130S, FAA, Seattle Aircraft
Certification Office (ACO), 1601 Lind Avenue
SW., Renton, Washington 98057–3356;
phone: 425–917–6478; fax: 425–917–6590;
email: Elias.Natsiopoulos@faa.gov.
(2) For service information identified in
this AD, contact Boeing Commercial
Airplanes, Attention: Data & Services
Management, P.O. Box 3707, MC 2H–65,
Seattle, Washington 98124–2207; telephone
206–544–5000, extension 1; fax 206–766–
5680; email me.boecom@boeing.com; Internet
https://www.myboeingfleet.com. You may
review copies of the referenced service
information at the FAA, Transport Airplane
Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton,
Washington. For information on the
availability of this material at the FAA, call
425–227–1221.
Issued in Renton, Washington, on April 5,
2012.
Ali Bahrami,
Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate,
Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2012–9916 Filed 4–24–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
18 CFR Part 40
[Docket Nos. AD12–14–000 and AD11–11–
000]
Open Access and Priority Rights on
Interconnection Facilities
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of Inquiry.
AGENCY:
In this Notice of Inquiry, the
Commission seeks comment on open
access and priority rights for capacity on
interconnection facilities.
DATES: Comments are due June 11, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by docket number and in
accordance with the requirements
posted on the Commission’s Web site,
https://www.ferc.gov. Comments may be
submitted by any of the following
methods:
• Agency Web Site: Documents
created electronically using word
processing software should be filed in
native applications or print-to-PDF
format and not in a scanned format, at
https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/
efiling.asp.
SUMMARY:
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• Mail/Hand Delivery: Commenters
unable to file comments electronically
must mail or hand-deliver an original
and copy of their comments to: Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission,
Secretary of the Commission, 888 First
Street NE., Washington, DC 20426.
These requirements can be found on the
Commission’s Web site, see, e.g., the
‘‘Quick Reference Guide for Paper
Submissions,’’ available at https://
www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp, or
via phone from Online Support at (202)
502–6652 or toll-free at 1–866–208–
3676.
Instructions: For detailed instructions
on submitting comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process,
see the Comment Procedures Section of
this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Becky Robinson (Technical
Information), Office of Energy Policy
and Innovation, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First
Street NE., Washington, DC 20426,
(202) 502–8868.
Christopher Thomas (Technical
Information), Office of Energy Market
Regulation, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502–
8412.
Olga Kolotushkina (Legal Information),
Office of the General Counsel, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street NE., Washington, DC
20426, (202) 502–6024.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
transmission facilities for purposes of
open access policies. However, the
Commission has permitted an owner of
interconnection facilities to have
priority to capacity over its facilities for
its existing use at the time of a thirdparty request for service.2 In the
instance where an owner of
interconnection facilities has specific,
pre-existing generator expansion plans
with milestones for construction of
generation facilities and can
demonstrate that it has made material
progress toward meeting those
milestones, the Commission may grant
priority rights for the capacity on the
interconnection facilities to those future
generation projects or expansions as
well.3 Further, an affiliate of the current
interconnection facility owner that is
developing its own generator projects
also may obtain priority rights to the
capacity on the interconnection
facilities by meeting the ‘‘specific plans
and milestones’’ standard with respect
to future use, provided that the plans
include a future transfer of ownership of
the interconnection facilities to such an
affiliate.4 This granting of priority rights
preserves the ability of the generation
developer to deliver its output to the
point of interconnection with the
transmission system, so long as it can
make the relevant showing to the
Commission sufficient to justify
priority. The Commission requires that,
upon receipt of a request for
transmission service from an
unaffiliated third party, a pro forma
Open Access Transmission Tariff
(OATT) must be filed by the owner of
139 FERC ¶ 61,051
the facilities considered interconnection
facilities under Order No. 2003 within
Docket Nos.
60 days of the date of the request.5
2. To date, the Commission has
Open Access and Priority
applied this policy on a case-by-case
Rights on Interconnection
Facilities ............................ AD12–14–000 basis. The Commission’s current policy
is guided by the desire to prevent undue
Priority Rights to New Participant-Funded Transmission AD11–11–000 discrimination by ensuring that third
parties have open access to available
transfer capability that is not being used
Notice of Inquiry
by the owner of the interconnection
April 19, 2012.
facilities. In doing so, the Commission
1. In this Notice of Inquiry (NOI), the
has considered priority access to firm
Commission seeks to explore whether,
service, and granted waivers of certain
and, if so, how the Commission should
provisions in the pro forma OATT to
revise its current policy concerning
priority rights and open access with
2 See Milford Wind Corridor, LLC, 129 FERC
regard to certain interconnection
¶ 61,149, at P. 24 (2009) (Milford); Terra-Gen Dixie
Valley, LLC, 132 FERC ¶ 61,215, at P. 49 (2010)
facilities. In a series of cases that have
(Terra-Gen I).
come before the Commission in recent
3 Aero Energy LLC, 116 FERC ¶ 61,149, at P. 28
years, the Commission has treated
(2006) (Aero); Milford, 129 FERC ¶ 61,149 at P. 22;
certain interconnection facilities 1 as
and Alta Wind, 134 FERC ¶ 61,109, at P. 16–17
1 As
noted below, the Commission in the past has
used the term ‘‘generator lead lines’’ to describe the
class of facilities at issue in this proceeding. In this
NOI, we will use the term ‘‘interconnection
facilities,’’ except when referencing comments on
generator lead lines.
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(2011) (Alta Wind). Such plans and initial progress
also must pre-date a valid request for service. TerraGen I, 132 FERC ¶ 61,215 at P. 53.
4 See Milford, 129 FERC ¶ 61,149 at P. 5.
5 Black Creek Hydro, Inc., 77 FERC ¶ 61,232, at
61,941 (1996); Termoelectrica U.S., LLC, 105 FERC
¶ 61,087, at P. 11 (2003).
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24647
reflect the limited service available over
interconnection facilities and the
limited ability of generation developers
to support certain OATT ancillary
services and requirements.
3. Through this Notice of Inquiry, the
Commission seeks comment on options
for addressing priority rights on
interconnection facilities given the
responses filed to the March 2011
technical conference, which identified a
number of concerns with the
Commission’s current policy. As
discussed in the sections that follow,
the Commission seeks comments on
alternative approaches to govern thirdparty requests for service and priority
rights: continued use of an OATT
framework with potential modification
and clarification, including the potential
introduction of a safe harbor period, and
a case-by-case determination on the
generation developer’s priority rights;
and use of a Large Generator
Interconnection Agreement (LGIA)/
Large Generator Interconnection
Procedures (LGIP) framework in which
the existing LGIA provisions that govern
third-party use of a transmission
provider’s interconnection facilities
would be extended to interconnection
customer’s interconnection facilities
(i.e., allowing parties to mutually agree
to the use of and compensation for the
facilities). The Commission also seeks
comment on the scope of our inquiry in
this proceeding and whether, as a
threshold matter, there is a need to
reconsider the Commission policy as set
forth in the recent series of cases.6
4. We note that there are numerous
and potentially detailed issues
embedded within the broad categories
of this NOI. We encourage all interested
stakeholders to address the specific
questions for which the Commission
seeks comment and to include as
appropriate any proposed tariff language
that should be considered.7 We also
encourage comments on how any
individual potential policy change
discussed below would affect the
viability of other policies (e.g., if the
Commission were to adopt a safe harbor
period, what are the implications for the
current policy of demonstrating specific
plans and milestones to secure priority
rights)?
6 See, e.g., Aero, 116 FERC ¶ 61,149; Milford, 129
FERC ¶ 61,149; Terra-Gen I, 132 FERC ¶ 61,215; and
Alta Wind, 134 FERC ¶ 61,109.
7 The Commission distinguishes this proceeding
from the North American Electric Reliability
Corporation’s (NERC) current investigation into the
applicability of Reliability Standards to
interconnection facilities (Project 2010–07).
Comments related to NERC’s investigation are not
the subject of this Notice of Inquiry and should be
directed to NERC.
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I. Background
5. Interconnection facilities are
constructed to enable a generation
facility or multiple generation facilities
to transmit power from the generation
facility to the integrated transmission
grid. They are radial in nature, with a
single point of interconnection with the
network grid, and power flows toward
the network grid, with no electrical
loads between the generation facilities
and the point of interconnection with
the network grid. Interconnection
facilities can be relatively short
ancillary components to a single
generation facility.8 Alternatively, they
may span much longer distances and
represent significant transmission
capacity, being capable of
interconnecting additional generation
projects.9
6. Ownership and operation of
interconnection facilities may take
several forms. Under Order No. 2003,10
generation developers that wish to
interconnect their generation facilities
to the integrated transmission grid must
submit an interconnection request to the
relevant transmission provider pursuant
to the transmission provider’s LGIP and
develop an LGIA. Interconnection
facilities that are owned, controlled, or
operated by the transmission provider,
regardless of which party constructed
the facilities, are designated as
transmission provider’s interconnection
facilities under the LGIA. Third party
use of the transmission provider’s
interconnection facilities is governed by
the provisions of the LGIA.11 This
provision permits the parties to
negotiate for a third party to use the
interconnection facilities and entitles
the original interconnection customer to
8 See, e.g., Southern Company Serv., Inc., Docket
No. ER12–554–000 (involving an approximately
2,000 foot interconnection facility).
9 See, e.g., Bayonne Energy Center, 136 FERC
¶ 61,019 (2011) (involving a 345 kV interconnection
facility); Terra-Gen I, 132 FERC ¶ 61,215 (involving
a 212 mile interconnection facility).
10 Standardization of Generator Interconnection
Agreements and Procedures, Order No. 2003, FERC
Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,146 (2003), order on reh’g, Order
No. 2003–A, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,160, order on
reh’g, Order No. 2003–B, FERC Stats. & Regs.
¶ 31,171 (2004), order on reh’g, Order No. 2003–C,
FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,190 (2005), aff’d sub nom.
Nat’l Ass’n of Regulatory Util. Comm’rs v. FERC,
475 F3d. 1277 (D.C. Cir. 2007), cert. denied, 552
U.S. 1230 (2008).
11 Section 9.9.2 states ‘‘* * * if the Parties
mutually agree, such agreement not to be
unreasonably withheld, to allow one or more third
parties to use Transmission Provider’s
Interconnection Facilities, or any part thereof,
Interconnection Customer will be entitled to
compensation for the capital expenses it incurred
in connection with the Interconnection Facilities
based upon the pro rata use of the Interconnection
Facilities by the Transmission Provider, all thirdparty users and the Interconnection Customer
* * *.’’
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compensation for capital expenses it
incurred to pay for the transmission
provider’s interconnection facilities and
to compensation for the ongoing costs,
including operation and maintenance
costs, based on a pro rata use among the
parties.
7. However, where a generation
developer has funded and constructed a
portion of the interconnection facilities,
and does not transfer ownership or
operational control of those facilities to
the transmission provider after
construction, under the pro forma LGIA
those facilities are classified as
interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities. That is,
interconnection customers’
interconnection facilities are located
between the generation facility and the
point at which either the transmission
provider’s interconnection facilities
begin or the point of interconnection
with the transmission provider’s
transmission system. Section 9.9.2 of
the pro forma LGIA is inapplicable to
third-party requests for use of an
interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities. These
interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities are the types
of facilities at issue in this proceeding.
March 2011 Technical Conference
8. The Commission held a technical
conference in March 2011 to explore,
among other things, the application of
the Commission’s open access policies
to generator lead lines 12 in the instance
when affiliated or unaffiliated thirdparty generators also seek to use these
facilities.13 Generally, commenters
assert that these policies may be unduly
burdensome and ill-suited for generator
lead lines, and may have detrimental
implications for the future development
and financing of generator lead lines
and their associated generation projects,
especially renewable energy projects.14
Specifically, commenters 15 argue that
the Commission should recognize the
commercial, technological, legal, and
other differences between transmission
lines and these generator lead lines
when considering open access
principles in the context of radial
12 The technical conference announcements and
participants used the term ‘‘generator lead lines.’’
While for this NOI we think it is appropriate to hold
the discussion in terms of interconnection facilities,
in the interest of being true to the comments, we
will maintain the use of the term ‘‘generator lead
lines’’ in this section.
13 Priority Rights to New Participant-Funded
Transmission, March 15, 2011 Technical
Conference, AD11–11–000.
14 The list of entities that filed comments or
participated at this conference is in Appendix A of
this NOI.
15 First Wind, Invenergy, Duke, and NextEra.
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generator lead lines. Further,
commenters raise a number of concerns
with the Commission’s current practice
of imposing an OATT Filing
requirement on generator lead line
developers.
9. Among the unique attributes of
generator lead lines, commenters
suggest the following features: (1)
Generator lead lines are radial lines that
serve the limited and sole purpose of
connecting generation facilities to the
transmission network, i.e., they are not
an element of the integrated
transmission network; (2) generator lead
lines do not provide benefits to the
transmission system in terms of
capability or reliability, and cannot be
relied on for coordinated operation of
the transmission system; (3) an outage
on the generator lead lines would not
affect the entire transmission system; (4)
generator lead lines do not provide
ancillary services; (5) generator lead
lines are often located in remote regions
not in close proximity to load; (6)
generator lead lines are owned by
entities entirely different than those that
typically own transmission; and (7)
generator lead lines are viewed by their
developers and banks providing
financing as an integral part of the
whole, not as a project or business
separate from the generating facility.16
10. Among the main concerns raised,
commenters 17 identify a ‘‘free rider’’
problem that, in their opinion, produces
a disincentive to be the first developer
to build a generator lead line, while
creating a relative advantage for other
generation developers to be second in
line.18 Several commenters 19 argue that
being subject to the open access
requirements of Order Nos. 888, 889,
and 890 (including the obligations to
file an OATT within 60 days of a
request for service and to administer an
OATT, Open Access Same Time
Information System, Standards of
Conduct, and Uniform System of
Accounts) imposes significant costs and
difficulties for independent developers,
especially small ones that are not
affiliated with large utilities.20 These
developers assert that complying with
such responsibilities, in addition to the
obligation to commence studies related
to a third-party request for service, may
require expenditure of a significant
portion of their capital, and require
16 See, e.g., First Wind at 2–4; Invenergy at 1–2;
Duke at 5–6; and NextEra at 12–13.
17 Invenergy, CAHW, First Wind, Puget, and
MidAmerican.
18 See, e.g., Puget at 14–15; MidAmerican at 14–
15.
19 SCE, BP, CAHW, Puget, National Grid,
MidAmerican, and Wenner.
20 See, e.g., Puget at 7–8; AWEA at 10.
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additional expertise, hardware,
software, and staffing resources.21
11. Although these expenses may
generally be considered normal costs of
operating in a regulated environment,
commenters argue that the costs are
triggered by a relatively low threshold
event—a written request
unaccompanied by any deposit.22 Thus,
commenters assert that the minimal
commitment required for third-party
requests for transmission service on
generator lead lines may not sufficiently
distinguish serious customers from
those who may have merely a
speculative interest in taking
transmission service, while the
generator lead line owner is
immediately affected by having to file
an OATT, expend significant staff
resources, and incur significant costs to
evaluate the feasibility of providing the
requested service.23
12. Commenters also state that
priority rights on their generator lead
line are essential for the financing of
generation projects because priority
rights provide lenders with assurance
that developers will still be able to use
the line for their planned generation
facilities.24 Commenters assert that
lenders are wary of financing generation
projects without a guarantee that the
generator lead line will have sufficient
capacity available to transmit the
generation to the grid, for both early and
later phases of their generation
projects.25 In addition, commenters 26
argue that generator developers are
concerned with the policy of
demonstrating ‘‘specific plans and
milestones,’’ as it is unclear to them
which milestones need to be described
and which factors would adequately
demonstrate material progress towards
those milestones. They note that,
although the Commission has found
certain evidence sufficient in prior
cases,27 its review was limited largely to
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21 Id.
22 See, e.g., BP at 8; CAWH at 3; and NextEra at
20–21. Commenters appear to be referring to
sections 17.2, 18.2, or 29.2 of the pro forma OATT,
which set forth information required for a
completed application. In addition, where the
owner of the facilities does not have an OATT on
file, a third-party customer does not need to submit
a deposit as part of its application for transmission
service to the interconnection facilities. See
Sagebrush, a California Partnership, 130 FERC
¶ 61,093, at P 57, order on reh’g, 132 FERC ¶ 61,234
(2010) (Sagebrush). We note that the deposit is
required once an OATT is filed. See also Sagebrush,
132 FERC ¶ 61,234 at P 44; Terra-Gen I, 132 FERC
¶ 61,215 at n.84.
23 See, e.g., BP at 8; NextEra at 20–21.
24 See, e.g., First Wind at 3–4.
25 See, e.g., Allete at 2.
26 Allete, BP and NextEra.
27 See Aero, 118 FERC ¶ 61,210 at P 22; Milford,
129 FERC ¶ 61,149 at P 22; and Alta Wind, 134
FERC ¶ 61,109 at P 17.
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privileged and confidential evidence,
which could not be described in the
Commission orders or otherwise
disclosed to the public.28 Also,
commenters argue that, given the
uncertainty of generation project
development due to financing,
permitting, and various other factors, it
may be neither possible for a generator
developer to provide the needed detail
about phases of generation that will be
constructed in the future, nor prudent
for developers to prematurely enter into
binding contractual commitments
merely for purposes of attempting to
demonstrate priority rights.29
13. Commenters note that certain
sections of the pro forma OATT may be
inapplicable to generator lead lines on
a generic basis. For instance,
commenters argue that a single circuit
generator lead line can only provide
firm or non-firm point-to-point service
and cannot provide network service,30
so the pro forma OATT’s standard terms
and conditions for network service are
unnecessary.31 Additionally, several
commenters assert that because
generator lead line owners do not have
the capability to supply many ancillary
services to third parties, the ancillary
services provisions of the pro forma
OATT are likewise inapplicable.32
Further, commenters argue that the
planning requirements included in
Attachment K of the OATT may be an
unnecessary regulatory burden for
generator developers of generation lead
lines, as they have no native load
growth, they do not own network
transmission facilities, will not typically
expand their lines absent a request for
service, and the costs of such facilities
are not socialized or based on a regional
planning needs analysis.33
14. Commenters concede that
generator lead line owners are free to
propose non-rate terms and conditions
that differ from the pro forma OATT,
where each deviation is supported by a
demonstration that it is consistent with
or superior to the pro forma OATT or
does not apply given the particular
generator lead line owner’s business
model.34 However, rather than the
28 NextEra
at 22; BP Wind at 7.
e.g., NextEra at 24; First Wind at 4.
30 See, e.g., Sagebrush, 130 FERC ¶ 61,093 at P
29 (waiving the pro forma OATT’s provisions for
network service to a single transmission line that
does not have a control area or the generation
resources necessary to provide network service).
See also Terra-Gen Dixie Valley, LLC, 134 FERC
¶ 61,027, at P 10–12 (2011) (Terra-Gen II).
31 See, e.g., First Wind at 6–7.
32 See, e.g., First Wind at 6–7; AWEA at 11;
Edison Mission at 25; and NextEra at 13.
33 See, e.g., NextEra at 19–20.
34 See, e.g., Montana-Alberta Tie, Inc., 116 FERC
¶ 61,071, at P 60 (2006) (MATL).
29 See,
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Commission continuing to evaluate
such requests on a case-by-case basis,
some commenters 35 suggest that the
Commission should establish a new pro
forma OATT to apply generically to all
generator lead lines.
15. As an alternative to the current
Commission policy, some commenters
suggest expanding section 9.9.2 of the
LGIA, which addresses third-party
access to transmission provider’s
interconnection facilities, to apply to
interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities as well, and
argue that doing so would render
unnecessary the requirement for the
original interconnection customer to file
an OATT when a third party requests
service on their interconnection
facilities.36 They argue that treating a
generator requesting access to
interconnection facilities as an
interconnection request is a pragmatic
approach that more accurately
characterizes the service being sought,
and eliminates the unduly burdensome
and costly obligations imposed upon
generation developers under the
Commission’s current policies that
commenters assert impedes the
development of location-constrained
renewable generation.37
16. Further, commenters express
concern that the current policy does not
adequately engage the transmission
provider in the process of
interconnecting a third-party requestor
of service on a generator lead line.38 To
reach load and serve customers under
current policy, a third party may be
required to make separate requests for
access to the original interconnection
customer’s interconnection facilities
and the transmission provider’s
interconnection facilities, as well as a
transmission service request on the
interconnecting transmission provider’s
transmission system.39 Commenters
assert that this bifurcated process is
inefficient.40
17. Transmission providers,41
however, caution the Commission
against discriminating against existing
`
transmission providers vis-a-vis
independent merchant transmission
developers with regard to priority rights
or other regulatory requirements.
Transmission providers argue that any
separate treatment for independent
developers is not appropriate, as
transmission providers do not want to
35 NextEra, AWEA, SCE, CAHW, NU/NSTAR, and
First Wind.
36 Puget at 8; Edison Mission at 17.
37 Edison Mission at 19.
38 See, e.g., Puget at 11.
39 Puget at 9.
40 See, e.g., id. at 10.
41 SCE at 3; Puget at 7; and MidAmerican at 6.
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be disadvantaged or discouraged from
constructing generator lead lines.
Instead, these commenters favor any
future policies or clarifications of
existing policy to be based on the type
of facility being constructed, not on the
entity that is proposing to own the
facility.42
II. Discussion
pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
A. Scope of Inquiry
18. In this NOI, the Commission seeks
comment on various options for
addressing third-party access to and
priority rights on interconnection
customer’s interconnection facilities.
Appendix B to this document provides
a schematic and explanation of what the
Commission believes to be a typical
situation. Much of the discussion and
questions in this NOI derive from this
understanding. As discussed above,
Order No. 2003 addresses third party
use of transmission provider
interconnection facilities, but not
interconnection customer
interconnection facilities. With a goal of
ensuring that a third party generator
(G2) may be able to interconnect to
interconnection customer
interconnection facilities that in some
instances have been 30, 50, or even
hundreds of miles long, and up to 345
kV, the Commission has in a series of
recent cases treated interconnection
customer interconnection facilities as
transmission facilities for purposes of
open access policies and required that
the original developer (G1) file an OATT
within 60 days of a request for service
on these facilities. In light of comments
received, and as discussed in the
sections that follow, the Commission
seeks comments on two alternative
approaches to govern third-party use
and priority rights to use: (1) Continued
use of an OATT framework with
potential modification and clarification,
including the potential introduction of a
safe harbor period, and a case-by-case
determination on the generation
developer’s priority rights; or (2) use of
a LGIA/LGIP framework in which the
existing LGIA provisions that govern
third-party use of transmission
provider’s interconnection facilities
would be extended to interconnection
customer’s interconnection facilities. In
addition to the details of each approach,
the Commission seeks comment on the
relative ability of each to meet customer
needs while ensuring that the rates,
terms, and conditions of jurisdictional
services remain just and reasonable and
not unduly discriminatory.
42 See,
e.g., Puget at 3.
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19. At the outset, however, the
Commission also seeks comment on the
scope of our inquiry in this proceeding
and whether, as a threshold matter,
there is a need to reconsider existing
Commission policies. With the passage
of time, concerns raised at the March
2011 technical conference and in
subsequent comments may have been
addressed as the industry has
considered the Commission’s existing
precedent. If not, additional views on
what approach would be most effective
in addressing third-party requests for
service and/or evaluating priority rights
on interconnection facilities would be
useful. The Commission encourages
commenters to discuss their views of
the needs of their business models in
the context of the Commission’s open
access and interconnection policies,
which are designed to ensure that
transmission service is made available
on terms that are just and reasonable
and not unduly discriminatory.
20. As noted above, the Commission
intends that the focus of this proceeding
is on interconnection customers’
interconnection facilities as a class of
facilities. If commenters disagree that
this is the set of facilities at issue, then
they should explain their understanding
of the facilities at issue (referencing the
drawing in Appendix B) and respond to
the questions below in terms of the set
of facilities they believe is at issue, and
clarify that they are doing so. Similarly,
if commenters distinguish application of
certain policies based on the size of a
facility or other characteristics, then
they should respond to the questions
below in terms of the relevant
characteristics, and clarify that they are
doing so.
21. Specifically, the Commission
seeks comment on these issues:
i. To what specific set of facilities are
commenters’ concerns directed? That is, are
commenters’ concerns directed toward access
to interconnection customer interconnection
facilities, or to both interconnection customer
interconnection facilities and transmission
provider interconnection facilities?
ii. Is requiring interconnection customer
interconnection facilities to provide thirdparty access under an OATT framework
necessary to ensure against undue
discrimination and ensure just and
reasonable rates, given that developers of
remote generation are building
interconnection facilities of considerable
length and/or size?
iii. Has the Commission’s current policy
blurred the pre-existing line between
interconnection service and transmission
service with respect to providing for thirdparty access to interconnection facilities in
such a way as to create unintended
consequences?
iv. Has industry largely adapted to current
Commission policy such that the
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Commission should continue its current
policy? If not, should the Commission
respond to concerns expressed at the
Technical Conference with (a) potential
clarification of and modification to its
current policy of treating interconnection
facilities under the OATT framework; or (b)
adoption of a framework under which it
would consider issues of third-party access
and priority rights under its interconnection
rules and procedures?
v. Should the Commission consider
different treatment for larger versus smaller
interconnection facilities, e.g., treating larger
interconnection facilities under the OATT
framework and smaller interconnection
facilities under the LGIA/LGIP framework? If
so, what would be the appropriate threshold
for separating large versus small
interconnection facilities (e.g., voltage, miles,
or potential third party interconnection)?
Should any distinctions be made among
existing interconnection facilities, planned
expansions of existing interconnection
facilities, and new interconnection facilities,
for any of the options?
vi. From commenters’ perspective, is there
a meaningful distinction between the
interconnection/operation of facilities
proposed to provide independent
transmission service (e.g., Chinook 43) and
generator interconnection facilities of long
length and high voltage (e.g., Terra Gen I)?
vii. Are there circumstances under which
it would be feasible and/or desirable to allow
the generation developer to choose whether
its interconnection facilities would be
governed by the OATT framework or the
LGIA/LGIP framework, with the attendant
rights and responsibilities of either choice?
viii. For purposes of access policies,
should the Commission distinguish between
affiliates and nonaffiliates even when parties
have otherwise agreed to the terms and
conditions of access to the facilities?
ix. Are there additional approaches that the
Commission should consider? Be specific as
to details. For example, commenters mention
common facilities agreements (CFAs) as a
means for parties to agree on access to
interconnection customer’s interconnection
facilities.44 Commenters also mention a
rebuttable de minimis exception for small
interconnection customer’s interconnection
facilities.
x. To the extent that the concerns regarding
third-party use and priority rights do not
exist for transmission provider’s
interconnection facilities, why would a
generation developer that builds its own
interconnection facilities choose to retain
operational control of them as opposed to
43 Chinook Power Transmission, LLC, 126 FERC
¶ 61,134 (2009) (Chinook).
44 See, e.g., BP Wind Energy North America Inc.,
129 FERC ¶ 61,207 (2009) (for an order accepting
a CFA among affiliated parties and granting waiver
of the requirements of Order Nos. 888 and 890). See
Sky River, LLC, 134 FERC ¶ 61,064, at P 13 (2011)
(for an order rejecting a CFA between unaffiliated
parties and denying waiver of the requirements of
Order Nos. 888 and 890). But see Ashtabula Wind,
LLC, 127 FERC ¶ 61,215 at P 10 (2009) (granting
waiver of the OATT requirements of Order Nos. 888
and 890 in the context of a Common Facilities
Agreement between two unaffiliated parties).
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turning them over to the transmission
provider?
b. OATT Filing Trigger
B. Alternative Approaches for Comment
1. Open Access Transmission Tariff
Framework
22. If the Commission were to
maintain reliance on the existing OATT
framework, should it be modified to
recognize the characteristics of
interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities and needs of
generation developers?
pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
a. Clarification of Specific Plans and
Milestones Evaluation
23. Our current case-by-case policy of
determining a generation developer’s
priority rights to its interconnection
facilities provides a degree of flexibility
and recognizes that there is not
necessarily a standard method for
development of generation projects.
However, as mentioned above, some
commenters voice concerns that the
Commission’s current case-by-case
evaluation of generation developers’
requests for priority rights on their
interconnection facilities based on the
demonstration of specific plans and
milestones for construction of their
generation projects is not clear. To
address this concern, the Commission
could be more prescriptive on the
‘‘specific plans and milestones’’
standard to provide direction to
generation developers seeking to
establish their firm priority rights. Such
requirements could include the type of
evidence that would be indicative of
sufficient ‘‘specific plans and
milestones,’’ and the factors to be
considered in determining whether
‘‘material progress has been made.’’
24. The Commission seeks comment
on issues related to the evaluation of
specific plans and milestones in
requests for priority rights to use
capacity on interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities. Specifically:
i. Should the Commission continue its
practice of evaluating requests for priority
rights for interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities on a case-by-case
basis? If so, should the existing standards
used to evaluate sufficiency of evidence to
demonstrate priority be clarified or modified?
How?
ii. Should the Commission require
generation developers to meet a given set of
uniform criteria to secure priority rights? If
so, what are the necessary criteria and what
types of evidence are sufficient to
demonstrate these criteria? Or, should
generation developers have the flexibility to
demonstrate the sufficiency of their plans
based on various criteria, and what might
these criteria be? In this regard, how should
the Commission balance needs for regulatory
certainty and flexibility?
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25. The Commission’s current policy
to grant waiver of the requirement to file
an OATT prior to the receipt of a thirdparty request for transmission is
designed to reduce the regulatory
burden on entities that did not intend to
be transmission providers. However, as
noted above, several commenters
express concern with the existing
standard for what constitutes a valid
third-party request for service on
interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities. One panelist
suggests that the standard for a thirdparty request should be at least to match
the level of generation development that
has been demonstrated by the original
interconnection customer,45 although
one commenter argues that this is an
impossible standard because a
generation developer is limited in how
far it can proceed with its project until
it has secured transmission capacity.46
One commenter also argues that
generation developers should be
allowed to require that transmission
customers satisfy more stringent
creditworthiness standards than
currently required, because generation
developers, in forming their business
models and capital structure, do not
contemplate taking on significant credit
risks of competing generators.47
26. Some commenters suggest
modifying the rules for when and under
what circumstances an OATT would
need to be filed. For example,
commenters argue that extending the
current 60-day requirement to file an
OATT is justified because of a
possibility that a third party requesting
service might withdraw after the
generation developer has incurred
significant costs in putting an OATT
into place, including the internal
structure to administer it.48 One
commenter suggests requiring the
generation developer to file a notice of
a request for service within a certain
number of days after receiving a request,
and requiring them to file an OATT only
after a generation interconnection
agreement or a transmission service
agreement is executed. They argue that
this process would allow the generation
developer to focus on performing the
necessary studies instead of filing an
OATT.49
27. The Commission seeks comment
on issues related to third-party requests
45 Transcript at 128 (citing Kurt Adams of First
Wind).
46 Gradient at 7.
47 Edison Mission at 24.
48 BP Wind at 8; NextEra at 20–21.
49 NextEra at 20–21.
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and when to require an OATT to be
filed. Specifically:
i. Should the Commission alter the
standard for what constitutes a third-party
request for service on interconnection
customer’s interconnection facilities? If so,
what should the standard be? What would be
the advantages and disadvantages of doing
so, compared to current policy?
ii. Should the standard that is required for
a third-party request for service be the same
standard that is required for the original
interconnection customer (or its affiliate) to
request priority rights, i.e., the specific plans
and milestones demonstration discussed
above? Why or why not? Would this raise
confidentiality concerns, and if so, how
could those be mitigated or avoided?
iii. Should the Commission alter the
requirement that a third-party request triggers
an OATT Filing requirement by the original
interconnection customer within 60 days of
receipt of a request for service? If so, how?
iv. If the Commission were to alter the
requirement that a third-party request triggers
an OATT Filing requirement by the original
interconnection customer, should there be
different approaches when affiliates gain
access to the interconnection facilities as
opposed to when nonaffiliates gain access?
v. Would it enhance regulatory certainty
for the Commission to amend the LGIA to
include contractual terms apprising the
interconnection customer that it will become
a transmission provider if a third party
requests transmission service over its
interconnection customer interconnection
facilities?
vi. Would the creation of a pro forma
tailored OATT (discussed below) ease the
burden on the generation developer to the
point that the existing 60-day window for
filing an OATT would be sufficient?
vii. Some commenters argue that under
current Commission policy, third parties
must make up to four sequential requests for
service (for interconnection and transmission
services, from both the original
interconnection customer and the
transmission provider) to deliver their power.
These commenters use this as an argument in
favor of using the LGIA/LGIP framework. Is
there a way under the OATT framework to
coordinate the requests that a third party
would need to make?
c. Tailored OATT
28. Order No. 888 set forth a pro
forma tariff that provides standardized
terms and conditions for the provision
of open access transmission service. The
unique features of interconnection
facilities may warrant tailoring the
terms and conditions of the OATT to
correspond to these unique features for
providing open access transmission
service. One option for recognizing
these differences and for responding to
the concerns laid out above may be to
continue to use a pro forma OATT
framework but, on a generic basis,
modify the pro forma OATT to establish
a tailored set of terms and conditions for
service, i.e., a pro forma ‘‘tailored
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OATT,’’ that would apply to a welldefined set of interconnection facilities.
29. The Commission has previously
granted waiver of specific provisions of
the pro forma OATT to accommodate
unique situations. For instance, as
mentioned above, because
interconnection facilities are not
networked facilities, the Commission
has granted waiver of the pro forma
OATT requirement to provide network
services on interconnection facilities.50
Also, because the transmission provider
to which the interconnection facilities
are interconnected is required to have
an OATT that provides for ancillary
services on a non-discriminatory basis,
and because of the physical limitations
of interconnection facilities, the
Commission has granted waiver of the
pro forma OATT requirement to provide
ancillary services.51
30. Many generation developers argue
that the pro forma OATT is not wellsuited for interconnection facilities and
that these facilities should either be
substantially or entirely exempt from
pro forma OATT requirements.52 Some
of those commenters argue that using a
tailored OATT could address several of
the concerns with existing policy by
lessening the time, expense, and other
burdens inherent in developing, filing,
and administering an OATT.
Proponents also argue that this
approach would reduce confusion and
the risk of inconsistency, which is
heightened by employing a case-by-case
waiver approach.53
31. Several participants in the
Technical Conference identify pro
forma OATT provisions they believe
could be eliminated to create a pro
forma tailored OATT. One commenter
submitted a proposed pro forma ‘‘Radial
OATT.’’ 54 Commenters argue that the
network service provisions,55 the
requirement to provide scheduling
services,56 and the requirement to
provide ancillary services,57 all
provisions which the Commission has
previously waived for interconnection
customer’s interconnection facilities,
should be removed from a tailored
OATT framework.
50 See Sagebrush, 130 FERC ¶ 61,093 at P 29;
Terra-Gen Dixie Valley, LLC, 135 FERC ¶ 61,134, at
P 12 (2011) (Terra-Gen III).
51 See Sagebrush, 130 FERC ¶ 61,093 at P 29;
Terra-Gen III, 135 FERC ¶ 61,134 at PP 31–33.
52 See, e.g., SCE at 4; Edison Mission at 13–14;
Puget at 6; NextEra at 6; and First Wind at 7.
53 NextEra at 2–3.
54 NextEra at Attachment 1.
55 CAHW at 23–24; Edison Mission at 22; NextEra
at 15–16; and First Wind at 6–7.
56 AWEA at 11; NextEra at 13.
57 AWEA at 11; Edison Mission at 25; and
NextEra at 11–12.
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32. Additionally, commenters argue
that some other provisions the
Commission has not waived are
inappropriate for interconnection
facilities. Specifically, commenters
argue that requiring generation
developers to adopt comparable
Attachment K transmission planning
process procedures makes little sense,
and that instead the Commission should
direct the generation developer, after
receiving a request for service, to
participate in the interconnecting
transmission provider’s Attachment K
process.58 Commenters also suggest that
the pro forma OATT requirement to
calculate Available Transfer Capability
may be inapplicable to interconnection
facilities.59 Additionally, one
commenter argues that developing rates
for point-to-point transmission service
for Schedules 7 and 8 may be
particularly burdensome for generation
developers not experienced with
traditional rate regulation and that do
not usually follow the Uniform System
of Accounts,60 and also suggests waiver
of the Open Access Same-Time
Information System and the Standards
of Conduct.61 Another commenter
suggests allowing generation developers
to use a single set of interconnection
procedures and a single interconnection
agreement for all generators, instead of
separate procedures and agreements for
large and small generators, because
there is a limited set of potential
customers.62 Another commenter argues
that generation developers should not
have an obligation to expand their
interconnection facilities if there is
insufficient capacity for a third party’s
intended use.63
33. Commenters also identify
provisions in the pro forma OATT that
they think should be modified in a
tailored OATT framework. For instance,
several commenters argue that, while
the pro forma OATT requires the use of
average line losses, it is appropriate for
interconnection facilities to use
incremental line losses, because they are
discrete facilities and do not form a
network.64 One commenter asserts that
allocating average line losses under
section 15.7 of the pro forma OATT fails
to recognize that each successive user
58 NextEra at 19–20; AWEA at 12; CAHW at 23;
and NU/NSTAR at 7–8.
59 See, e.g., CAHW at 23; NextEra at 9–11.
60 CAHW at 23–24.
61 Id. at 24.
62 Edison Mission at 27. They note the
Commission rejected this idea in Sagebrush, 130
FERC ¶ 61,093 at P 52, but has allowed the use of
a single set of procedures and a single agreement
by the Midwest ISO.
63 Invenergy at 11.
64 See, e.g., NextEra at 14–15; CAHW at 23; and
Invenergy at 9–10.
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increases the losses borne by earlier
users because losses increase as the line
becomes fully used, and can render the
power contracts of earlier users
uneconomical or interfere with their
ability to supply contracted power.65
34. The Commission seeks comments
on these issues. Specifically:
i. Would a pro forma tailored OATT
accomplish the Commission’s goals of
ensuring non-discriminatory access? Is a pro
forma tailored OATT appropriate in these
circumstances, or should the Commission
continue to evaluate requests for waiver of
certain pro forma OATT provisions on
interconnection facilities on a case-by-case
basis?
ii. Does a pro forma tailored OATT provide
developers clarity beyond that which has
already been established by Commission
precedent on the applicability of the pro
forma OATT to interconnection facilities?
iii. How does a pro forma tailored OATT
framework compare to the other options
presented here in terms of commercial
viability?
iv. What are the relative benefits and
drawbacks of the pro forma tailored OATT
framework as compared to the existing
policy? How should the Commission
distinguish use of a pro forma tailored OATT
for interconnection facilities and use of the
pro forma OATT for public utility
transmission providers that have divested
their generation and thus may have limited
ability to provide all OATT services, e.g.,
ancillary services? Similarly, should the
Commission distinguish interconnection
facilities that may use a pro forma tailored
OATT from transmission facilities that may
typically receive waiver of some pro forma
OATT provisions, such as merchant
transmission lines? If so, how?
v. Identify the pro forma OATT provisions
that should be excluded from a pro forma
tailored OATT. Why should these be
excluded?
vi. What, if any, new or modified
provisions only applicable to interconnection
facilities should be added to a pro forma
tailored OATT? Why?
vii. If the Commission were to pursue a pro
forma tailored OATT, should the
Commission adopt the proposed pro forma
Radial OATT submitted by NextEra? 66 Please
explain and be specific as to any changes that
would need to be made to that proposal.
viii. If a pro forma tailored OATT did not
include a requirement to provide ancillary
services, would relying on the public utility
transmission provider to provide these
services create an undue burden on the
public utility transmission provider?
ix. Should all interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities be eligible to
provide service under a tailored OATT? If
not, which facilities should be excluded? Is
the size of the facilities (for example, length,
capacity, voltage) relevant to being eligible
for tailored OATT treatment?
65 CAHW
at 23.
at Attachment 1.
66 NextEra
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d. Safe Harbor
35. A variation on the OATT
framework is a safe harbor period.
Within a safe harbor the generation
developer would have a grace period in
which the open access rules determined
to be relevant for interconnection
customer’s interconnection facilities
would not apply, to allow for the
phased development of generation
projects over that period. Accordingly, a
generation developer would be assumed
to have priority rights to capacity on its
interconnection facilities during the safe
harbor period.
36. The Commission previously
rejected a proposal for a safe harbor
period of firm priority rights in Milford,
stating that such a period would be
inconsistent with Commission
precedent granting waiver of open
access requirements unless and until the
owner of the line receives a request for
transmission service.67 Nevertheless,
many of the commenters 68 suggest this
option as a means to protect generation
developers’ priority rights to use their
interconnection facilities for their
phased generation project development.
37. The Commission seeks comments
on issues related to a safe harbor period.
Specifically:
i. Is a safe harbor period a viable approach?
What are the benefits and drawbacks of the
safe harbor period approach, as compared
with the current case by case demonstration
of specific plans and milestones, or the other
options presented herein? For instance, to
what extent could such a safe harbor period
be used as a means to prevent others from
accessing the transmission system?
ii. If the Commission were to institute a
safe harbor period, should a generation
developer be allowed to provide access to its
interconnection facilities to others during the
safe harbor period? If so, how should the
Commission guard against discriminatory
access?
iii. If the Commission were to institute a
safe harbor period, could the Commission
adopt for the safe harbor period the
requirement, currently applicable where the
Commission has granted priority rights, that
a generation developer make any currently
unused capacity available to third parties
until such time as its future generation
projects come on line, in a way that is
consistent with the objectives of a safe harbor
period?
iv. What would be the appropriate duration
for the safe harbor period? Should there be
differences in the duration of the safe harbor
period based upon different resource types
(geothermal, wind, solar, etc.)? If so, how can
such distinctions be justified?
v. Should a safe harbor period be
established to begin automatically from some
fixed milestone date (e.g., such as the in67 Milford,
129 FERC ¶ 61,149 at P 23.
BP, CAHW, Edison Mission, First
Wind, Gradient, Invenergy, NextEra, and Sempra.
68 AWEA,
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service date of the interconnection facilities)?
If so, what should that milestone be? Or,
should a developer be required to make a
demonstration before it qualifies for a safe
harbor (e.g., such as plans for phased
generation development)? If the latter, what
should be required to make such
demonstration?
vi. What types of interconnection facilities
should qualify, and how should a generation
developer identify itself as one that is
pursuing phased generation development?
Should there be an upper or lower limit on
physical characteristics of the
interconnection facilities such as length,
voltage, capacity, etc. to qualify for safe
harbor treatment?
vii. Should there be intermediate
development requirements to maintain safe
harbor status? What would these
requirements be? If requirements are not
satisfied, what consequences are appropriate?
2. LGIA/LGIP
38. An alternative framework for
dealing with third-party requests for
service and priority rights on
interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities would be to
rely on a modified version of the LGIA/
LGIP. Some commenters suggest
expanding section 9.9.2 of the pro forma
LGIA, which addresses third-party
access to transmission provider’s
interconnection facilities, to apply to
interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities as well, and
argue that doing so would render
unnecessary the requirement for the
generation developer to file an OATT.69
They argue that this would provide
access to interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities in the same
manner that access to transmission
provider’s interconnection facilities is
now provided.70 One commenter
suggests that the Commission could also
revise the definition of Affected System
to include interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities specifically,
which would mean that these facilities
would be studied as part of subsequent
interconnection studies performed by
the transmission provider for other
interconnection customers, because an
interconnection system impact study is
defined in the pro forma LGIA as ‘‘an
engineering study that evaluates the
impact of the proposed interconnection
on the safety and reliability of
Transmission Provider’s Transmission
System and, if applicable, an Affected
System.’’ 71 Commenters also propose
that, under an LGIA framework, third
parties should apply directly to the
transmission provider (and not the
24653
generation developer) for access to
excess capacity on the interconnection
customer’s interconnection facilities at
the same time that they apply for service
on the transmission provider’s
interconnection facilities and
transmission system.72 These
commenters argue that this process
would be preferable to the
Commission’s current policy, under
which a new interconnection customer
could be required to negotiate separately
with the generation developer and the
transmission provider. Commenters
further argue that involving the
transmission provider at the onset of the
process is more efficient because the
transmission provider is critical to
assessing system impacts, providing
support such as ancillary services, and
coordinating reliability issues.73
39. Commenters add that section 9.9.2
of the pro forma LGIA recognizes an
opportunity for interconnection
customers and the transmission
provider to negotiate a multi-party
agreement to determine the amount of
compensation owed to an
interconnection customer for capital
expenses related to the transmission
provider’s interconnection facilities, as
well as the allocation of on-going
expenses.74 Some commenters suggest
that the Commission could develop a
pro forma multi-party agreement to be
used by entities in negotiating under
section 9.9.2.75
40. Generally, commenters argue that
treating a third-party request for access
to interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities as an
interconnection request is a pragmatic
approach that more accurately
characterizes the service being sought,
and eliminates the unduly burdensome
and costly obligations imposed upon
generation developers under the
Commission’s current policies which
commenters assert impede the
development of location-constrained
renewable generation.76 Commenters
characterize expanding section 9.9.2 of
the pro forma LGIA as an
administratively simple and less
onerous way to facilitate access to
interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities.77
41. The Commission seeks comment
on whether treating third-party use of
interconnection facilities as
interconnection service is a workable
72 Puget
at 9–10.
73 Id.
69 Puget at 8; Edison Mission at 17; Allete at 2;
SCE at 3–4; and MidAmerican at 15–16.
70 Puget at 15.
71 Edison Mission at 18 (referencing definitions in
LGIA section 1).
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Sfmt 4702
74 See,
e.g., Edison Mission at 18.
75 Id.
76 Edison
77 Puget
Mission at 19.
at 8; Edison Mission at 19; and SCE at
3–4.
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alternative to current Commission
policy. Specifically:
i. If the Commission were to expand
section 9.9.2 to govern third party use of
interconnection customer’s interconnection
facilities, what would prevent the original
interconnection customer from evading
negotiations with the third party (which is
likely its competitor), withholding capacity
for reasons other than a legitimate planned
project, or putting excessive cost
responsibilities on the third party?
ii. Would extending section 9.9.2 as
discussed above be sufficient to enable the
transmission provider to facilitate granting
third parties access to the interconnection
customer’s interconnection facilities? Or
would other arrangements or modifications
to the pro forma LGIA be needed to give the
transmission provider that ability? For
example, what commercial arrangements
between the transmission provider and the
original interconnection customer would be
required to enable third-party
interconnection to the interconnection
customer’s interconnection facilities?
iii. What are the benefits and drawbacks of
a third party requesting interconnection
service from the transmission provider,
rather than from the original interconnection
customer?
iv. Should the pro forma LGIA be modified
to include an obligation to expand the
existing capacity of the interconnection
customer’s interconnection facilities to
accommodate a third-party request for
interconnection service? If so, should the
obligation apply to the original
interconnection customer or the transmission
provider? Would such a modification be
consistent with the roles and responsibilities
established in the rest of the pro forma LGIA
for whichever party the obligation applies to
(i.e., either the original interconnection
customer or the transmission provider)?
v. Are there other issues associated with
third-party use of the interconnection
customer’s interconnection facilities that
would require other modifications to the pro
forma LGIA? If so, what are the issues, and
what would these modifications be? For
example, as the term is defined in the pro
forma LGIA, interconnection facilities are
‘‘sole use’’ facilities. If the Commission were
to rely on the interconnection rules and
procedures to govern third party use of
interconnection facilities, would we need to
eliminate language in the LGIA/LGIP that
refers to these as ‘‘sole use’’ facilities? If so,
what would be the collateral consequences?
vi. In addition to the modifications to the
pro forma LGIA/LGIP identified above,
would there be benefit in the Commission
developing other pro forma agreements to
facilitate third-party access to the
interconnection customer’s interconnection
facilities (e.g., pro forma multi-party agency
agreements, service agreements, cost-sharing
agreements, etc.), or should those agreements
be developed by the affected entities and
reviewed by the Commission on a case-bycase basis?
vii. How would expanding the pro forma
LGIA to govern third-party requests for
service on the interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities otherwise solve the
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concerns identified above? Are there other
concerns with current Commission policy on
access to interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities that would remain
under an LGIA/LGIP framework?
viii. Should there be a limit (e.g., with
respect to voltage, capacity, or length) to the
interconnection customer’s interconnection
facilities that would qualify for treatment
under the LGIA/LGIP framework discussed
above?
ix. How would an LGIA/LGIP approach
compare to the other options presented here
in terms of commercial viability and
removing barriers to the development of
location-constrained generation?
42. The Commission also seeks
comment on how priority rights to
interconnection customer’s
interconnection facilities for phased
generation development would work
within an LGIA/LGIP framework. In
making a valid interconnection request
under the pro forma LGIP, an
interconnection customer must submit
(1) A $10,000 deposit, (2) a completed
application with detailed generator data
(Appendix 1 of the LGIP), and (3) a
demonstration of site control or post an
additional deposit of $10,000.78
Additionally, the LGIA stipulates
various milestones that must be logged
with dates for completion in Appendix
B of the LGIA. If future generation
phases are included in an initial request
for interconnection service, then
meeting these milestones as a means to
demonstrate intended future use of the
facilities would arguably be similar in
substance to the Commission’s current
policy of demonstrating plans and
milestones to secure priority rights,
though relying solely on the
interconnection rules and procedures
for securing priority rights would
nevertheless be a different approach
than the Commission’s current policy of
demonstrating plans and milestones.
The LGIP stipulates that a generator
with a higher queued interconnection
request or an executed LGIA (or
unexecuted LGIA that a party has
requested be filed with the Commission)
is included in the base case for any
subsequent Interconnection Feasibility
or System Impact Study.79 So as long as
the initial interconnection request or
executed LGIA includes later phases of
a generation project, under the
interconnection rules and procedures
with a modified section 9.9.2 to include
interconnection customer
interconnection facilities, the generation
developer would not risk losing its
planned interconnection service simply
because a third party also seeks to use
the interconnection customer
78 LGIP
79 See
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LGIP section 6.2 and 7.3.
Frm 00015
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
interconnection facilities. Rather, the
full capacity of the original
interconnection customer’s request,
including capacity for future phases of
generation if those are included in the
original LGIA that was developed, is
unavailable for use by any third party.
This is currently how the transmission
provider treats transmission provider
interconnection facilities when it
studies a new interconnection request.
The Commission seeks comment,
however, on whether this is a viable and
fair approach for demonstrating and
securing priority rights to capacity for
phased generation projects. Specifically:
i. For generation projects that are built in
phases, is it possible and/or typical to request
the interconnection facilities be constructed
in such a manner as to accommodate the
capacity for future phases in an initial
interconnection request and/or LGIA? How
have developers been submitting
interconnection requests and executing
LGIAs for phased projects; i.e., have
developers been including the capacity
necessary for future generation phases in the
initial interconnection request under LGIP?
ii. How would the LGIA/LGIP approach fit
with the current standard of demonstrating
plans and milestones on a case-by-case basis
to receive priority rights for future phases of
a generation project? Does the existing pro
forma LGIA/LGIP contain a sufficiently clear
procedure, e.g., in submitting and
maintaining a valid interconnection request
and meeting the milestones set forth in
Appendix B, such that this procedure might
serve a similar purpose as the current
standard of demonstrating specific plans and
milestones?
iii. If no separate priority rights request for
a generation developer to establish capacity
rights for its interconnection facilities would
be necessary, what are the benefits and/or
drawbacks of such an approach?
iv. How would adopting an LGIA/LGIP
framework otherwise affect generation
developers seeking priority rights on their
interconnection customer’s interconnection
facilities for their phased generation projects?
If the generation developer plans to
eventually use currently unused capacity on
interconnection facilities, should the pro
forma LGIA be modified to require that
capacity on interconnection facilities be
made available for third-party use until the
generation developer is ready to use that
capacity?
III. Comment Procedures
43. The Commission invites interested
persons to submit comments on the
matters, issues and specific questions
identified in this notice. Comments are
due 45 days from publication in the
Federal Register. Comments must refer
to Docket No. AD12–14, and must
include the commenter’s name, the
organization they represent, if
applicable, and their address in their
comments.
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IV. Document Availability
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47. In addition to publishing the full
text of this document in the Federal
Register, the Commission provides all
interested persons an opportunity to
view and/or print the contents of this
document via the Internet through
Order No. 2003 addresses third party use
of Transmission Provider Interconnection
Facilities, which are those that are owned,
controlled, or operated by the Transmission
Provider. Order No. 2003 permits the
interconnection customer to build, own,
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FERC’s Home Page (https://www.ferc.
gov) and in FERC’s Public Reference
Room during normal business hours
(8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time) at 888
First Street NE., Room 2A, Washington,
DC 20426.
48. From FERC’s Home Page on the
Internet, this information is available on
eLibrary. The full text of this document
is available on eLibrary in PDF and
Microsoft Word format for viewing,
printing, and/or downloading. To access
this document in eLibrary, type the
docket number excluding the last three
digits of this document in the docket
number field.
49. User assistance is available for
eLibrary and the FERC’s Web site during
normal business hours from FERC
Online Support at (202) 502–6652 (toll
free at 1–866–208–3676) or email at
ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or the
Public Reference Room at (202) 502–
8371, TTY (202) 502–8659. Email the
Public Reference Room at public.
referenceroom@ferc.gov.
By direction of the Commission.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
Appendix A
List of Commenters and Participants in
Docket No. AD11–11–000
Adam Wenner *
Allete, Inc. d/b/a Minnesota Power
control, and operate interconnection
facilities, which are then defined as
Interconnection Customer Interconnection
Facilities under the LGIP/LGIA, but Order
No. 2003 does not address third party use of
Interconnection Customer Interconnection
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)
Anbaric Transmission (Anbaric)
BP Wind Energy North America (BP Wind)
California High Wind Partners (CAHW)
Clean Line Energy Partners (Clean Line)
Duke Energy (Duke)
Edison Mission Energy (Edison Mission)
Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA)
First Wind Holdings (First Wind)
Gradient Resources (Gradient)
Grasslands Renewable Energy (Grasslands)
Horizon Wind Energy LLC (Horizon)
Invenergy Wind & Invenergy Thermal
(Invenergy)
LS Power Transmission (LS Power)
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.
(MidAmerican)
National Grid USA (National Grid)
NextEra Energy Resources (NextEra)
Northeast Utilities (Northeast)
Northwestern Energy (Northwestern)
Pattern Transmission (Pattern)
Puget Sound Energy (Puget)
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)
Sempra Generation (Sempra)
Shell Wind Energy (Shell)
Southern California Edison (SCE)
Southern Co. (Southern)
Tonbridge Power (Tonbridge)
Transmission Access Policy Study Group
(TAPS)
Transmission Developers, Inc. (TDI)
United Illuminating Co. (United)
Western Independent Transmission Group
(WITG)
Zephyr Power Transmission (Zephyr)
* Comments filed after due date.
Appendix B
Facilities. With a goal of ensuring that a third
party generator (G2 in the above schematic)
may be able to interconnect to
Interconnection Customer Interconnection
Facilities that in some instances have been
30, 50, or even hundreds of miles long, the
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EP25AP12.003</GPH>
44. The Commission encourages
comments to be filed electronically via
the eFiling link on the Commission’s
Web site at https://www.ferc.gov. The
Commission accepts most standard
word processing formats. Documents
created electronically using word
processing software should be filed in
native applications or print-to-PDF
format and not in a scanned format.
Commenters filing electronically do not
need to make a paper filing.
45. Commenters unable to file
comments electronically must mail or
hand deliver an original and copy of
their comments to: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the
Commission, 888 First Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20426.
46. All comments will be placed in
the Commission’s public files and may
be viewed, printed, or downloaded
remotely as described in the Document
Availability section below. Commenters
on this proposal are not required to
serve copies of their comments on other
commenters.
24655
24656
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 25, 2012 / Proposed Rules
Commission has in a series of recent cases
considered these Interconnection Customer
Interconnection Facilities to be open access
transmission facilities and required that the
original developer (G1 in the above
schematic) file an OATT within 60 days of
a request for service on these facilities. In
light of comments received, this NOI seeks
feedback on whether the filing of an OATT,
modifications to the LGIA/LGIP, or other
means are better for addressing third-party
access to facilities at issue here.
[FR Doc. 2012–9848 Filed 4–24–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
19 CFR Part 101
[Docket No. USCBP–2012–0006]
Extension of Port Limits of
Indianapolis, IN
U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
AGENCY:
U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) is proposing to extend
the geographical limits of the port of
entry of Indianapolis, Indiana. The
proposed extension will make the
boundaries more easily identifiable to
the public and will allow for uniform
and continuous service to the extended
area of Indianapolis, Indiana. The
proposed change is part of CBP’s
continuing program to use its personnel,
facilities, and resources more efficiently,
and to provide better service to carriers,
importers, and the general public.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before June 25, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Please submit comments,
identified by docket number, by one of
the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments
via docket number USCBP–2012–0006.
• Mail: Border Security Regulations
Branch, Office of International Trade,
U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
Mint Annex, 799 9th Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20229–1179.
Instructions: All submissions received
must include the agency name and
docket number for this rulemaking. All
comments received will be posted
without change to https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
SUMMARY:
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www.regulations.gov. Comments
submitted will be available for public
inspection in accordance with the
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C.
552) and 19 CFR 103.11(b) on normal
business days between the hours of 9
a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Border
Security Regulations Branch, Office of
International Trade, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection, 799 9th Street NW.,
5th Floor, Washington, DC.
Arrangements to inspect submitted
comments should be made in advance
by calling Mr. Joseph Clark at (202) 325–
0118.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Roger Kaplan, Office of Field
Operations, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, (202) 325–4543, or by email
at Roger.Kaplan@dhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Participation
Interested persons are invited to
participate in this rulemaking by
submitting written data, views, or
arguments on all aspects of the
proposed rule. CBP also invites
comments that relate to the economic,
environmental, or federalism effects that
might result from this proposed rule.
Comments that will provide the most
assistance to CBP will reference a
specific portion of the proposed rule,
explain the reason for any
recommended change, and include data,
information, or authority that support
such recommended change.
II. Background
As part of its continuing efforts to use
CBP’s personnel, facilities, and
resources more efficiently, and to
provide better service to carriers,
importers, and the general public, CBP
is proposing to extend the limits of the
Indianapolis, Indiana, port of entry. CBP
ports of entry are locations where CBP
officers and employees are assigned to
accept entries of merchandise, clear
passengers, collect duties, and enforce
the various provisions of customs,
immigration, agriculture, and related
U.S. laws at the border. The term ‘‘port
of entry’’ is used in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) in title 8 for
immigration purposes and in title 19 for
customs purposes. For customs
purposes, CBP regulations list
designated CBP ports of entry and the
limits of each port in section 101.3(b)(1)
of title 19 (19 CFR 101.3(b)(1)).1
Indianapolis was designated as a
customs port of entry by the President’s
message of March 3, 1913, concerning a
reorganization of the customs service
1 Ports of entry for immigration purposes are
currently listed at 8 CFR 100.4.
PO 00000
Frm 00017
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
pursuant to the Act of August 24, 1912
(37 Stat. 434; 19 U.S.C. 1). Although
CBP is not aware of any document
which specifically sets forth the
geographical boundaries of the
Indianapolis port of entry, the port
limits are generally understood to be the
corporate limits of the city of
Indianapolis.
In 1970, by act of the Indiana
legislature, the city of Indianapolis
consolidated with the surrounding
county of Marion. However, four
municipalities within Marion County
remained excluded from the corporate
limits of Indianapolis. Additionally,
members of the trade community have
expressed a need for CBP services in
areas west and south of the city limits.
CBP would like to extend the
boundaries of the port of entry of
Indianapolis, Indiana, to include all the
territory within the boundaries of
Marion County, Indiana, as well as
portions of the neighboring counties of
Boone, Hendricks, and Johnson. This
update is necessary to clarify the
geographic limits of the port. The
update will also allow CBP to better
serve the public in the greater
Indianapolis area, by providing regular
service to (1) municipalities within
Indianapolis that are not technically
within the city limits, and to (2)
locations to the immediate west and
south of the city. The proposed change
in the boundaries of the port of
Indianapolis, Indiana, will not result in
a change in the service that is provided
to the public by the port and will not
require a change in the staffing or
workload at the port.
III. Proposed Port Limits of
Indianapolis, Indiana
The new port limits of Indianapolis,
Indiana, are proposed as follows:
In the State of Indiana, all of Marion
County; that part of Boone County
which is west of Interstate Route 65 and
east of State Route 39; that part of
Hendricks County which is east of State
Route 39; and that part of Johnson
County which is east of State Route 37,
north of State Route 144, and west of
Interstate Route 65.
CBP has included a map of the
proposed port limits in the docket as
‘‘Attachment: Port of Entry of
Indianapolis—Proposed Limits.’’
IV. Statutory and Regulatory Reviews
A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
DHS does not consider this proposed
rule to be a ‘‘significant regulatory
action’’ under section 3(f) of Executive
Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and
Review, as supplemented by Executive
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 25, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24646-24656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9848]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
18 CFR Part 40
[Docket Nos. AD12-14-000 and AD11-11-000]
Open Access and Priority Rights on Interconnection Facilities
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of Inquiry.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In this Notice of Inquiry, the Commission seeks comment on
open access and priority rights for capacity on interconnection
facilities.
DATES: Comments are due June 11, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and in
accordance with the requirements posted on the Commission's Web site,
https://www.ferc.gov. Comments may be submitted by any of the following
methods:
Agency Web Site: Documents created electronically using
word processing software should be filed in native applications or
print-to-PDF format and not in a scanned format, at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp.
[[Page 24647]]
Mail/Hand Delivery: Commenters unable to file comments
electronically must mail or hand-deliver an original and copy of their
comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the
Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426. These
requirements can be found on the Commission's Web site, see, e.g., the
``Quick Reference Guide for Paper Submissions,'' available at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp, or via phone from Online Support
at (202) 502-6652 or toll-free at 1-866-208-3676.
Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Comment
Procedures Section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Becky Robinson (Technical Information), Office of Energy Policy and
Innovation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8868.
Christopher Thomas (Technical Information), Office of Energy Market
Regulation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8412.
Olga Kolotushkina (Legal Information), Office of the General Counsel,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington,
DC 20426, (202) 502-6024.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
139 FERC ] 61,051
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Docket Nos.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Open Access and Priority Rights on Interconnection AD12-14-000
Facilities.............................................
Priority Rights to New Participant-Funded Transmission.. AD11-11-000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notice of Inquiry
April 19, 2012.
1. In this Notice of Inquiry (NOI), the Commission seeks to explore
whether, and, if so, how the Commission should revise its current
policy concerning priority rights and open access with regard to
certain interconnection facilities. In a series of cases that have come
before the Commission in recent years, the Commission has treated
certain interconnection facilities \1\ as transmission facilities for
purposes of open access policies. However, the Commission has permitted
an owner of interconnection facilities to have priority to capacity
over its facilities for its existing use at the time of a third-party
request for service.\2\ In the instance where an owner of
interconnection facilities has specific, pre-existing generator
expansion plans with milestones for construction of generation
facilities and can demonstrate that it has made material progress
toward meeting those milestones, the Commission may grant priority
rights for the capacity on the interconnection facilities to those
future generation projects or expansions as well.\3\ Further, an
affiliate of the current interconnection facility owner that is
developing its own generator projects also may obtain priority rights
to the capacity on the interconnection facilities by meeting the
``specific plans and milestones'' standard with respect to future use,
provided that the plans include a future transfer of ownership of the
interconnection facilities to such an affiliate.\4\ This granting of
priority rights preserves the ability of the generation developer to
deliver its output to the point of interconnection with the
transmission system, so long as it can make the relevant showing to the
Commission sufficient to justify priority. The Commission requires
that, upon receipt of a request for transmission service from an
unaffiliated third party, a pro forma Open Access Transmission Tariff
(OATT) must be filed by the owner of the facilities considered
interconnection facilities under Order No. 2003 within 60 days of the
date of the request.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ As noted below, the Commission in the past has used the term
``generator lead lines'' to describe the class of facilities at
issue in this proceeding. In this NOI, we will use the term
``interconnection facilities,'' except when referencing comments on
generator lead lines.
\2\ See Milford Wind Corridor, LLC, 129 FERC ] 61,149, at P. 24
(2009) (Milford); Terra-Gen Dixie Valley, LLC, 132 FERC ] 61,215, at
P. 49 (2010) (Terra-Gen I).
\3\ Aero Energy LLC, 116 FERC ] 61,149, at P. 28 (2006) (Aero);
Milford, 129 FERC ] 61,149 at P. 22; and Alta Wind, 134 FERC ]
61,109, at P. 16-17 (2011) (Alta Wind). Such plans and initial
progress also must pre-date a valid request for service. Terra-Gen
I, 132 FERC ] 61,215 at P. 53.
\4\ See Milford, 129 FERC ] 61,149 at P. 5.
\5\ Black Creek Hydro, Inc., 77 FERC ] 61,232, at 61,941 (1996);
Termoelectrica U.S., LLC, 105 FERC ] 61,087, at P. 11 (2003).
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2. To date, the Commission has applied this policy on a case-by-
case basis. The Commission's current policy is guided by the desire to
prevent undue discrimination by ensuring that third parties have open
access to available transfer capability that is not being used by the
owner of the interconnection facilities. In doing so, the Commission
has considered priority access to firm service, and granted waivers of
certain provisions in the pro forma OATT to reflect the limited service
available over interconnection facilities and the limited ability of
generation developers to support certain OATT ancillary services and
requirements.
3. Through this Notice of Inquiry, the Commission seeks comment on
options for addressing priority rights on interconnection facilities
given the responses filed to the March 2011 technical conference, which
identified a number of concerns with the Commission's current policy.
As discussed in the sections that follow, the Commission seeks comments
on alternative approaches to govern third-party requests for service
and priority rights: continued use of an OATT framework with potential
modification and clarification, including the potential introduction of
a safe harbor period, and a case-by-case determination on the
generation developer's priority rights; and use of a Large Generator
Interconnection Agreement (LGIA)/Large Generator Interconnection
Procedures (LGIP) framework in which the existing LGIA provisions that
govern third-party use of a transmission provider's interconnection
facilities would be extended to interconnection customer's
interconnection facilities (i.e., allowing parties to mutually agree to
the use of and compensation for the facilities). The Commission also
seeks comment on the scope of our inquiry in this proceeding and
whether, as a threshold matter, there is a need to reconsider the
Commission policy as set forth in the recent series of cases.\6\
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\6\ See, e.g., Aero, 116 FERC ] 61,149; Milford, 129 FERC ]
61,149; Terra-Gen I, 132 FERC ] 61,215; and Alta Wind, 134 FERC ]
61,109.
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4. We note that there are numerous and potentially detailed issues
embedded within the broad categories of this NOI. We encourage all
interested stakeholders to address the specific questions for which the
Commission seeks comment and to include as appropriate any proposed
tariff language that should be considered.\7\ We also encourage
comments on how any individual potential policy change discussed below
would affect the viability of other policies (e.g., if the Commission
were to adopt a safe harbor period, what are the implications for the
current policy of demonstrating specific plans and milestones to secure
priority rights)?
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\7\ The Commission distinguishes this proceeding from the North
American Electric Reliability Corporation's (NERC) current
investigation into the applicability of Reliability Standards to
interconnection facilities (Project 2010-07). Comments related to
NERC's investigation are not the subject of this Notice of Inquiry
and should be directed to NERC.
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[[Page 24648]]
I. Background
5. Interconnection facilities are constructed to enable a
generation facility or multiple generation facilities to transmit power
from the generation facility to the integrated transmission grid. They
are radial in nature, with a single point of interconnection with the
network grid, and power flows toward the network grid, with no
electrical loads between the generation facilities and the point of
interconnection with the network grid. Interconnection facilities can
be relatively short ancillary components to a single generation
facility.\8\ Alternatively, they may span much longer distances and
represent significant transmission capacity, being capable of
interconnecting additional generation projects.\9\
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\8\ See, e.g., Southern Company Serv., Inc., Docket No. ER12-
554-000 (involving an approximately 2,000 foot interconnection
facility).
\9\ See, e.g., Bayonne Energy Center, 136 FERC ] 61,019 (2011)
(involving a 345 kV interconnection facility); Terra-Gen I, 132 FERC
] 61,215 (involving a 212 mile interconnection facility).
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6. Ownership and operation of interconnection facilities may take
several forms. Under Order No. 2003,\10\ generation developers that
wish to interconnect their generation facilities to the integrated
transmission grid must submit an interconnection request to the
relevant transmission provider pursuant to the transmission provider's
LGIP and develop an LGIA. Interconnection facilities that are owned,
controlled, or operated by the transmission provider, regardless of
which party constructed the facilities, are designated as transmission
provider's interconnection facilities under the LGIA. Third party use
of the transmission provider's interconnection facilities is governed
by the provisions of the LGIA.\11\ This provision permits the parties
to negotiate for a third party to use the interconnection facilities
and entitles the original interconnection customer to compensation for
capital expenses it incurred to pay for the transmission provider's
interconnection facilities and to compensation for the ongoing costs,
including operation and maintenance costs, based on a pro rata use
among the parties.
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\10\ Standardization of Generator Interconnection Agreements and
Procedures, Order No. 2003, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,146 (2003),
order on reh'g, Order No. 2003-A, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,160,
order on reh'g, Order No. 2003-B, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,171
(2004), order on reh'g, Order No. 2003-C, FERC Stats. & Regs. ]
31,190 (2005), aff'd sub nom. Nat'l Ass'n of Regulatory Util.
Comm'rs v. FERC, 475 F3d. 1277 (D.C. Cir. 2007), cert. denied, 552
U.S. 1230 (2008).
\11\ Section 9.9.2 states ``* * * if the Parties mutually agree,
such agreement not to be unreasonably withheld, to allow one or more
third parties to use Transmission Provider's Interconnection
Facilities, or any part thereof, Interconnection Customer will be
entitled to compensation for the capital expenses it incurred in
connection with the Interconnection Facilities based upon the pro
rata use of the Interconnection Facilities by the Transmission
Provider, all third-party users and the Interconnection Customer * *
*.''
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7. However, where a generation developer has funded and constructed
a portion of the interconnection facilities, and does not transfer
ownership or operational control of those facilities to the
transmission provider after construction, under the pro forma LGIA
those facilities are classified as interconnection customer's
interconnection facilities. That is, interconnection customers'
interconnection facilities are located between the generation facility
and the point at which either the transmission provider's
interconnection facilities begin or the point of interconnection with
the transmission provider's transmission system. Section 9.9.2 of the
pro forma LGIA is inapplicable to third-party requests for use of an
interconnection customer's interconnection facilities. These
interconnection customer's interconnection facilities are the types of
facilities at issue in this proceeding.
March 2011 Technical Conference
8. The Commission held a technical conference in March 2011 to
explore, among other things, the application of the Commission's open
access policies to generator lead lines \12\ in the instance when
affiliated or unaffiliated third-party generators also seek to use
these facilities.\13\ Generally, commenters assert that these policies
may be unduly burdensome and ill-suited for generator lead lines, and
may have detrimental implications for the future development and
financing of generator lead lines and their associated generation
projects, especially renewable energy projects.\14\ Specifically,
commenters \15\ argue that the Commission should recognize the
commercial, technological, legal, and other differences between
transmission lines and these generator lead lines when considering open
access principles in the context of radial generator lead lines.
Further, commenters raise a number of concerns with the Commission's
current practice of imposing an OATT Filing requirement on generator
lead line developers.
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\12\ The technical conference announcements and participants
used the term ``generator lead lines.'' While for this NOI we think
it is appropriate to hold the discussion in terms of interconnection
facilities, in the interest of being true to the comments, we will
maintain the use of the term ``generator lead lines'' in this
section.
\13\ Priority Rights to New Participant-Funded Transmission,
March 15, 2011 Technical Conference, AD11-11-000.
\14\ The list of entities that filed comments or participated at
this conference is in Appendix A of this NOI.
\15\ First Wind, Invenergy, Duke, and NextEra.
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9. Among the unique attributes of generator lead lines, commenters
suggest the following features: (1) Generator lead lines are radial
lines that serve the limited and sole purpose of connecting generation
facilities to the transmission network, i.e., they are not an element
of the integrated transmission network; (2) generator lead lines do not
provide benefits to the transmission system in terms of capability or
reliability, and cannot be relied on for coordinated operation of the
transmission system; (3) an outage on the generator lead lines would
not affect the entire transmission system; (4) generator lead lines do
not provide ancillary services; (5) generator lead lines are often
located in remote regions not in close proximity to load; (6) generator
lead lines are owned by entities entirely different than those that
typically own transmission; and (7) generator lead lines are viewed by
their developers and banks providing financing as an integral part of
the whole, not as a project or business separate from the generating
facility.\16\
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\16\ See, e.g., First Wind at 2-4; Invenergy at 1-2; Duke at 5-
6; and NextEra at 12-13.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Among the main concerns raised, commenters \17\ identify a
``free rider'' problem that, in their opinion, produces a disincentive
to be the first developer to build a generator lead line, while
creating a relative advantage for other generation developers to be
second in line.\18\ Several commenters \19\ argue that being subject to
the open access requirements of Order Nos. 888, 889, and 890 (including
the obligations to file an OATT within 60 days of a request for service
and to administer an OATT, Open Access Same Time Information System,
Standards of Conduct, and Uniform System of Accounts) imposes
significant costs and difficulties for independent developers,
especially small ones that are not affiliated with large utilities.\20\
These developers assert that complying with such responsibilities, in
addition to the obligation to commence studies related to a third-party
request for service, may require expenditure of a significant portion
of their capital, and require
[[Page 24649]]
additional expertise, hardware, software, and staffing resources.\21\
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\17\ Invenergy, CAHW, First Wind, Puget, and MidAmerican.
\18\ See, e.g., Puget at 14-15; MidAmerican at 14-15.
\19\ SCE, BP, CAHW, Puget, National Grid, MidAmerican, and
Wenner.
\20\ See, e.g., Puget at 7-8; AWEA at 10.
\21\ Id.
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11. Although these expenses may generally be considered normal
costs of operating in a regulated environment, commenters argue that
the costs are triggered by a relatively low threshold event--a written
request unaccompanied by any deposit.\22\ Thus, commenters assert that
the minimal commitment required for third-party requests for
transmission service on generator lead lines may not sufficiently
distinguish serious customers from those who may have merely a
speculative interest in taking transmission service, while the
generator lead line owner is immediately affected by having to file an
OATT, expend significant staff resources, and incur significant costs
to evaluate the feasibility of providing the requested service.\23\
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\22\ See, e.g., BP at 8; CAWH at 3; and NextEra at 20-21.
Commenters appear to be referring to sections 17.2, 18.2, or 29.2 of
the pro forma OATT, which set forth information required for a
completed application. In addition, where the owner of the
facilities does not have an OATT on file, a third-party customer
does not need to submit a deposit as part of its application for
transmission service to the interconnection facilities. See
Sagebrush, a California Partnership, 130 FERC ] 61,093, at P 57,
order on reh'g, 132 FERC ] 61,234 (2010) (Sagebrush). We note that
the deposit is required once an OATT is filed. See also Sagebrush,
132 FERC ] 61,234 at P 44; Terra-Gen I, 132 FERC ] 61,215 at n.84.
\23\ See, e.g., BP at 8; NextEra at 20-21.
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12. Commenters also state that priority rights on their generator
lead line are essential for the financing of generation projects
because priority rights provide lenders with assurance that developers
will still be able to use the line for their planned generation
facilities.\24\ Commenters assert that lenders are wary of financing
generation projects without a guarantee that the generator lead line
will have sufficient capacity available to transmit the generation to
the grid, for both early and later phases of their generation
projects.\25\ In addition, commenters \26\ argue that generator
developers are concerned with the policy of demonstrating ``specific
plans and milestones,'' as it is unclear to them which milestones need
to be described and which factors would adequately demonstrate material
progress towards those milestones. They note that, although the
Commission has found certain evidence sufficient in prior cases,\27\
its review was limited largely to privileged and confidential evidence,
which could not be described in the Commission orders or otherwise
disclosed to the public.\28\ Also, commenters argue that, given the
uncertainty of generation project development due to financing,
permitting, and various other factors, it may be neither possible for a
generator developer to provide the needed detail about phases of
generation that will be constructed in the future, nor prudent for
developers to prematurely enter into binding contractual commitments
merely for purposes of attempting to demonstrate priority rights.\29\
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\24\ See, e.g., First Wind at 3-4.
\25\ See, e.g., Allete at 2.
\26\ Allete, BP and NextEra.
\27\ See Aero, 118 FERC ] 61,210 at P 22; Milford, 129 FERC ]
61,149 at P 22; and Alta Wind, 134 FERC ] 61,109 at P 17.
\28\ NextEra at 22; BP Wind at 7.
\29\ See, e.g., NextEra at 24; First Wind at 4.
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13. Commenters note that certain sections of the pro forma OATT may
be inapplicable to generator lead lines on a generic basis. For
instance, commenters argue that a single circuit generator lead line
can only provide firm or non-firm point-to-point service and cannot
provide network service,\30\ so the pro forma OATT's standard terms and
conditions for network service are unnecessary.\31\ Additionally,
several commenters assert that because generator lead line owners do
not have the capability to supply many ancillary services to third
parties, the ancillary services provisions of the pro forma OATT are
likewise inapplicable.\32\ Further, commenters argue that the planning
requirements included in Attachment K of the OATT may be an unnecessary
regulatory burden for generator developers of generation lead lines, as
they have no native load growth, they do not own network transmission
facilities, will not typically expand their lines absent a request for
service, and the costs of such facilities are not socialized or based
on a regional planning needs analysis.\33\
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\30\ See, e.g., Sagebrush, 130 FERC ] 61,093 at P 29 (waiving
the pro forma OATT's provisions for network service to a single
transmission line that does not have a control area or the
generation resources necessary to provide network service). See also
Terra-Gen Dixie Valley, LLC, 134 FERC ] 61,027, at P 10-12 (2011)
(Terra-Gen II).
\31\ See, e.g., First Wind at 6-7.
\32\ See, e.g., First Wind at 6-7; AWEA at 11; Edison Mission at
25; and NextEra at 13.
\33\ See, e.g., NextEra at 19-20.
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14. Commenters concede that generator lead line owners are free to
propose non-rate terms and conditions that differ from the pro forma
OATT, where each deviation is supported by a demonstration that it is
consistent with or superior to the pro forma OATT or does not apply
given the particular generator lead line owner's business model.\34\
However, rather than the Commission continuing to evaluate such
requests on a case-by-case basis, some commenters \35\ suggest that the
Commission should establish a new pro forma OATT to apply generically
to all generator lead lines.
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\34\ See, e.g., Montana-Alberta Tie, Inc., 116 FERC ] 61,071, at
P 60 (2006) (MATL).
\35\ NextEra, AWEA, SCE, CAHW, NU/NSTAR, and First Wind.
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15. As an alternative to the current Commission policy, some
commenters suggest expanding section 9.9.2 of the LGIA, which addresses
third-party access to transmission provider's interconnection
facilities, to apply to interconnection customer's interconnection
facilities as well, and argue that doing so would render unnecessary
the requirement for the original interconnection customer to file an
OATT when a third party requests service on their interconnection
facilities.\36\ They argue that treating a generator requesting access
to interconnection facilities as an interconnection request is a
pragmatic approach that more accurately characterizes the service being
sought, and eliminates the unduly burdensome and costly obligations
imposed upon generation developers under the Commission's current
policies that commenters assert impedes the development of location-
constrained renewable generation.\37\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\36\ Puget at 8; Edison Mission at 17.
\37\ Edison Mission at 19.
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16. Further, commenters express concern that the current policy
does not adequately engage the transmission provider in the process of
interconnecting a third-party requestor of service on a generator lead
line.\38\ To reach load and serve customers under current policy, a
third party may be required to make separate requests for access to the
original interconnection customer's interconnection facilities and the
transmission provider's interconnection facilities, as well as a
transmission service request on the interconnecting transmission
provider's transmission system.\39\ Commenters assert that this
bifurcated process is inefficient.\40\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\38\ See, e.g., Puget at 11.
\39\ Puget at 9.
\40\ See, e.g., id. at 10.
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17. Transmission providers,\41\ however, caution the Commission
against discriminating against existing transmission providers vis-
[agrave]-vis independent merchant transmission developers with regard
to priority rights or other regulatory requirements. Transmission
providers argue that any separate treatment for independent developers
is not appropriate, as transmission providers do not want to
[[Page 24650]]
be disadvantaged or discouraged from constructing generator lead lines.
Instead, these commenters favor any future policies or clarifications
of existing policy to be based on the type of facility being
constructed, not on the entity that is proposing to own the
facility.\42\
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\41\ SCE at 3; Puget at 7; and MidAmerican at 6.
\42\ See, e.g., Puget at 3.
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II. Discussion
A. Scope of Inquiry
18. In this NOI, the Commission seeks comment on various options
for addressing third-party access to and priority rights on
interconnection customer's interconnection facilities. Appendix B to
this document provides a schematic and explanation of what the
Commission believes to be a typical situation. Much of the discussion
and questions in this NOI derive from this understanding. As discussed
above, Order No. 2003 addresses third party use of transmission
provider interconnection facilities, but not interconnection customer
interconnection facilities. With a goal of ensuring that a third party
generator (G2) may be able to interconnect to interconnection customer
interconnection facilities that in some instances have been 30, 50, or
even hundreds of miles long, and up to 345 kV, the Commission has in a
series of recent cases treated interconnection customer interconnection
facilities as transmission facilities for purposes of open access
policies and required that the original developer (G1) file an OATT
within 60 days of a request for service on these facilities. In light
of comments received, and as discussed in the sections that follow, the
Commission seeks comments on two alternative approaches to govern
third-party use and priority rights to use: (1) Continued use of an
OATT framework with potential modification and clarification, including
the potential introduction of a safe harbor period, and a case-by-case
determination on the generation developer's priority rights; or (2) use
of a LGIA/LGIP framework in which the existing LGIA provisions that
govern third-party use of transmission provider's interconnection
facilities would be extended to interconnection customer's
interconnection facilities. In addition to the details of each
approach, the Commission seeks comment on the relative ability of each
to meet customer needs while ensuring that the rates, terms, and
conditions of jurisdictional services remain just and reasonable and
not unduly discriminatory.
19. At the outset, however, the Commission also seeks comment on
the scope of our inquiry in this proceeding and whether, as a threshold
matter, there is a need to reconsider existing Commission policies.
With the passage of time, concerns raised at the March 2011 technical
conference and in subsequent comments may have been addressed as the
industry has considered the Commission's existing precedent. If not,
additional views on what approach would be most effective in addressing
third-party requests for service and/or evaluating priority rights on
interconnection facilities would be useful. The Commission encourages
commenters to discuss their views of the needs of their business models
in the context of the Commission's open access and interconnection
policies, which are designed to ensure that transmission service is
made available on terms that are just and reasonable and not unduly
discriminatory.
20. As noted above, the Commission intends that the focus of this
proceeding is on interconnection customers' interconnection facilities
as a class of facilities. If commenters disagree that this is the set
of facilities at issue, then they should explain their understanding of
the facilities at issue (referencing the drawing in Appendix B) and
respond to the questions below in terms of the set of facilities they
believe is at issue, and clarify that they are doing so. Similarly, if
commenters distinguish application of certain policies based on the
size of a facility or other characteristics, then they should respond
to the questions below in terms of the relevant characteristics, and
clarify that they are doing so.
21. Specifically, the Commission seeks comment on these issues:
i. To what specific set of facilities are commenters' concerns
directed? That is, are commenters' concerns directed toward access
to interconnection customer interconnection facilities, or to both
interconnection customer interconnection facilities and transmission
provider interconnection facilities?
ii. Is requiring interconnection customer interconnection
facilities to provide third-party access under an OATT framework
necessary to ensure against undue discrimination and ensure just and
reasonable rates, given that developers of remote generation are
building interconnection facilities of considerable length and/or
size?
iii. Has the Commission's current policy blurred the pre-
existing line between interconnection service and transmission
service with respect to providing for third-party access to
interconnection facilities in such a way as to create unintended
consequences?
iv. Has industry largely adapted to current Commission policy
such that the Commission should continue its current policy? If not,
should the Commission respond to concerns expressed at the Technical
Conference with (a) potential clarification of and modification to
its current policy of treating interconnection facilities under the
OATT framework; or (b) adoption of a framework under which it would
consider issues of third-party access and priority rights under its
interconnection rules and procedures?
v. Should the Commission consider different treatment for larger
versus smaller interconnection facilities, e.g., treating larger
interconnection facilities under the OATT framework and smaller
interconnection facilities under the LGIA/LGIP framework? If so,
what would be the appropriate threshold for separating large versus
small interconnection facilities (e.g., voltage, miles, or potential
third party interconnection)? Should any distinctions be made among
existing interconnection facilities, planned expansions of existing
interconnection facilities, and new interconnection facilities, for
any of the options?
vi. From commenters' perspective, is there a meaningful
distinction between the interconnection/operation of facilities
proposed to provide independent transmission service (e.g., Chinook
\43\) and generator interconnection facilities of long length and
high voltage (e.g., Terra Gen I)?
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\43\ Chinook Power Transmission, LLC, 126 FERC ] 61,134 (2009)
(Chinook).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
vii. Are there circumstances under which it would be feasible
and/or desirable to allow the generation developer to choose whether
its interconnection facilities would be governed by the OATT
framework or the LGIA/LGIP framework, with the attendant rights and
responsibilities of either choice?
viii. For purposes of access policies, should the Commission
distinguish between affiliates and nonaffiliates even when parties
have otherwise agreed to the terms and conditions of access to the
facilities?
ix. Are there additional approaches that the Commission should
consider? Be specific as to details. For example, commenters mention
common facilities agreements (CFAs) as a means for parties to agree
on access to interconnection customer's interconnection
facilities.\44\ Commenters also mention a rebuttable de minimis
exception for small interconnection customer's interconnection
facilities.
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\44\ See, e.g., BP Wind Energy North America Inc., 129 FERC ]
61,207 (2009) (for an order accepting a CFA among affiliated parties
and granting waiver of the requirements of Order Nos. 888 and 890).
See Sky River, LLC, 134 FERC ] 61,064, at P 13 (2011) (for an order
rejecting a CFA between unaffiliated parties and denying waiver of
the requirements of Order Nos. 888 and 890). But see Ashtabula Wind,
LLC, 127 FERC ] 61,215 at P 10 (2009) (granting waiver of the OATT
requirements of Order Nos. 888 and 890 in the context of a Common
Facilities Agreement between two unaffiliated parties).
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x. To the extent that the concerns regarding third-party use and
priority rights do not exist for transmission provider's
interconnection facilities, why would a generation developer that
builds its own interconnection facilities choose to retain
operational control of them as opposed to
[[Page 24651]]
turning them over to the transmission provider?
B. Alternative Approaches for Comment
1. Open Access Transmission Tariff Framework
22. If the Commission were to maintain reliance on the existing
OATT framework, should it be modified to recognize the characteristics
of interconnection customer's interconnection facilities and needs of
generation developers?
a. Clarification of Specific Plans and Milestones Evaluation
23. Our current case-by-case policy of determining a generation
developer's priority rights to its interconnection facilities provides
a degree of flexibility and recognizes that there is not necessarily a
standard method for development of generation projects. However, as
mentioned above, some commenters voice concerns that the Commission's
current case-by-case evaluation of generation developers' requests for
priority rights on their interconnection facilities based on the
demonstration of specific plans and milestones for construction of
their generation projects is not clear. To address this concern, the
Commission could be more prescriptive on the ``specific plans and
milestones'' standard to provide direction to generation developers
seeking to establish their firm priority rights. Such requirements
could include the type of evidence that would be indicative of
sufficient ``specific plans and milestones,'' and the factors to be
considered in determining whether ``material progress has been made.''
24. The Commission seeks comment on issues related to the
evaluation of specific plans and milestones in requests for priority
rights to use capacity on interconnection customer's interconnection
facilities. Specifically:
i. Should the Commission continue its practice of evaluating
requests for priority rights for interconnection customer's
interconnection facilities on a case-by-case basis? If so, should
the existing standards used to evaluate sufficiency of evidence to
demonstrate priority be clarified or modified? How?
ii. Should the Commission require generation developers to meet
a given set of uniform criteria to secure priority rights? If so,
what are the necessary criteria and what types of evidence are
sufficient to demonstrate these criteria? Or, should generation
developers have the flexibility to demonstrate the sufficiency of
their plans based on various criteria, and what might these criteria
be? In this regard, how should the Commission balance needs for
regulatory certainty and flexibility?
b. OATT Filing Trigger
25. The Commission's current policy to grant waiver of the
requirement to file an OATT prior to the receipt of a third-party
request for transmission is designed to reduce the regulatory burden on
entities that did not intend to be transmission providers. However, as
noted above, several commenters express concern with the existing
standard for what constitutes a valid third-party request for service
on interconnection customer's interconnection facilities. One panelist
suggests that the standard for a third-party request should be at least
to match the level of generation development that has been demonstrated
by the original interconnection customer,\45\ although one commenter
argues that this is an impossible standard because a generation
developer is limited in how far it can proceed with its project until
it has secured transmission capacity.\46\ One commenter also argues
that generation developers should be allowed to require that
transmission customers satisfy more stringent creditworthiness
standards than currently required, because generation developers, in
forming their business models and capital structure, do not contemplate
taking on significant credit risks of competing generators.\47\
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\45\ Transcript at 128 (citing Kurt Adams of First Wind).
\46\ Gradient at 7.
\47\ Edison Mission at 24.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
26. Some commenters suggest modifying the rules for when and under
what circumstances an OATT would need to be filed. For example,
commenters argue that extending the current 60-day requirement to file
an OATT is justified because of a possibility that a third party
requesting service might withdraw after the generation developer has
incurred significant costs in putting an OATT into place, including the
internal structure to administer it.\48\ One commenter suggests
requiring the generation developer to file a notice of a request for
service within a certain number of days after receiving a request, and
requiring them to file an OATT only after a generation interconnection
agreement or a transmission service agreement is executed. They argue
that this process would allow the generation developer to focus on
performing the necessary studies instead of filing an OATT.\49\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\48\ BP Wind at 8; NextEra at 20-21.
\49\ NextEra at 20-21.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
27. The Commission seeks comment on issues related to third-party
requests and when to require an OATT to be filed. Specifically:
i. Should the Commission alter the standard for what constitutes
a third-party request for service on interconnection customer's
interconnection facilities? If so, what should the standard be? What
would be the advantages and disadvantages of doing so, compared to
current policy?
ii. Should the standard that is required for a third-party
request for service be the same standard that is required for the
original interconnection customer (or its affiliate) to request
priority rights, i.e., the specific plans and milestones
demonstration discussed above? Why or why not? Would this raise
confidentiality concerns, and if so, how could those be mitigated or
avoided?
iii. Should the Commission alter the requirement that a third-
party request triggers an OATT Filing requirement by the original
interconnection customer within 60 days of receipt of a request for
service? If so, how?
iv. If the Commission were to alter the requirement that a
third-party request triggers an OATT Filing requirement by the
original interconnection customer, should there be different
approaches when affiliates gain access to the interconnection
facilities as opposed to when nonaffiliates gain access?
v. Would it enhance regulatory certainty for the Commission to
amend the LGIA to include contractual terms apprising the
interconnection customer that it will become a transmission provider
if a third party requests transmission service over its
interconnection customer interconnection facilities?
vi. Would the creation of a pro forma tailored OATT (discussed
below) ease the burden on the generation developer to the point that
the existing 60-day window for filing an OATT would be sufficient?
vii. Some commenters argue that under current Commission policy,
third parties must make up to four sequential requests for service
(for interconnection and transmission services, from both the
original interconnection customer and the transmission provider) to
deliver their power. These commenters use this as an argument in
favor of using the LGIA/LGIP framework. Is there a way under the
OATT framework to coordinate the requests that a third party would
need to make?
c. Tailored OATT
28. Order No. 888 set forth a pro forma tariff that provides
standardized terms and conditions for the provision of open access
transmission service. The unique features of interconnection facilities
may warrant tailoring the terms and conditions of the OATT to
correspond to these unique features for providing open access
transmission service. One option for recognizing these differences and
for responding to the concerns laid out above may be to continue to use
a pro forma OATT framework but, on a generic basis, modify the pro
forma OATT to establish a tailored set of terms and conditions for
service, i.e., a pro forma ``tailored
[[Page 24652]]
OATT,'' that would apply to a well-defined set of interconnection
facilities.
29. The Commission has previously granted waiver of specific
provisions of the pro forma OATT to accommodate unique situations. For
instance, as mentioned above, because interconnection facilities are
not networked facilities, the Commission has granted waiver of the pro
forma OATT requirement to provide network services on interconnection
facilities.\50\ Also, because the transmission provider to which the
interconnection facilities are interconnected is required to have an
OATT that provides for ancillary services on a non-discriminatory
basis, and because of the physical limitations of interconnection
facilities, the Commission has granted waiver of the pro forma OATT
requirement to provide ancillary services.\51\
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\50\ See Sagebrush, 130 FERC ] 61,093 at P 29; Terra-Gen Dixie
Valley, LLC, 135 FERC ] 61,134, at P 12 (2011) (Terra-Gen III).
\51\ See Sagebrush, 130 FERC ] 61,093 at P 29; Terra-Gen III,
135 FERC ] 61,134 at PP 31-33.
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30. Many generation developers argue that the pro forma OATT is not
well-suited for interconnection facilities and that these facilities
should either be substantially or entirely exempt from pro forma OATT
requirements.\52\ Some of those commenters argue that using a tailored
OATT could address several of the concerns with existing policy by
lessening the time, expense, and other burdens inherent in developing,
filing, and administering an OATT. Proponents also argue that this
approach would reduce confusion and the risk of inconsistency, which is
heightened by employing a case-by-case waiver approach.\53\
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\52\ See, e.g., SCE at 4; Edison Mission at 13-14; Puget at 6;
NextEra at 6; and First Wind at 7.
\53\ NextEra at 2-3.
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31. Several participants in the Technical Conference identify pro
forma OATT provisions they believe could be eliminated to create a pro
forma tailored OATT. One commenter submitted a proposed pro forma
``Radial OATT.'' \54\ Commenters argue that the network service
provisions,\55\ the requirement to provide scheduling services,\56\ and
the requirement to provide ancillary services,\57\ all provisions which
the Commission has previously waived for interconnection customer's
interconnection facilities, should be removed from a tailored OATT
framework.
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\54\ NextEra at Attachment 1.
\55\ CAHW at 23-24; Edison Mission at 22; NextEra at 15-16; and
First Wind at 6-7.
\56\ AWEA at 11; NextEra at 13.
\57\ AWEA at 11; Edison Mission at 25; and NextEra at 11-12.
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32. Additionally, commenters argue that some other provisions the
Commission has not waived are inappropriate for interconnection
facilities. Specifically, commenters argue that requiring generation
developers to adopt comparable Attachment K transmission planning
process procedures makes little sense, and that instead the Commission
should direct the generation developer, after receiving a request for
service, to participate in the interconnecting transmission provider's
Attachment K process.\58\ Commenters also suggest that the pro forma
OATT requirement to calculate Available Transfer Capability may be
inapplicable to interconnection facilities.\59\ Additionally, one
commenter argues that developing rates for point-to-point transmission
service for Schedules 7 and 8 may be particularly burdensome for
generation developers not experienced with traditional rate regulation
and that do not usually follow the Uniform System of Accounts,\60\ and
also suggests waiver of the Open Access Same-Time Information System
and the Standards of Conduct.\61\ Another commenter suggests allowing
generation developers to use a single set of interconnection procedures
and a single interconnection agreement for all generators, instead of
separate procedures and agreements for large and small generators,
because there is a limited set of potential customers.\62\ Another
commenter argues that generation developers should not have an
obligation to expand their interconnection facilities if there is
insufficient capacity for a third party's intended use.\63\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\58\ NextEra at 19-20; AWEA at 12; CAHW at 23; and NU/NSTAR at
7-8.
\59\ See, e.g., CAHW at 23; NextEra at 9-11.
\60\ CAHW at 23-24.
\61\ Id. at 24.
\62\ Edison Mission at 27. They note the Commission rejected
this idea in Sagebrush, 130 FERC ] 61,093 at P 52, but has allowed
the use of a single set of procedures and a single agreement by the
Midwest ISO.
\63\ Invenergy at 11.
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33. Commenters also identify provisions in the pro forma OATT that
they think should be modified in a tailored OATT framework. For
instance, several commenters argue that, while the pro forma OATT
requires the use of average line losses, it is appropriate for
interconnection facilities to use incremental line losses, because they
are discrete facilities and do not form a network.\64\ One commenter
asserts that allocating average line losses under section 15.7 of the
pro forma OATT fails to recognize that each successive user increases
the losses borne by earlier users because losses increase as the line
becomes fully used, and can render the power contracts of earlier users
uneconomical or interfere with their ability to supply contracted
power.\65\
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\64\ See, e.g., NextEra at 14-15; CAHW at 23; and Invenergy at
9-10.
\65\ CAHW at 23.
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34. The Commission seeks comments on these issues. Specifically:
i. Would a pro forma tailored OATT accomplish the Commission's
goals of ensuring non-discriminatory access? Is a pro forma tailored
OATT appropriate in these circumstances, or should the Commission
continue to evaluate requests for waiver of certain pro forma OATT
provisions on interconnection facilities on a case-by-case basis?
ii. Does a pro forma tailored OATT provide developers clarity
beyond that which has already been established by Commission
precedent on the applicability of the pro forma OATT to
interconnection facilities?
iii. How does a pro forma tailored OATT framework compare to the
other options presented here in terms of commercial viability?
iv. What are the relative benefits and drawbacks of the pro
forma tailored OATT framework as compared to the existing policy?
How should the Commission distinguish use of a pro forma tailored
OATT for interconnection facilities and use of the pro forma OATT
for public utility transmission providers that have divested their
generation and thus may have limited ability to provide all OATT
services, e.g., ancillary services? Similarly, should the Commission
distinguish interconnection facilities that may use a pro forma
tailored OATT from transmission facilities that may typically
receive waiver of some pro forma OATT provisions, such as merchant
transmission lines? If so, how?
v. Identify the pro forma OATT provisions that should be
excluded from a pro forma tailored OATT. Why should these be
excluded?
vi. What, if any, new or modified provisions only applicable to
interconnection facilities should be added to a pro forma tailored
OATT? Why?
vii. If the Commission were to pursue a pro forma tailored OATT,
should the Commission adopt the proposed pro forma Radial OATT
submitted by NextEra? \66\ Please explain and be specific as to any
changes that would need to be made to that proposal.
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\66\ NextEra at Attachment 1.
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viii. If a pro forma tailored OATT did not include a requirement
to provide ancillary services, would relying on the public utility
transmission provider to provide these services create an undue
burden on the public utility transmission provider?
ix. Should all interconnection customer's interconnection
facilities be eligible to provide service under a tailored OATT? If
not, which facilities should be excluded? Is the size of the
facilities (for example, length, capacity, voltage) relevant to
being eligible for tailored OATT treatment?
[[Page 24653]]
d. Safe Harbor
35. A variation on the OATT framework is a safe harbor period.
Within a safe harbor the generation developer would have a grace period
in which the open access rules determined to be relevant for
interconnection customer's interconnection facilities would not apply,
to allow for the phased development of generation projects over that
period. Accordingly, a generation developer would be assumed to have
priority rights to capacity on its interconnection facilities during
the safe harbor period.
36. The Commission previously rejected a proposal for a safe harbor
period of firm priority rights in Milford, stating that such a period
would be inconsistent with Commission precedent granting waiver of open
access requirements unless and until the owner of the line receives a
request for transmission service.\67\ Nevertheless, many of the
commenters \68\ suggest this option as a means to protect generation
developers' priority rights to use their interconnection facilities for
their phased generation project development.
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\67\ Milford, 129 FERC ] 61,149 at P 23.
\68\ AWEA, BP, CAHW, Edison Mission, First Wind, Gradient,
Invenergy, NextEra, and Sempra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
37. The Commission seeks comments on issues related to a safe
harbor period. Specifically:
i. Is a safe harbor period a viable approach? What are the
benefits and drawbacks of the safe harbor period approach, as
compared with the current case by case demonstration of specific
plans and milestones, or the other options presented herein? For
instance, to what extent could such a safe harbor period be used as
a means to prevent others from accessing the transmission system?
ii. If the Commission were to institute a safe harbor period,
should a generation developer be allowed to provide access to its
interconnection facilities to others during the safe harbor period?
If so, how should the Commission guard against discriminatory
access?
iii. If the Commission were to institute a safe harbor period,
could the Commission adopt for the safe harbor period the
requirement, currently applicable where the Commission has granted
priority rights, that a generation developer make any currently
unused capacity available to third parties until such time as its
future generation projects come on line, in a way that is consistent
with the objectives of a safe harbor period?
iv. What would be the appropriate duration for the safe harbor
period? Should there be differences in the duration of the safe
harbor period based upon different resource types (geothermal, wind,
solar, etc.)? If so, how can such distinctions be justified?
v. Should a safe harbor period be established to begin
automatically from some fixed milestone date (e.g., such as the in-
service date of the interconnection facilities)? If so, what should
that milestone be? Or, should a developer be required to make a
demonstration before it qualifies for a safe harbor (e.g., such as
plans for phased generation development)? If the latter, what should
be required to make such demonstration?
vi. What types of interconnection facilities should qualify, and
how should a generation developer identify itself as one that is
pursuing phased generation development? Should there be an upper or
lower limit on physical characteristics of the interconnection
facilities such as length, voltage, capacity, etc. to qualify for
safe harbor treatment?
vii. Should there be intermediate development requirements to
maintain safe harbor status? What would these requirements be? If
requirements are not satisfied, what consequences are appropriate?
2. LGIA/LGIP
38. An alternative framework for dealing with third-party requests
for service and priority rights on interconnection customer's
interconnection facilities would be to rely on a modified version of
the LGIA/LGIP. Some commenters suggest expanding section 9.9.2 of the
pro forma LGIA, which addresses third-party access to transmission
provider's interconnection facilities, to apply to interconnection
customer's interconnection facilities as well, and argue that doing so
would render unnecessary the requirement for the generation developer
to file an OATT.\69\ They argue that this would provide access to
interconnection customer's interconnection facilities in the same
manner that access to transmission provider's interconnection
facilities is now provided.\70\ One commenter suggests that the
Commission could also revise the definition of Affected System to
include interconnection customer's interconnection facilities
specifically, which would mean that these facilities would be studied
as part of subsequent interconnection studies performed by the
transmission provider for other interconnection customers, because an
interconnection system impact study is defined in the pro forma LGIA as
``an engineering study that evaluates the impact of the proposed
interconnection on the safety and reliability of Transmission
Provider's Transmission System and, if applicable, an Affected
System.'' \71\ Commenters also propose that, under an LGIA framework,
third parties should apply directly to the transmission provider (and
not the generation developer) for access to excess capacity on the
interconnection customer's interconnection facilities at the same time
that they apply for service on the transmission provider's
interconnection facilities and transmission system.\72\ These
commenters argue that this process would be preferable to the
Commission's current policy, under which a new interconnection customer
could be required to negotiate separately with the generation developer
and the transmission provider. Commenters further argue that involving
the transmission provider at the onset of the process is more efficient
because the transmission provider is critical to assessing system
impacts, providing support such as ancillary services, and coordinating
reliability issues.\73\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\69\ Puget at 8; Edison Mission at 17; Allete at 2; SCE at 3-4;
and MidAmerican at 15-16.
\70\ Puget at 15.
\71\ Edison Mission at 18 (referencing definitions in LGIA
section 1).
\72\ Puget at 9-10.
\73\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
39. Commenters add that section 9.9.2 of the pro forma LGIA
recognizes an opportunity for interconnection customers and the
transmission provider to negotiate a multi-party agreement to determine
the amount of compensation owed to an interconnection customer for
capital expenses related to the transmission provider's interconnection
facilities, as well as the allocation of on-going expenses.\74\ Some
commenters suggest that the Commission could develop a pro forma multi-
party agreement to be used by entities in negotiating under section
9.9.2.\75\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\74\ See, e.g., Edison Mission at 18.
\75\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
40. Generally, commenters argue that treating a third-party request
for access to interconnection customer's interconnection facilities as
an interconnection request is a pragmatic approach that more accurately
characterizes the service being sought, and eliminates the unduly
burdensome and costly obligations imposed upon generation developers
under the Commission's current policies which commenters assert impede
the development of location-constrained renewable generation.\76\
Commenters characterize expanding section 9.9.2 of the pro forma LGIA
as an administratively simple and less onerous way to facilitate access
to interconnection customer's interconnection facilities.\77\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\76\ Edison Mission at 19.
\77\ Puget at 8; Edison Mission at 19; and SCE at 3-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
41. The Commission seeks comment on whether treating third-party
use of interconnection facilities as interconnection service is a
workable
[[Page 24654]]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
alternative to current Commission policy. Specifically:
i. If the Commission were to expand section 9.9.2 to govern
third party use of interconnection customer's interconnection
facilities, what would prevent the original interconnection customer
from evading negotiations with the third party (which is likely its
competitor), withholding capacity for reasons other than a
legitimate planned project, or putting excessive cost
responsibilities on the third party?
ii. Would extending section 9.9.2 as discussed above be
sufficient to enable the transmission provider to facilitate
granting third parties access to the interconnection customer's
interconnection facilities? Or would other arrangements or
modifications to the pro forma LGIA be needed to give the
transmission provider that ability? For example, what commercial
arrangements between the transmission provider and the original
interconnection customer would be required to enable third-party
interconnection to the interconnection customer's interconnection
facilities?
iii. What are the benefits and drawbacks of a third party
requesting interconnection service from the transmission provider,
rather than from the original interconnection customer?
iv. Should the pro forma LGIA be modified to include an
obligation to expand the existing capacity of the interconnection
customer's interconnection facilities to accommodate a third-party
request for interconnection service? If so, should the obligation
apply to the original interconnection customer or the transmission
provider? Would such a modification be consistent with the roles and
responsibilities established in the rest of the pro forma LGIA for
whichever party the obligation applies to (i.e., either the original
interconnection customer or the transmission provider)?
v. Are there other issues associated with third-party use of the
interconnection customer's interconnection facilities that would
require other modifications to the pro forma LGIA? If so, what are
the issues, and what would these modifications be? For example, as
the term is defined in the pro forma LGIA, interconnection
facilities are ``sole use'' facilities. If the Commission were to
rely on the interconnection rules and procedures to govern third
party use of interconnection facilities, would we need to eliminate
language in the LGIA/LGIP that refers to these as ``sole use''
facilities? If so, what would be the collateral consequences?
vi. In addition to the modifications to the pro forma LGIA/LGIP
identified above, would there be benefit in the Commission
developing other pro forma agreements to facilitate third-party
access to the interconnection customer's interconnection facilities
(e.g., pro forma multi-party agency agreements, service agreements,
cost-sharing agreements, etc.), or should those agreements be
developed by the affected entities and reviewed by the Commission on
a case-by-case basis?
vii. How would expanding the pro forma LGIA to govern third-
party requests for service on the interconnection customer's
interconnection facilities otherwise solve the concerns identified
above? Are there other concerns with current Commission policy on
access to interconnection customer's interconnection facilities that
would remain under an LGIA/LGIP framework?
viii. Should there be a limit (e.g., with respect to voltage,
capacity, or length) to the interconnection customer's
interconnection facilities that would qualify for treatment under
the LGIA/LGIP framework discussed above?
ix. How would an LGIA/LGIP approach compare to the other options
presented here in terms of commercial viability and removing
barriers to the development of location-constrained generation?
42. The Commission also seeks comment on how priority rights to
interconnection customer's interconnection facilities for phased
generation development would work within an LGIA/LGIP framework. In
making a valid interconnection request under the pro forma LGIP, an
interconnection customer must submit (1) A $10,000 deposit, (2) a
completed application with detailed generator data (Appendix 1 of the
LGIP), and (3) a demonstration of site control or post an additional
deposit of $10,000.\78\ Additionally, the LGIA stipulates various
milestones that must be logged with dates for completion in Appendix B
of the LGIA. If future generation phases are included in an initial
request for interconnection service, then meeting these milestones as a
means to demonstrate intended future use of the facilities would
arguably be similar in substance to the Commission's current policy of
demonstrating plans and milestones to secure priority rights, though
relying solely on the interconnection rules and procedures for securing
priority rights would nevertheless be a different approach than the
Commission's current policy of demonstrating plans and milestones. The
LGIP stipulates that a generator with a higher queued interconnection
request or an executed LGIA (or unexecuted LGIA that a party has
requested be filed with the Commission) is included in the base case
for any subsequent Interconnection Feasibility or System Impact
Study.\79\ So as long as the initial interconnection request or
executed LGIA includes later phases of a generation project, under the
interconnection rules and procedures with a modified section 9.9.2 to
include interconnection customer interconnection facilities, the
generation developer would not risk losing its planned interconnection
service simply because a third party also seeks to use the
interconnection customer interconnection facilities. Rather, the full
capacity of the original interconnection customer's request, including
capacity for future phases of generation if those are included in the
original LGIA that was developed, is unavailable for use by any third
party. This is currently how the transmission provider treats
transmission provider interconnection facilities when it studies a new
interconnection request. The Commission seeks comment, however, on
whether this is a viable and fair approach for demonstrating and
securing priority rights to capacity for phased generation projects.
Specifically:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\78\ LGIP section 3.3.1.
\79\ See LGIP section 6.2 and 7.3.
i. For generation projects that are built in phases, is it
possible and/or typical to request the interconnection facilities be
constructed in such a manner as to accommodate the capacity for
future phases in an initial interconnection request and/or LGIA? How
have developers been submitting interconnection requests and
executing LGIAs for phased projects; i.e., have developers been
including the capacity necessary for future generation phases in the
initial interconnection request under LGIP?
ii. How would the LGIA/LGIP approach fit with the current
standard of demonstrating plans and milestones on a case-by-case
basis to receive priority rights for future phases of a generation
project? Does the existing pro forma LGIA/LGIP contain a
sufficiently clear procedure, e.g., in submitting and maintaining a
valid interconnection request and meeting the milestones set forth
in Appendix B, such that this procedure might serve a similar
purpose as the current standard of demonstrating specific plans and
milestones?
iii. If no separate priority rights request for a generation
developer to establish capacity rights for its interconnection
facilities would be necessary, what are the benefits and/or
drawbacks of such an approach?
iv. How would adopting an LGIA/LGIP framework otherwise affect
generation developers seeking priority rights on their
interconnection customer's interconnection facilities for their
phased generation projects? If the generation developer plans to
eventually use currently unused capacity on interconnection
facilities, should the pro forma LGIA be modified to require that
capacity on interconnection facilities be made available for third-
party use until the generation developer is ready to use that
capacity?
III. Comment Procedures
43. The Commission invites interested persons to submit comments on
the matters, issues and specific questions identified in this notice.
Comments are due 45 days from publication in the Federal Register.
Comments must refer to Docket No. AD12-14, and must include the
commenter's name, the organization they represent, if applicable, and
their address in their comments.
[[Page 24655]]
44. The Commission encourages comments to be filed electronically
via the eFiling link on the Commission's Web site at https://www.ferc.gov. The Commission accepts most standard word processing
formats. Documents created electronically using word processing
software should be filed in native applications or print-to-PDF format
and not in a scanned format. Commenters filing electronically do not
need to make a paper filing.
45. Commenters unable to file comments electronically must mail or
hand deliver an original and copy of their comments to: Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street
NE., Washington, DC 20426.
46. All comments will be placed in the Commission's public files
and may be viewed, printed, or downloaded remotely as described in the
Document Availability section below. Commenters on this proposal are
not required to serve copies of their comments on other commenters.
IV. Document Availability
47. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the
Internet through FERC's Home Page (https://www.ferc.gov) and in FERC's
Public Reference Room during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Eastern time) at 888 First Street NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426.
48. From FERC's Home Page on the Internet, this information is
available on eLibrary. The full text of this document is available on
eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing, printing, and/or
downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type the docket
number excluding the last three digits of this document in the docket
number field.
49. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the FERC's Web
site during normal business hours from FERC Online Support at (202)
502-6652 (toll free at 1-866-208-3676) or email at
ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or the Public Reference Room at (202) 502-
8371, TTY (202) 502-8659. Email the Public Reference Room at
public.referenceroom@ferc.gov.
By direction of the Commission.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
Appendix A
List of Commenters and Participants in Docket No. AD11-11-000
Adam Wenner *
Allete, Inc. d/b/a Minnesota Power
American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)
Anbaric Transmission (Anbaric)
BP Wind Energy North America (BP Wind)
California High Wind Partners (CAHW)
Clean Line Energy Partners (Clean Line)
Duke Energy (Duke)
Edison Mission Energy (Edison Mission)
Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA)
First Wind Holdings (First Wind)
Gradient Resources (Gradient)
Grasslands Renewable Energy (Grasslands)
Horizon Wind Energy LLC (Horizon)
Invenergy Wind & Invenergy Thermal (Invenergy)
LS Power Transmission (LS Power)
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. (MidAmerican)
National Grid USA (National Grid)
NextEra Energy Resources (NextEra)
Northeast Utilities (Northeast)
Northwestern Energy (Northwestern)
Pattern Transmission (Pattern)
Puget Sound Energy (Puget)
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)
Sempra Generation (Sempra)
Shell Wind Energy (Shell)
Southern California Edison (SCE)
Southern Co. (Southern)
Tonbridge Power (Tonbridge)
Transmission Access Policy Study Group (TAPS)
Transmission Developers, Inc. (TDI)
United Illuminating Co. (United)
Western Independent Transmission Group (WITG)
Zephyr Power Transmission (Zephyr)
* Comments filed after due date.
Appendix B
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP25AP12.003
Order No. 2003 addresses third party use of Transmission
Provider Interconnection Facilities, which are those that are owned,
controlled, or operated by the Transmission Provider. Order No. 2003
permits the interconnection customer to build, own, control, and
operate interconnection facilities, which are then defined as
Interconnection Customer Interconnection Facilities under the LGIP/
LGIA, but Order No. 2003 does not address third party use of
Interconnection Customer Interconnection Facilities. With a goal of
ensuring that a third party generator (G2 in the above schematic)
may be able to interconnect to Interconnection Customer
Interconnection Facilities that in some instances have been 30, 50,
or even hundreds of miles long, the
[[Page 24656]]
Commission has in a series of recent cases considered these
Interconnection Customer Interconnection Facilities to be open
access transmission facilities and required that the original
developer (G1 in the above schematic) file an OATT within 60 days of
a request for service on these facilities. In light of comments
received, this NOI seeks feedback on whether the filing of an OATT,
modifications to the LGIA/LGIP, or other means are better for
addressing third-party access to facilities at issue here.
[FR Doc. 2012-9848 Filed 4-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
