Recommendation for the Western Area Power Administration Loveland Area Projects and Colorado River Storage Project To Pursue Final Negotiations Regarding Membership in a Regional Transmission Organization, 47505-47506 [2017-21938]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 196 / Thursday, October 12, 2017 / Notices Any person desiring to intervene or protest in any of the above proceedings must file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission’s Regulations (18 CFR 385.211 and 385.214) on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on the specified comment date. Protests may be considered, but intervention is necessary to become a party to the proceeding. eFiling is encouraged. More detailed information relating to filing requirements, interventions, protests, service, and qualifying facilities filings can be found at: https://www.ferc.gov/ docs-filing/efiling/filing-req.pdf. For other information, call (866) 208–3676 (toll free). For TTY, call (202) 502–8659. Dated: October 5, 2017. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2017–22007 Filed 10–11–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Western Area Power Administration Recommendation for the Western Area Power Administration Loveland Area Projects and Colorado River Storage Project To Pursue Final Negotiations Regarding Membership in a Regional Transmission Organization Western Area Power Administration, DOE. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), a power marketing administration (PMA) of the Department of Energy (DOE), is publishing this recommendation for the Loveland Area Projects (LAP) and the Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP) to pursue final negotiations regarding membership in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), a Regional Transmission Organization (RTO). WAPA is seeking public comment from its customers, Native American Tribes, stakeholders, and the public on the substance of WAPA’s recommendation to pursue final negotiations regarding LAP and CRSP membership in SPP. DATES: To ensure consideration, all comments should be received by WAPA by email or at the address below on or before 4 p.m. MST November 27, 2017. WAPA will present a detailed explanation of the recommendation for LAP and listen to customers’ and other interested parties’ comments at a forum in Loveland, Colorado. WAPA also will present a detailed explanation of the recommendation for CRSP and listen to customers’ and other interested parties’ asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 22:35 Oct 11, 2017 Jkt 244001 comments at forums held in locations throughout the CRSP marketing area. The specific times and locations of these forums are posted on the Web sites identified in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. Key information that formed the basis for this recommendation will be presented at the forums and is posted at the Web sites listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. Any decision to pursue the recommendation will be informed by comments received. ADDRESSES: Send written comments by email to SPP-Comments@wapa.gov or by mail to Mr. Rodney G. Bailey, Power Marketing Advisor, Western Area Power Administration, 150 East Social Hall Avenue, Suite 300, Salt Lake City, UT 84111–1580. Written comments must be received by the deadline identified in the DATES section to be considered in WAPA’s decision process and should include the following information: 1. Name and general description of the entity submitting the comment. 2. Name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address of the entity’s primary contact. 3. Identification of any specific recommendation the comment references. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Rodney Bailey, Power Marketing Advisor, Western Area Power Administration, 150 East Social Hall Avenue, Suite 300, Salt Lake City, UT 84111–1580, telephone (801) 524–4007. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2013, representatives for LAP and CRSP, along with eight other transmission owners, informally referred to as the Mountain West Transmission Group (Mountain West), began discussing combining their transmission systems under a single tariff to eliminate pancaked transmission rates and enable generation optimization across the footprint. After reaching conceptual agreement on the possibility of a joint tariff, the discussions focused on the Mountain West participants joining an RTO with a fully integrated energy and ancillary services market. With this perspective, the Mountain West participants, individually and collectively, completed transmission cost studies, adjusted production cost modeling, and performed various other analyses. The Mountain West participants sent a request for information to SPP and three other RTOs. After having considered the responses to its request, in conjunction with each Mountain West participant’s individual analyses and the collective Mountain West analyses, the Mountain West participants reached consensus to PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 47505 further investigate membership in SPP. After extensive discussions among the Mountain West participants, preliminary negotiations with SPP, and further analysis by WAPA subject matter experts, and pursuant to its authority under Section 1232(a)(1)(A) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16431), WAPA recommends pursuing final negotiations regarding LAP and CRSP membership in SPP. Any decision by WAPA to move forward in final negotiations with SPP will be consistent with CRSP and LAP statutory requirements and as outlined in the basis for the recommendation and explanatory material posted to WAPA’s Rocky Mountain Region (RMR) and Colorado River Storage Project Management Center (CRSP MC) Web sites at https://www.wapa.gov/regions/ rm and https://www.wapa.gov/regions/ crsp, respectively. At the conclusion of those final negotiations, WAPA intends to provide notification of its decision for LAP and CRSP to either execute a membership agreement with SPP or terminate formal negotiations. Therefore, WAPA is soliciting comments from its customers and other interested parties regarding this recommendation. If the membership negotiations are successful, then LAP and CRSP would sign an SPP membership agreement to become members of SPP and participate in the SPP Integrated Marketplace, the LAP and CRSP transmission systems would be placed under the SPP tariff, and the Western Area Colorado Missouri Balancing Authority responsibilities would transfer to SPP. Section 1232(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorizes the appropriate Federal regulatory authority to enter into a contract, agreement, or other arrangement transferring control and use of all or part of the transmission system of a Federal utility to a Transmission Organization. (42 U.S.C. 16431(b)). The Administrator of WAPA is designated as the appropriate Federal regulatory authority with respect to all or part of WAPA’s transmission system in accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Availability of Information The basis for this recommendation and explanatory material to be presented at the forums are available for review and comment on the Web sites referenced in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. Comments received in response to this notice will be posted on the same Web sites after the close of the comment period. E:\FR\FM\12OCN1.SGM 12OCN1 47506 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 196 / Thursday, October 12, 2017 / Notices Environmental Compliance In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321–4347), Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), and DOE NEPA Regulations (10 CFR part 1021), WAPA is in the process of determining whether an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement should be prepared or if this action can be categorically excluded from those requirements. Further environmental review actions will be posted to the RMR and CRSP MC Web sites referenced in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. Dated: September 21, 2017. Mark A. Gabriel, Administrator. [FR Doc. 2017–21938 Filed 10–11–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Western Area Power Administration Proposed Olmsted Project Rate Order No. WAPA–177 Western Area Power Administration, DOE. ACTION: Notice of Proposed Power Formula Rate. AGENCY: The United States Department of Energy, Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), Colorado River Storage Project Management Center (CRSP MC), is proposing a new power formula rate for the Olmsted Hydroelectric Powerplant Replacement Project (Olmsted). There is no existing rate for Olmsted; therefore, the CRSP MC is proposing a new formula, under Rate Schedule Olmsted F–1, that will be used to determine the annual energy charge. WAPA will provide a brochure detailing information about the proposed formula rate prior to the public information forum and will post it to the Olmsted rate action Web site at https://www.wapa.gov/regions/CRSP/ rates/Pages/rate-order-177.aspx. If approved, the proposed formula rate under Rate Schedule Olmsted F–1 would become effective on April 1, 2018, and remain in effect through March 31, 2023, or until superseded. Publication of this Federal Register notice begins the formal process for the proposed formula rate. DATES: The consultation and comment period will begin October 12, 2017 and end January 10, 2018. WAPA will present a detailed explanation about the proposed rate at a public information asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 22:35 Oct 11, 2017 Jkt 244001 forum on November 17, 2017, at 10 a.m. MDT in Salt Lake City, Utah. WAPA will accept oral and written comments at a public comment forum on November 17, 2017, immediately following the conclusion of the public information forum. WAPA will accept written comments any time during the 90-day consultation and comment period. ADDRESSES: The public information forum and the public comment forum will be held at the new Colorado River Storage Project Management Center, Western Area Power Administration, 299 South Main Street, Suite 200, Salt Lake City, UT 84111. Written comments and requests to be informed about the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) actions concerning the rates submitted by WAPA to FERC for approval should be sent to: Ms. Lynn C. Jeka, CRSP Manager, Colorado River Storage Project Management Center, Western Area Power Administration, 150 East Social Hall Avenue, Suite 300, Salt Lake City, UT 84111, email jeka@wapa.gov. The Colorado River Storage Project Management Center is scheduled to relocate to the new address in October 2017. WAPA will post the new mailing address and the date of the move, as well as information about the rate process, on WAPA’s Web site at https:// www.wapa.gov/regions/CRSP/rates/ Pages/rate-order-177.aspx. WAPA will post official comments received via letter and email to this Web site after the close of the comment period. Written comments must be received by the end of the consultation and comment period to be considered in WAPA’s decision process. Access to WAPA’s facility is controlled; therefore, any U.S. citizen wanting to attend these forums must present an official form of picture identification such as a U.S. driver’s license, U.S. passport, U.S. Government ID, or U.S. Military ID at the time of the forums. Foreign nationals planning to attend should contact WAPA 30 days in advance of the forums to allow sufficient time to arrange admittance. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Thomas Hackett, CRSP Rates Manager, Colorado River Storage Project Management Center, Western Area Power Administration, 150 East Social Hall Avenue, Suite 300, Salt Lake City, UT 84111, (801) 524–5503 or email hackett@wapa.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The existing Olmsted Powerplant, located in northern Utah, is over 100 years old and was acquired from PacifiCorp in condemnation proceedings by the PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 United States in 1990. As part of the condemnation proceedings, PacifiCorp continued Olmsted operations until 2015 after which time the operation of the facility became the responsibility of the Department of the Interior. As agreed upon in an implementation agreement executed February 4, 2015, among the Central Utah Water Conservancy District (District); Department of the Interior (Interior), Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation); and WAPA, the District is currently constructing a replacement facility for power generation and will operate and maintain the Olmsted facilities in connection with its Central Utah Project operations. Non-reimbursable funding for Olmsted has largely been contributed by the District, Interior, and the Upper Basin States. Funds available under Section 5(c) of the Colorado River Storage Project Act were made available for Olmsted, and these funds are considered a reimbursable Federal investment to be repaid by power revenues. Interior will continue to own the Olmsted Powerplant, and commercial operation is anticipated to begin July 1, 2018. WAPA will market an energy-only product as no capacity will be available to market from Olmsted. Power production will be nondispatchable and incidental to the delivery of water. It is expected that annual energy production will average approximately 27,000,000 kWh per year. It is proposed that each customer which receives an allocation from Olmsted will pay its proportional share of the amortized portion of the reimbursable investment in Olmsted, with interest, and the associated operation, maintenance, and replacement (OM&R) costs in return for its proportional share of total marketable energy production. This repayment schedule does not depend upon the energy made available for sale or the amount of generation each year. Customers are to pay reimbursable investment as well as the OM&R costs of Olmsted and, in return, will receive all of the energy produced. Each fiscal year (FY) WAPA will estimate the Olmsted expenses by preparing a power repayment study, which will include estimates of the reimbursable investment costs, including interest, and OM&R. To date, all investments are accounted for as Construction in Progress (CIP) costs and have not been transferred to plant accounts for capitalization. Once transferred, an amortization schedule will be calculated for repayment. Historical financial data are only available through FY 2016, and E:\FR\FM\12OCN1.SGM 12OCN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 196 (Thursday, October 12, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47505-47506]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21938]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Western Area Power Administration


Recommendation for the Western Area Power Administration Loveland 
Area Projects and Colorado River Storage Project To Pursue Final 
Negotiations Regarding Membership in a Regional Transmission 
Organization

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), a power marketing 
administration (PMA) of the Department of Energy (DOE), is publishing 
this recommendation for the Loveland Area Projects (LAP) and the 
Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP) to pursue final negotiations 
regarding membership in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), a Regional 
Transmission Organization (RTO). WAPA is seeking public comment from 
its customers, Native American Tribes, stakeholders, and the public on 
the substance of WAPA's recommendation to pursue final negotiations 
regarding LAP and CRSP membership in SPP.

DATES: To ensure consideration, all comments should be received by WAPA 
by email or at the address below on or before 4 p.m. MST November 27, 
2017. WAPA will present a detailed explanation of the recommendation 
for LAP and listen to customers' and other interested parties' comments 
at a forum in Loveland, Colorado. WAPA also will present a detailed 
explanation of the recommendation for CRSP and listen to customers' and 
other interested parties' comments at forums held in locations 
throughout the CRSP marketing area. The specific times and locations of 
these forums are posted on the Web sites identified in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. Key information that formed the 
basis for this recommendation will be presented at the forums and is 
posted at the Web sites listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section. Any decision to pursue the recommendation will be informed by 
comments received.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments by email to SPP-Comments@wapa.gov or 
by mail to Mr. Rodney G. Bailey, Power Marketing Advisor, Western Area 
Power Administration, 150 East Social Hall Avenue, Suite 300, Salt Lake 
City, UT 84111-1580. Written comments must be received by the deadline 
identified in the DATES section to be considered in WAPA's decision 
process and should include the following information:
    1. Name and general description of the entity submitting the 
comment.
    2. Name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address of 
the entity's primary contact.
    3. Identification of any specific recommendation the comment 
references.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Rodney Bailey, Power Marketing 
Advisor, Western Area Power Administration, 150 East Social Hall 
Avenue, Suite 300, Salt Lake City, UT 84111-1580, telephone (801) 524-
4007.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2013, representatives for LAP and CRSP, 
along with eight other transmission owners, informally referred to as 
the Mountain West Transmission Group (Mountain West), began discussing 
combining their transmission systems under a single tariff to eliminate 
pancaked transmission rates and enable generation optimization across 
the footprint. After reaching conceptual agreement on the possibility 
of a joint tariff, the discussions focused on the Mountain West 
participants joining an RTO with a fully integrated energy and 
ancillary services market. With this perspective, the Mountain West 
participants, individually and collectively, completed transmission 
cost studies, adjusted production cost modeling, and performed various 
other analyses. The Mountain West participants sent a request for 
information to SPP and three other RTOs. After having considered the 
responses to its request, in conjunction with each Mountain West 
participant's individual analyses and the collective Mountain West 
analyses, the Mountain West participants reached consensus to further 
investigate membership in SPP. After extensive discussions among the 
Mountain West participants, preliminary negotiations with SPP, and 
further analysis by WAPA subject matter experts, and pursuant to its 
authority under Section 1232(a)(1)(A) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 
(42 U.S.C. 16431), WAPA recommends pursuing final negotiations 
regarding LAP and CRSP membership in SPP. Any decision by WAPA to move 
forward in final negotiations with SPP will be consistent with CRSP and 
LAP statutory requirements and as outlined in the basis for the 
recommendation and explanatory material posted to WAPA's Rocky Mountain 
Region (RMR) and Colorado River Storage Project Management Center (CRSP 
MC) Web sites at https://www.wapa.gov/regions/rm and https://www.wapa.gov/regions/crsp, respectively. At the conclusion of those 
final negotiations, WAPA intends to provide notification of its 
decision for LAP and CRSP to either execute a membership agreement with 
SPP or terminate formal negotiations.
    Therefore, WAPA is soliciting comments from its customers and other 
interested parties regarding this recommendation. If the membership 
negotiations are successful, then LAP and CRSP would sign an SPP 
membership agreement to become members of SPP and participate in the 
SPP Integrated Marketplace, the LAP and CRSP transmission systems would 
be placed under the SPP tariff, and the Western Area Colorado Missouri 
Balancing Authority responsibilities would transfer to SPP. Section 
1232(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorizes the appropriate 
Federal regulatory authority to enter into a contract, agreement, or 
other arrangement transferring control and use of all or part of the 
transmission system of a Federal utility to a Transmission 
Organization. (42 U.S.C. 16431(b)). The Administrator of WAPA is 
designated as the appropriate Federal regulatory authority with respect 
to all or part of WAPA's transmission system in accordance with the 
Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Availability of Information

    The basis for this recommendation and explanatory material to be 
presented at the forums are available for review and comment on the Web 
sites referenced in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. Comments 
received in response to this notice will be posted on the same Web 
sites after the close of the comment period.

[[Page 47506]]

Environmental Compliance

    In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347), Council on Environmental Quality 
Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and DOE NEPA Regulations (10 CFR 
part 1021), WAPA is in the process of determining whether an 
environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement should be 
prepared or if this action can be categorically excluded from those 
requirements. Further environmental review actions will be posted to 
the RMR and CRSP MC Web sites referenced in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section.

    Dated: September 21, 2017.
Mark A. Gabriel,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2017-21938 Filed 10-11-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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