Notice of Interim Approval of Rate Schedules for Jim Woodruff Project, 46698-46701 [2021-17747]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Southeastern Power Administration

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 158 (Thursday, August 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46698-46701]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17747]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Southeastern Power Administration


Notice of Interim Approval of Rate Schedules for Jim Woodruff 
Project

AGENCY: Southeastern Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of interim approval.

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SUMMARY: The Administrator for the Southeastern Power Administration 
(Southeastern) has confirmed and approved, on an interim basis, rate 
schedules JW-1-L and JW-2-F for the sale of power from the Jim Woodruff 
Project. The rate schedules are approved on an interim basis through 
September 30, 2026, and are subject to confirmation and approval by the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on a final basis.

DATES: The approval of rates on an interim basis is effective October 
1, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samuel W. Loggins, Assistant 
Administrator, Finance and Marketing, Southeastern Power 
Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, 1166 Athens Tech Road, 
Elberton, GA 30635-6711, (706) 213-3805; Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FERC, by order issued October 20, 2016, 157 
FERC ] 62,043, confirmed and approved Rate Schedules JW-1-K and JW-2-F 
for the period October 1, 2016 through September 30, 2021. This order 
replaces these rate schedules on an interim basis, subject to final 
approval by FERC.

Department of Energy

Administrator, Southeastern Power Administration

In the Matter of:
Southeastern Power Administration
 Rate Order No. SEPA-65
Jim Woodruff Project Power Rates

Order Confirming and Approving Power Rates on an Interim Basis

    Pursuant to Section 302(a) of the Department of Energy Organization 
Act (Pub. L. 95-91, 42 U.S.C. 7152(a)), the functions of the Secretary 
of the Interior and the Federal Power Commission under Section 5 of the 
Flood Control Act of 1944 (16 U.S.C. 825s), relating to the 
Southeastern Power Administration (Southeastern), were transferred to 
and vested in the Secretary of Energy. By Delegation Order No. 00-
037.00B, effective November 19, 2016, the Secretary of Energy delegated 
to the Administrator, Southeastern Power Administration, the authority 
to develop power and transmission rates, to the Deputy Secretary of 
Energy the authority to confirm, approve, and place such rates into 
effect on an interim basis, and to the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (FERC) the authority to confirm, approve, and place into 
effect on a final basis, or to disapprove, rates developed by the 
Administrator under the delegation. By Delegation Order No. S1-DEL-S4-
2021, effective February 25, 2021, the Acting Secretary of Energy also 
delegated the authority to confirm, approve, and place such rates into 
effect on an interim basis to the Under Secretary for Science (and 
Energy). By Redelegation Order No. S4-DEL-OE1-2021, effective March 25, 
2021, the Acting Under Secretary for Science (and Energy) redelegated 
the authority to confirm, approve, and place such rates into effect on 
an interim basis to the Assistant Secretary for Electricity. By 
Redelegation Order No. 00-002.10-03, effective July 8, 2020, the 
Assistant Secretary for Electricity further redelegated the authority 
to confirm, approve, and place such rates into effect on an interim 
basis to the Administrator, Southeastern Power Administration. This 
last redelegation, despite predating the February 2021 delegation and 
March 2021 redelegation, remains valid. This rate is confirmed, 
approved, and placed into effect on an interim basis by the 
Administrator, Southeastern Power Administration, pursuant to the 
authority delegated in Redelegation Order No. 00-002.10-03.

Background

    Power from the Jim Woodruff Project is presently sold under 
Wholesale Power Rate Schedules JW-1-K and JW-2-F. These rate schedules 
were approved by FERC on October 20, 2016, for a period ending 
September 30, 2021 (157 FERC ] 62,043).

Public Notice and Comment

    Notice of a proposed rate adjustment and opportunities for public 
review and comment for the Jim Woodruff Project was published in the 
Federal Register (86 FR 16717) on March 31, 2021. Southeastern proposed 
an increase and to extend existing schedules of rates and charges 
applicable to the sale of power from the Jim Woodruff Project to become 
effective October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2026. The notice 
advised interested parties that a public information and comment forum 
for this rate action would be held virtually by Microsoft Teams Meeting 
on May 11, 2021. Written comments were due on or before June 29, 2021.
    The proposed rate schedule JW-1-L would increase the capacity 
charge from $7.74 per kilowatt per month to $8.46 per kilowatt per 
month. The energy charge would be increased from 20.44 mills per 
kilowatt-hour to 22.32 mills per kilowatt-hour. In addition to the 
capacity and energy charges, each preference customer would continue to 
be charged for power purchased by Southeastern on behalf of the 
preference customer. This pass-through would continue to be computed as 
described in the current rate schedules.
    Rate schedule JW-2-F, available to Duke Energy Florida (DEF), would 
continue the current rate of 100 percent of DEF's fuel cost.

Public Comments

    Southeastern received oral comments from two participants as part 
of the public information and comment forum on May 11, 2021. 
Southeastern received one written response to the ``Notice of proposed 
rates, public forum, and opportunities for public review and comment'' 
published in the Federal Register at 86 FR 16717 on March 31, 2021.
    Oral Comment: [Commenter 1] I know that when we reviewed a lot of 
the revenue requirements--it's been a little over a month ago, the Jim 
Woodruff customers were very satisfied with the staff's presentations 
and the--all of the questions were answered in a satisfactory manner, 
so we have no follow-up questions at this time.
    Oral Comment: [Commenter 2] A couple of questions. I believe it was 
stated earlier that there was a 7 percent drop in repayment from 2016 
to 2020. Is that a simple function of revenues being insufficient due 
to low water years? Is there a sense in terms of why that--the 
repayment was off by 7 percent?
    Oral Response: No, that is just the straight percentage when we 
compared what we used as estimates in the last rate adjustment study 
from 2016. We compared FY16 through FY20 estimates with the actuals, 
and that was just kind of an indication of the difference in what we 
estimated repayment to be with what was actually repaid.
    Oral Comment: [Commenter 2] And then looking at the SEPA marketing 
expense, we note that there's a 13 percent increase between 2019 to 
2020. If you compare 2019 through 2021, you have a 15 percent increase 
in the SEPA

[[Page 46699]]

marketing expense. Can you identify what's the cause of that in terms 
of SEPA's marketing expense?
    Oral Response: Not at this time, but if you would email that 
question in, I could look into the details, but I don't have any 
detailed information for SEPA's expense right now. We can supplement 
the record later on with that response.
    Oral Comment: [Commenter 2] I think if you look at form Exhibit 9, 
that's where we see--between 2019 and 2020, we had a--it's a pretty 
good jump there. Now, that could be a function of SEPA's expenses 
increasing because of remote work obligations, so there-- anticipate 
there's a logical explanation there.
    Oral Response: Yes. I just--I don't have the detailed breakdown of 
SEPA's expenses to tell you what area that would be in. But I will 
answer for the record.
    Oral Comment: [Commenter 2] the other thing that I think we would 
note from a customer perspective is that we continue to monitor the 
amount of expense that is allocated as the joint O&M expense, and that 
continues to be a little bit of a concern in terms of whether costs are 
appropriately accounted for, for purposes of what hydropower should be 
bearing. We know that SEPA has been devoting a lot of energy to trying 
to make sure that the Corps is properly accounting for these expenses, 
so we support SEPA's efforts in this regard.
    Oral Response: And we fully continue those efforts and hopefully we 
will accomplish some savings for the customers.
     Combined Unanswered Oral Comments from Forum: And then looking at 
the SEPA marketing expense, we note that there's a 13 percent increase 
between 2019 to 2020. If you compare 2019 to 2021, you have a 15 
percent increase in SEPA marketing expense. Can you identify what's the 
cause of that in terms of SEPA's marketing expense? 
    Response for the Record Submitted to Customers May 24, 2021: The 
change in SEPA marketing expense between Fiscal Years 2019 and 2020 is 
$18,000 for the Woodruff System. SEPA has identified just over $17,100 
of the $18,000 as attributable to increases in Salaries, Benefits and 
Outside Contract Services. The increases are due to the transition of 
SEPA's Power System Dispatchers pay plan from the General Schedule to 
an Administratively Determined plan and a pay raise to the General 
Schedule federal employees. The cost of a survey for the 
Administratively Determined pay plan was charged to Outside Contract 
Services along with the annual financial audit and a cleaning service 
contract.
    The change between Fiscal Years 2019 and 2021 of 15 percent is 
attributable to the 13 percent increase in Fiscal Year 2020 and the 
projected expense for Fiscal Year 2021 being calculated by using the 
federal budgetary inflation factor of 2 percent for future years.
    Written Comment: The SeFPC supports the rate as proposed by the 
Southeastern Power Administration (``SEPA'').
    While we believe that the rate fully captures costs associated with 
hydropower production, we nonetheless encourage SEPA to work with the 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (``Corps'') to ensure that joint operation 
and maintenance expenses do not include costs that should be assigned 
solely to project purposes unrelated to hydropower production. SEPA's 
continued diligence in working with the Corps will help ensure that 
rates remain as low as possible consistent with sound business 
principles.
    Response: Southeastern continues to work with preference customers 
and the Corps to review operation and maintenance actual costs and 
estimates to ensure accuracy of cost assignment and projections to 
establish the lowest possible rates consistent with sound business 
principles within the meaning of Section 5 of the Flood Control Act of 
1944.

Discussion

System Repayment

    An examination of the Southeastern revised system power repayment 
study, prepared in March of 2021 for the Jim Woodruff Project, shows 
that with the proposed rates, all system power costs are paid within 
the appropriate repayment period and meet the cost recovery criteria 
set forth in DOE Order RA 6120.2. The Administrator of Southeastern 
Power Administration has certified that the rates are consistent with 
applicable law and that they are the lowest possible rates to customers 
consistent with sound business principles.

Legal Authority

    By Delegation Order No. 00-037.00B, effective November 19, 2016, 
the Secretary of Energy delegated to the Administrator, Southeastern 
Power Administration the authority to develop power and transmission 
rates, to the Deputy Secretary of Energy the authority to confirm, 
approve, and place such rates into effect on an interim basis, and to 
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the authority to 
confirm, approve, and place into effect on a final basis, or to 
disapprove, rates developed by the Administrator under the delegation. 
By Delegation Order No. S1-DEL-S4-2021, effective February 25, 2021, 
the Acting Secretary of Energy also delegated the authority to confirm, 
approve, and place such rates into effect on an interim basis to the 
Under Secretary for Science (and Energy). By Redelegation Order No. S4-
DEL-OE1-2021, effective March 25, 2021, the Acting Under Secretary for 
Science (and Energy) redelegated the authority to confirm, approve, and 
place such rates into effect on an interim basis to the Assistant 
Secretary for Electricity. By Redelegation Order No. 00-002.10-03, 
effective July 8, 2020, the Assistant Secretary for Electricity further 
redelegated the authority to confirm, approve, and place such rates 
into effect on an interim basis to the Administrator, Southeastern 
Power Administration. This last redelegation, despite predating the 
February 2021 delegation and the March 2021 redelegation, remains 
valid. This rate is confirmed, approved, and placed into effect on an 
interim basis by the Administrator, Southeastern Power Administration, 
pursuant to the authority delegated in Redelegation Order No. 00-
002.10-03.

Environmental Impact

    Southeastern has reviewed the possible environmental impacts of the 
rate adjustment under consideration and has concluded that, because the 
adjusted rates would not significantly affect the quality of the human 
environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969, as amended, the proposed action is not a major Federal action 
for which preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is required.

Determination Under Executive Order 12866

    Southeastern has an exemption from centralized regulatory review 
under Executive Order 12866; accordingly, no clearance of this notice 
by the Office of Management and Budget is required.

Availability of Information

    Information regarding these rates, including studies, and other 
supporting materials, is available for public review in the offices of 
Southeastern Power Administration, 1166 Athens Tech Road, Elberton, 
Georgia 30635-6711.

Order

    In view of the foregoing and pursuant to the authority redelegated 
to me by the

[[Page 46700]]

Assistant Secretary for Electricity, I hereby confirm and approve on an 
interim basis, effective October 1, 2021, attached Wholesale Power Rate 
Schedules JW-1-L and JW-2-F. The rate schedules shall remain in effect 
on an interim basis through September 30, 2026, unless such period is 
extended or until FERC confirms and approves them or substitute rate 
schedules on a final basis.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on August 12, 
2021, by Virgil G. Hobbs III, Administrator for Southeastern Power 
Administration, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of 
Energy. That document, with the original signature and date, is 
maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance 
with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the 
undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to 
sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as 
an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative 
process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon 
publication in the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on August 13, 2021.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.

Wholesale Power Rate Schedule JW-1-L

Availability

    This rate schedule shall be available to public bodies and 
cooperatives served by Duke Energy Florida and having points of 
delivery within 150 miles of the Jim Woodruff Project (hereinafter 
called the Project).

Applicability

    This rate schedule shall be applicable to firm power and 
accompanying energy made available by the Government from the Project 
and sold in wholesale quantities.

Character of Service

    The electric capacity and energy supplied hereunder will be three-
phase alternating current at a nominal frequency of 60 cycles per 
second delivered at the delivery points of the customer.

Monthly Rate

    The monthly rate for capacity and energy made available or 
delivered under this rate schedule shall be:

Demand Charge:

    $8.46 per kilowatt of monthly contract demand.
    Energy Charge: 22.32 mills per kilowatt-hour.

Purchased Power Pass-Through

    In addition to the capacity and energy charges, each preference 
customer will be charged for power purchased by Southeastern on behalf 
of the preference customer. This pass-through will be computed as 
follows:

    Each month, Duke Energy Florida provides Southeastern with the 
meter readings for preference customers' delivery points that have 
an allocation of capacity from Southeastern. Subsequently, Duke 
Energy Florida provides Southeastern with reports of purchased power 
and support capacity requirements around the 10th of the succeeding 
month. Southeastern computes its purchased power obligation for each 
delivery point monthly. Southeastern computes any revenue from sales 
to Duke Energy Florida for each delivery point monthly. Southeastern 
sums the purchased power obligation and any revenue from sales to 
Duke Energy Florida for each preference customer monthly. The 
purchased power obligation minus any revenue from sales to Duke 
Energy Florida for each customer is called the Net Purchased Power 
Cost. Southeastern charges each customer its respective monthly Net 
Purchased Power Cost in equal portions over the next eleven billing 
months.

Billing Demand

    The monthly billing demand for any billing month shall be the lower 
of (a) the Customer's contract demand or (b) the sum of the maximum 30-
minute integrated demands for the month at each of the Customer's 
points of delivery; provided, that, if an allocation of contract demand 
to delivery points has become effective, the 30-minute maximum 
integrated demand for any point of delivery shall not be considered to 
be greater than the portion of the Customer's contract demand allocated 
to that point of delivery.

Contract Demand

    The contract demand is the amount of capacity in kilowatts stated 
in the contract which the Government is obligated to supply and the 
Customer is entitled to receive.

Energy Made Available

    During any billing month in which the Government supplies all the 
Customer's capacity requirements for a particular delivery point, the 
Government will make available the total energy requirement of said 
point. When both the Government and Duke Energy Florida are supplying 
capacity to a delivery point, each kilowatt of capacity supplied to 
such point during such month will be considered to be accompanied by an 
equal quantity of energy.

Billing Month

    The billing month for power sold under this schedule shall end at 
12:00 midnight on the last day of each calendar month.

Conditions of Service

    The customer shall, at its own expense, provide, install, and 
maintain on its side of each delivery point the equipment necessary to 
protect and control its own system. In so doing, the installation, 
adjustment, and setting of all such control and protective equipment at 
or near the point of delivery shall be coordinated with that which is 
installed by and at the expense of Duke Energy Florida on its side of 
the delivery point.

Service Interruption

    When energy delivered to the Customer's system for the account of 
the Government is reduced or interrupted for one hour or longer, and 
such reduction or interruption is not due to conditions on the 
Customer's system or has not been planned and agreed to in advance, the 
demand charge for the month shall be appropriately reduced.

October 1, 2021

Wholesale Power Rate Schedule JW-2-F

Availability

    This rate schedule shall be available to Duke Energy Florida 
(formerly known as Florida Power Corporation, and hereinafter called 
the Company).

Applicability

    This rate schedule shall be applicable to electric energy generated 
at the Jim Woodruff Project (hereinafter called the Project) and sold 
to the Company in wholesale quantities.

Points of Delivery

    Power sold to the Company by the Government will be delivered at 
the connection of the Company's transmission system with the Project 
bus.

Character of Service

    Electric power delivered to the Company will be three-phase 
alternating current at a nominal frequency of 60 cycles per second.

Monthly Rate

    The monthly rate for energy sold under this schedule shall be equal 
to 100 percent of the calculated saving in

[[Page 46701]]

the cost of fuel per kWh to the Company determined as follows:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN19AU21.000

[Computed to the nearest $0.00001 (1/100mill) per kWh]

Where:
Fm = Company fuel cost in the current period as defined in Federal 
Power Commission Order 517 issued November 13, 1974, Docket No. R-
479.
Sm = Company sales in the current period reflecting only losses 
associated with wholesale sales for resale. Sale shall be equated to 
the sum of (a) generation, (b) purchases, (c) interchange-in, less 
(d) inter-system sales, less estimated wholesale losses (based on 
average transmission loss percentage for preceding calendar year).

Determination of Energy Sold

    Energy will be furnished by the Company to supply any excess of 
Project use over Project generation. Energy so supplied by the Company 
will be deducted from the actual deliveries to the Company's system to 
determine the net deliveries for energy accounting and billing 
purposes. Energy for Project use shall consist of energy used for 
station service, lock operation, Project yard, village lighting, and 
similar uses.
    The on-peak hours shall be the hours between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 
p.m., Monday through Sunday, inclusive. Off-peak hours shall be all 
other hours.
    All energy made available to the Company shall, to the extent 
required, be classified as energy transmitted to the Government's 
preference customers served from the Company's system. All energy made 
available to the Company from the Project shall be separated on the 
basis of the metered deliveries to it at the Project during on-peak and 
off-peak hours, respectively. Deliveries to preference customers of the 
Government shall be divided on the basis (with allowance for losses) of 
77 percent being considered as on-peak energy and 23 percent being off-
peak energy. Such percentages may by mutual consent be changed from 
time to time as further studies show to be appropriate. In the event 
that in classifying energy there is more than enough on-peak energy 
available to supply on-peak requirements of the Government's preference 
customers but less than enough off-peak energy available to supply such 
customers' off-peak requirements, such excess on-peak energy may be 
applied to the extent necessary to meet off-peak requirements of such 
customers in lieu of purchasing deficiency energy to meet such off-peak 
requirements.

Billing Month

    The billing month under this schedule shall end at 12:00 midnight 
on the last day of each calendar month.

Power Factor

    The purchaser and seller under this rate schedule agree that they 
will both so operate their respective systems that neither party will 
impose an undue reactive burden on the other.

    October 1, 2021.


[FR Doc. 2021-17747 Filed 8-18-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P