Proposed Modifications to Open Access Transmission Tariff; Public Hearing and Opportunities for Public Review and Comment, 89622-89625 [2024-26242]

Agencies

• Bonneville Power Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 89622-89625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-26242]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration

[BPA File No.: TC-26]


Proposed Modifications to Open Access Transmission Tariff; Public 
Hearing and Opportunities for Public Review and Comment

AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville), Department of 
Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of public hearing and opportunity to review and comment.

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

SUMMARY: Bonneville is initiating a proceeding pursuant to Bonneville's 
open access transmission tariff (Tariff) and the Federal Power Act to 
modify the non-rate terms and conditions for transmission, ancillary, 
and interconnection services in the Tariff. The proposed modifications 
will be effective on October 1, 2025. Bonneville has designated this 
proceeding Docket No. TC-26.

DATES: 
    Prehearing Conference: The prehearing conference in the TC-26 
proceeding will be held on November 15, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. The 
Addresses section of this notice provides details on participating in 
the prehearing conference.
    Intervention: Petitions to intervene in the TC-26 proceeding must 
be filed on Bonneville's secure website no later than 4:30 p.m. on 
December 3, 2024. Part III of this notice, ``Public Participation in 
TC-26,'' provides details on requesting access to the secure website 
and filing a petition to intervene.
    Participant Comments: Written comments by non-party participants 
must be received by December 5, 2024, to be considered in the Hearing 
Officer's recommended decision and the Administrator's Record of 
Decision (ROD). See Part III of this notice for more information about 
submitting participant comments.

ADDRESSES: 
    Prehearing Conference: The prehearing conference in the TC-26 
proceeding will be held in the Bonneville Rates Hearing Room, 1201 NE 
Lloyd Boulevard, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97232. Interested parties 
may attend in person or participate virtually via WebEx. The WebEx 
information will be available on Bonneville's TC-26 tariff proceeding 
web page at https://www.bpa.gov/tc26 or from the Hearing Clerk at 
[email protected].
    Intervention: Anyone intending to become a party to the TC-26 
tariff proceeding must file a petition to intervene on Bonneville's 
secure website. Petitions to intervene may be filed beginning on the 
date of publication of this notice and are due no later than 4:30 p.m. 
on December 3, 2024. Part III of this notice, ``Public Participation in 
TC-26,'' provides details on requesting access to the secure website 
and filing a petition to intervene.
    Participant Comments: Written comments by non-party participants 
may be submitted through Bonneville's website at www.bpa.gov/comment or 
by hard copy to: BPA Public Involvement, Bonneville Power 
Administration, P.O. Box 14428, Portland, Oregon 97293. Part III of 
this notice, ``Public Participation in TC-26,'' provides details on 
submitting participant comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elissa Haley, DKS-7, BPA 
Communications, Bonneville Power Administration, P.O. Box 14428, 
Portland, Oregon 97293; by phone toll-free at 1-800-622-4519; or by 
email to [email protected].
    The Hearing Clerk for this proceeding can be reached via email at 
[email protected] or via telephone at (503) 479-8506.
    Please direct questions regarding Bonneville's secure website to 
the Hearing Coordinator via email at [email protected] or, if the 
question is

[[Page 89623]]

time-sensitive, via telephone at (503) 230-5107.
    Responsible Official: Brian McConnell, Manager of Transmission 
Tariff, Rates, and Regulatory Activities, is the official responsible 
for the development of Bonneville's open access transmission tariff.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

Part I--Introduction and Procedural Matters
Part II--Scope of TC-26 Tariff Proceeding
Part III--Public Participation in TC-26
Part IV--Summary of Proposed Modifications to Bonneville's Tariff
Part V--Proposed Tariff

Part I--Introduction and Procedural Matters

A. Introduction and Procedural Background

    The Bonneville Project Act of 1937, as reaffirmed in the Pacific 
Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act, grants the 
Bonneville Administrator broad authority to enter into contracts upon 
such terms and conditions and in such manner as the Bonneville 
Administrator may deem necessary. Bonneville's Tariff provides the 
generally applicable terms and conditions for transmission and 
interconnection service across the Federal Columbia River Transmission 
System (FCRTS). Section 9 of the Tariff provides that the Bonneville 
Administrator may use the procedures set forth in section 212(i)(2)(A) 
of the Federal Power Act to establish and modify non-rate terms and 
conditions of the Tariff. The section 212(i)(2)(A) procedures include 
giving notice in the Federal Register and conducting a hearing that 
adheres to the procedural requirements of paragraphs (1) through (3) of 
section 7(i) of the Northwest Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 839e(i) (the same 
procedures Bonneville uses to set rates). In accordance with these 
procedures, the Hearing Officer conducts one or more hearings as 
expeditiously as practicable to develop a full and complete record. 
Unless the Hearing Officer becomes unavailable to Bonneville, upon 
conclusion of the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall make a recommended 
decision to the Bonneville Administrator, and the Bonneville 
Administrator then makes a separate and final determination to 
establish or modify the Tariff terms and conditions (discussed further 
in Part III, Section C of this notice).
    Bonneville's Rules of Procedure govern the TC-26 tariff proceeding. 
The rules are posted on Bonneville's website at https://www.bpa.gov/energy-and-services/rate-and-tariff-proceedings/rules-of-procedure-revision-process.

B. Proposed Settlement for Modifications to the Tariff

    Starting in late August, Bonneville engaged its transmission and 
interconnection customers and stakeholders in an attempt to reach 
settlement of the modifications to the Tariff for the TC-26 tariff 
proceeding. These discussions have resulted in the TC-26 Settlement 
Agreement, which includes the proposed Tariff modifications Bonneville 
is proposing to adopt in the TC-26 tariff proceeding, and a BP-26 
Partial Rates Settlement Agreement, which includes the terms of the 
Generator Interconnection Withdrawal Charge that Bonneville is 
proposing to adopt in the separate Power and Transmission Rate 
Adjustment hearing (BP-26 proceeding).
    On October 1, 2024, Bonneville posted the TC-26 Settlement 
Agreement and the BP-26 Partial Rates Settlement Agreement on 
Bonneville's website and set a deadline of October 15, 2024, for 
customers and stakeholders to inform Bonneville of any objections to 
the settlement agreements. Bonneville did not receive any objections by 
the deadline. A summary of Bonneville's proposed Tariff modifications 
is provided in Part IV of this notice. A link to the TC-26 Settlement 
Agreement and proposed Tariff are provided in Part V.
    The TC-26 Settlement Agreement calls for Bonneville to file a 
motion with the Hearing Officer to establish a deadline for parties to 
either object to the proposed settlement or waive the right to contest 
the settlement. If no parties object to the settlement by the deadline 
set by the Hearing Officer, Bonneville's motion would request the 
Hearing Officer to issue a decision recommending the Bonneville 
Administrator adopt the TC-26 Settlement Agreement. Bonneville intends 
to file its motion soon after the TC-26 prehearing conference.
    If a party objects to the TC-26 Settlement Agreement or objects to 
the BP-26 Partial Rates Settlement Agreement in the BP-26 proceeding, 
Bonneville will notify all parties and decide how to proceed.

C. Proposed Procedural Schedule

    A proposed schedule for the proceeding is provided below. The 
proposed schedule assumes there are no objections to the proposed 
settlement in the TC-26 tariff proceeding. The official schedule will 
be established by the Hearing Officer and may be amended by the Hearing 
Officer as needed during the proceeding.

Prehearing Conference--November 15, 2024
BPA Files Initial Proposal--November 22, 2024
Deadline for Petitions to Intervene--December 3, 2024
Deadline for Objections to Settlement Agreement--December 5, 2024
Close of Participant Comments--December 5, 2024
Hearing Officer's Recommended Decision Issued--January 10, 2025
Final ROD--February 26, 2025

D. Ex Parte Communications

    Section 1010.5 of the Rules of Procedure prohibits ex parte 
communications. Ex parte communications include any oral or written 
communication (1) relevant to the merits of any issue in the 
proceeding; (2) that is not on the record; and (3) with respect to 
which reasonable prior notice has not been given. The ex parte rule 
applies to communications with all Bonneville and DOE employees and 
contractors, the Hearing Officer, and the Hearing Clerk during the 
proceeding. Except as provided, any communications with persons covered 
by the rule regarding the merits of any issue in the proceeding by 
other Executive Branch agencies, Congress, existing or potential 
Bonneville customers, nonprofit or public interest groups, or any other 
non-DOE parties are prohibited. The rule explicitly excludes and does 
not prohibit communications (1) relating to matters of procedure; (2) 
otherwise authorized by law or the Rules of Procedure; (3) from or to 
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission); (4) that all 
litigants agree may be made on an ex parte basis; (5) in the ordinary 
course of business, about information required to be exchanged under 
contracts, or in information responding to a Freedom of Information Act 
request; (6) between the Hearing Officer and Hearing Clerk; (7) in 
meetings for which prior notice has been given; or (8) otherwise 
specified in section 1010.5(b) of the Rules of Procedure. The ex parte 
rule is effective upon publication of this FRN and remains in effect 
until the Bonneville Administrator's Final ROD is issued.

Part II--Scope of the TC-26 Tariff Proceeding

    The TC-26 tariff proceeding involves the proposed modifications to 
Bonneville's Tariff described in Part IV. This section provides 
guidance to the Hearing Officer regarding the specific issues that are 
outside the scope of the TC-26 tariff proceeding. In addition to the 
issues specifically listed below, any other issue that is not a Tariff 
term or

[[Page 89624]]

condition issue is outside the scope of this proceeding.
    Bonneville may revise the scope of the proceeding to include new 
issues that arise as a result of circumstances or events occurring 
outside the proceeding that are substantially related to the Tariff 
terms and conditions under consideration in the proceeding. See Rules 
of Procedure section 1010.4(b)(8)(iii), (iv). If Bonneville revises the 
scope of the proceeding to include new issues, Bonneville will provide 
public notice on its website, present testimony or other information 
regarding such issues, and provide a reasonable opportunity to 
intervene and respond to Bonneville's testimony or other information. 
Id.

A. Business Practices

    Bonneville's business practices provide implementation details for 
the Tariff and are outside the scope of the TC-26 tariff proceeding. 
Bonneville's decisions regarding business practices are determined in 
other forums and follow the procedures in Bonneville's Business 
Practice Process. If business practices are developed for the proposed 
terms and conditions in this proceeding, such development will occur 
outside the terms and conditions proceeding. Pursuant to section 
1010.4(b)(8) of the Rules of Procedure, the Bonneville Administrator 
directs the Hearing Officer to exclude from the record all argument, 
testimony, or other evidence that proposes or challenges Bonneville's 
current and future business practices.

B. Customer-Specific Contracts and Disputes

    Contracts and contract disputes between Bonneville and its 
customers are outside the scope of the TC-26 tariff proceeding. 
Pursuant to section 1010.4(b)(8) of the Rules of Procedure, the 
Bonneville Administrator directs the Hearing Officer to exclude from 
the record all argument, testimony, or other evidence related to 
contracts and contract disputes of Bonneville customers.

C. Oversupply Management Protocol

    The Oversupply Management Protocol (Tariff Attachment P) includes 
the Tariff requirements and procedures used to moderate total dissolved 
gas levels in the Columbia River to protect endangered fish and other 
aquatic species. Bonneville does not propose to modify the terms of the 
Oversupply Management Protocol in the TC-26 tariff proceeding. Pursuant 
to section 1010.4(b)(8) of the Rules of Procedure, the Bonneville 
Administrator directs the Hearing Officer to exclude from the record 
all argument, testimony, or other evidence related to the terms of the 
Oversupply Management Protocol (Tariff Attachment P), including whether 
the Oversupply Management Protocol complies with orders of the 
Commission; whether Bonneville took all actions to avoid using the 
Oversupply Management Protocol, including the payment of negative 
prices to generators outside of Bonneville's balancing authority area; 
and issues concerning the rates for recovering the costs of the 
Oversupply Management Protocol.

D. Program Cost Estimates

    Bonneville's projections of its program costs and spending levels 
are not determined in terms and conditions proceedings and are outside 
the scope of the TC-26 tariff proceeding. These projections are 
determined by Bonneville in other forums, such as the Integrated 
Program Review public process, with input from stakeholders. Pursuant 
to section 1010.4(b)(8) of the Rules of Procedure, the Bonneville 
Administrator directs the Hearing Officer to exclude from the record 
all argument, testimony, or other evidence that challenges the 
appropriateness or reasonableness of the Bonneville Administrator's 
decisions on costs and spending levels.

E. Rates

    Pursuant to Bonneville's statutes, it must set rates to recover 
costs associated with providing power and transmission services. In 
addition to and concurrent with this proceeding, Bonneville is holding 
a separate BP-26 proceeding regarding the proposed fiscal year 2026-
2028 power and transmission, ancillary, and control area services 
rates. Bonneville's decisions regarding rates are outside the scope of 
the TC-26 tariff proceeding. Pursuant to section 1010.4(b)(8) of the 
Rules of Procedure, the Bonneville Administrator directs the Hearing 
Officer to exclude from the record all argument, testimony, or other 
evidence related to rates, or that challenges the appropriateness or 
reasonableness of the Bonneville Administrator's decisions on rates or 
seeks in any way to propose revisions to the rates, including rate 
schedules, rate schedule provisions, rate designs, rate methodologies, 
rate forecasts, interest expense and credit, Treasury repayment 
schedules, non-Federal debt repayment schedules, revenue financing, 
calculation of depreciation and amortization expense, forecasts of 
system replacements used in repayment studies, transmission acquisition 
expenses incurred by Power Services, generation acquisition expenses, 
minimum required net revenue, increase in, or the use of, financial 
reserves, and the costs of risk mitigation actions resulting from the 
expense and revenue uncertainties included in the risk analysis.
    In this proceeding, Bonneville is proposing to modify the Tariff 
terms and conditions to include a ``Withdrawal Charge'' as discussed in 
Part IV below. In order to implement the ``Withdrawal Charge,'' 
Bonneville is proposing to adopt a general rate schedule provision that 
establishes the amount of the proposed ``Generator Interconnection 
Withdrawal Charge'' and other details about the applicability of the 
charge in the BP-26 proceeding.
    The exclusion in this section does not extend to limited testimony 
or evidence acknowledging that Bonneville has proposed adoption of 
``Generator Interconnection Withdrawal Charge'' in the BP-26 
proceeding.

Part III--Public Participation in TC-26

A. Interventions

    Any entity or person intending to become a party in the TC-26 
tariff proceeding must file a petition to intervene through 
Bonneville's secure website, https://proceedings.bpa.gov/. Because 
Bonneville is introducing a new secure website interface, all 
prospective users must create a new user account to submit an 
intervention. The secure website contains a link to the user guide, 
which provides step-by-step instructions for creating user accounts, 
submitting filings, and uploading interventions. Please contact the 
Hearing Coordinator via email at [email protected] or, if the question 
is time-sensitive, via telephone at (503) 230-5107, with any questions 
regarding the registration and submission process.
    All petitions to intervene must be submitted through Bonneville's 
secure website by the deadline in the procedural schedule adopted by 
the Hearing Officer. Late interventions are strongly disfavored. 
Petitions to intervene must conform to the format and content 
requirements in sections 1010.6 and 1010.11 of Bonneville's Rules of 
Procedure. Petitions must state the name and address of the entity or 
person requesting party status and the entity or person's interest in 
the hearing.
    The Hearing Officer will rule on all petitions to intervene. 
Bonneville customers and affiliated customer groups will be granted 
intervention based on petitions filed in conformance with the Rules of 
Procedure. Other petitioners must explain their interests in sufficient 
detail to permit the Hearing

[[Page 89625]]

Officer to determine whether the petitioners have a relevant interest 
in the hearing.
    Bonneville or any party may oppose a petition to intervene. The 
deadline for opposing a timely petition to intervene is two business 
days after the deadline for filing the petition. Opposition to an 
untimely petition to intervene must be filed within two business days 
after service of the petition.

B. Participant Comments

    Bonneville distinguishes between ``participants in'' and ``parties 
to'' the TC-26 tariff proceeding. Separate from the formal hearing 
process, Bonneville will accept written comments, views, opinions, and 
information from participants who have not intervened in the TC-26 
proceeding and been granted ``party'' status by the Hearing Officer. 
Participants are not entitled to participate in the prehearing 
conference; may not cross-examine parties' witnesses, seek discovery, 
or serve or be served with documents; and are not subject to the same 
procedural requirements as parties. Bonneville customers that will 
receive transmission or interconnection service under the terms and 
conditions of the Tariff, or their affiliated customer groups, may not 
submit participant comments. Members or employees of organizations that 
have intervened in the proceeding may submit participant comments as 
private individuals (that is, not speaking for their organizations), 
but may not use the comment procedures to address specific issues 
raised by their intervener organizations.
    Written comments by participants must be received by December 5, 
2024, to be considered by the Hearing Officer and the Bonneville 
Administrator. Participants should submit comments through Bonneville's 
website at www.bpa.gov/comment or in hard copy to: BPA Public 
Involvement, Bonneville Power Administration, P.O. Box 14428, Portland, 
Oregon 97293. All comments should contain the designation ``TC-26'' in 
the subject line.

C. Developing the Record

    The hearing record will include, among other things, the 
transcripts of the hearing, written evidence and arguments entered into 
the record by Bonneville and the parties, written comments from 
participants, and other material accepted into the record by the 
Hearing Officer. Upon conclusion of the hearing, the Hearing Officer 
will develop a recommended decision for the Bonneville Administrator. 
The Hearing Officer's recommended decision must be based on the record 
and include the Hearing Officer's findings and conclusions, including 
the reasons or bases thereof, on all material issues of fact, law, or 
discretion raised by the parties in their initial briefs. The Hearing 
Officer will review and certify the record to the Bonneville 
Administrator for final decision.
    The Bonneville Administrator will make a final determination 
establishing or modifying Tariff terms and conditions based on the 
record, the Hearing Officer's recommended decision, and such other 
materials and information as may have been submitted to or developed by 
the Bonneville Administrator. The Final ROD will be made available to 
all parties.

Part IV--Summary of Proposed Modifications to Bonneville's Tariff

    In this proceeding, Bonneville proposes to adopt, effective October 
1, 2025, modifications to the non-rate Tariff terms and conditions 
consistent with the Tariff attached to the TC-26 Settlement Agreement. 
The TC-26 Settlement Agreement includes (1) changes to section 2 to 
allow existing firm service transmission customers that requested a 
term of five years or more to have the right to continue taking 
transmission service from BPA when the customer's contract expires, 
rolls over or is renewed; (2) clarifications in section 4 to align with 
the current Attachment C, Methodology to Assess Available Transfer 
Capability, in regard to how Bonneville calculates Available Transfer 
Capability (ATC) and the Total Transfer Capability (TTC) for ATC paths; 
(3) modifications to Schedule 9E, Generator Imbalance Service, to allow 
for the recovery of Non-EIM Balancing Costs; (4) updates to the Summer 
and Non-Summer loss factor percentages in the Network Loss Factors 
table in Schedule 11; (5) changes to Attachment A, Form of Service 
Agreement for Firm Point-to-Point Service, to update references to 
exhibits for consistency within the attachment and to add Exhibit F, 
Specifications for Conditional Firm Point-to-Point Transmission 
Service; (6) modifications to Attachment L, Standard Large Generator 
Interconnection Procedures (LGIP) to establish that interconnection 
customers may be subject to a Withdrawal Charge if the customer's 
interconnection request is withdrawn or deemed withdrawn at certain 
stages of the interconnection process, and to add Appendix 5, Standard 
Large Generator Interconnection Agreement; (7) modifications to 
Attachment R, Large Generator Interconnection Transition Process to 
specify the applicability of Withdrawal Charges to interconnection 
customers participating in the Transmission Process; (8) the addition 
of new Attachment S, Transmission Line Ratings; and (9) ministerial 
edits to Attachments L and R. In addition, separate and apart from this 
proceeding, Bonneville is proposing adoption of a rate schedule for the 
Generator Interconnection Withdrawal Charge in the BP-26 proceeding, 
consistent with both the BP-26 Partial Rates Settlement Agreement and 
the TC-26 Settlement Agreement. As described previously, the specific 
Tariff modifications at issue are reflected in the TC-26 Settlement 
Agreement that was developed in discussions with customers and other 
stakeholders earlier this year. The proposed Tariff assumes the TC-26 
settlement is successful. In the event the TC-26 settlement is 
unsuccessful, Bonneville will publish a revised Tariff proposal 
consistent with the procedural schedule established and amended by the 
Hearing Officer.

Part V--Proposed Tariff

    Bonneville's proposed Tariff and the TC-26 Settlement Agreement are 
part of this notice and available to view and download on Bonneville's 
website at https://www.bpa.gov/tc26.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on October 31, 
2024, by John L. Hairston, Administrator and Chief Executive Officer of 
the Bonneville Power Administration, pursuant to delegated authority 
from the Secretary of Energy. This 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 November 7, 2024.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2024-26242 Filed 11-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P