[Federal Register: May 1, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 83)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 23778-23779]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01my07-16]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
18 CFR Part 35
[Docket Nos. RM05-10-000 and AD04-13-000]
Imbalance Provisions for Intermittent Resources; Assessing the
State of Wind Energy in Wholesale Electricity Markets
Issued April 25, 2007.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Withdrawal of notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is withdrawing its
proposal to amend its regulations to require public utilities to append
to their open access transmission tariffs (OATTs) an intermittent
generator imbalance service schedule in light of the imbalance-related
reforms adopted in Order No. 890, 72 FR 12266 (Mar. 15, 2007).
DATES: The notice of proposed rulemaking published on April 14, 2005,
at 70 FR 21349, is withdrawn as of May 1, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
W. Mason Emnett (Legal Information), Office of the General Counsel--
Energy Markets, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street,
NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-6540.
Daniel Hedberg (Technical Information), Office of Energy Markets and
Reliability, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street,
NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-6243.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Before Commissioners: Joseph T. Kelliher, Chairman; Suedeen G. Kelly,
Marc Spitzer, Philip D. Moeller, and Jon Wellinghoff.
Withdrawal of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
1. On April 14, 2005, the Commission issued a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NOPR) in this proceeding.\1\ For the reasons set forth
below, we are withdrawing the NOPR and terminating this rulemaking.
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\1\ Imbalance Provisions for Intermittent Resources Assessing
the State of Wind Energy in Wholesale Electricity Markets, Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking, 70 FR 21349 (Apr. 26, 2005), FERC Stats. &
Regs. ] 32,581 (2005).
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2. In the NOPR, the Commission proposed to clarify and amend
imbalance-related provisions in the pro forma Open Access Transmission
Tariff (OATT) as applied to intermittent resources.\2\ The Commission
concluded that, although the number of intermittent resources had grown
since the adoption of the pro forma OATT in Order No. 888,\3\ such
resources were historically hesitant to take service under the pro
forma OATT, thereby accessing broader markets, due to the application
of imbalance provisions that were designed to apply to resources with
the ability to control fuel input and thus schedule their energy with
precision. The Commission concluded that the imbalance provisions of
the Order No. 888 pro forma OATT may no longer be just, reasonable or
not unduly discriminatory or preferential as applied to intermittent
resources that by nature are weather-driven.\4\ The Commission
therefore proposed to establish a standard schedule under the pro forma
OATT to address generator imbalances solely for intermittent resources
and sought comment on issues related to that proposal.
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\2\ For purposes of the NOPR, an intermittent resource was
defined as an electric generator that is not dispatchable and cannot
store its fuel source and therefore cannot respond to changes in
system demand or respond to transmission security constraints.
\3\ Promoting Wholesale Competition Through Open Access Non-
discriminatory Transmission Services by Public Utilities and
Recovery of Stranded Costs by Public Utilities and Transmitting
Utilities, Order No. 888, 61 FR 21,540 (May 10, 1996), FERC Stats. &
Regs. ] 31,036 (1996), order on reh'g, Order No. 888-A, 62 FR 12,274
(March 14, 1997), FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,048 (1997), order on
reh'g, Order No. 888-B, 81 FERC ] 61,248 (1997), order on reh'g,
Order No. 888-C, 82 FERC ] 61,046 (1998), aff'd in relevant part,
remanded in part on other grounds sub nom. Transmission Access
Policy Study Group, et al. v. FERC, 225 F.3d 667 (D.C. Cir. 2000),
aff'd sub nom. New York v. FERC, 535 U.S. 1 (2002).
\4\ The Commission began exploring these issues at a technical
conference held on December 1, 2004, in Denver, Colorado in Docket
No. AD04-13-000. Other transmission-related issues regarding wind
energy were also discussed at the technical conference and in post-
technical conference comments, such as the interconnection process,
credits for transmission upgrades, and adoption of a conditional
firm transmission product. These issues were not addressed in the
NOPR, which was limited to the imbalance provisions of the pro forma
OATT as they relate to intermittent resources.
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3. Since issuance of the NOPR, the Commission has completed its
OATT reform rulemaking in Docket Nos. RM05-25-000, et al., issuing
Order No. 890 on February 16, 2007.\5\ Among other things, Order No.
890 adopted a new Schedule 9 to govern generator imbalances. Under
Schedule 9, imbalance charges ``must be based on incremental cost or
some multiple therefore'' and ``must provide an incentive for accurate
scheduling, such as by increasing the percentage of the adder above
(and below) incremental cost as the deviation becomes larger.'' \6\ Of
particular relevance to this proceeding, the Commission also required
that imbalance provisions ``account for the special circumstances
presented by intermittent generators and their limited ability to
precisely forecast or control generation levels, such as waiving the
more punitive adders associated with higher deviations.'' \7\
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\5\ See Preventing Undue Discrimination and Preference in
Transmission Service, Order No. 890, 72 FR 12266 (March 15, 2007),
FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,241 (2007), reh'g pending.
\6\ Order No. 890 at P 663.
\7\ Id. The Commission also adopted a standard definition of
intermittent resource that is identical to that proposed in this
proceeding. See Id. at P 666.
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4. As a result of the imbalance-related reforms adopted in Order
No. 890, and in particular the requirement that generator imbalance
provisions in each transmission provider's OATT take into account an
intermittent resources' limited ability to forecast or control
generation levels, the Commission concludes that it is no longer
necessary to address the NOPR proposal to add to the pro forma OATT a
generator imbalance schedule solely for intermittent resources. The
reforms adopted in Order No. 890 adequately ensure that the imbalance
provisions of the pro forma OATT will not result in service to
intermittent resources that is unjust, unreasonable, or unduly
discriminatory or preferential.
5. The Commission therefore withdraws the NOPR and terminates this
rulemaking proceeding.
The Commission orders:
Docket No. RM05-10-000 is hereby terminated.
[[Page 23779]]
By the Commission.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-8236 Filed 4-30-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P