The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) issued the Administrator’s Final Record of Decision (Final ROD) on February 9, 2023 in the TC-24 proceeding. The Final ROD adopts changes to the terms and conditions of BPA’s open access transmission tariff (OATT) in accordance with the settlement reached among parties to the TC-24 proceeding (the TC-24 Settlement). The TC-24 Settlement itself was adopted following a collaborative process that included stakeholder workshops and settlement negotiations.
The TC-24 Settlement consists of three main parts: 1) the Settlement Agreement itself, describing the mechanics of the settlement; 2) Attachment 1, which describes changes incorporated into the OATT, as well as BPA’s commitments to public engagement processes following the TC-24 proceeding; and 3) Attachment 2, which contains the full revised OATT. The changes to the OATT address the following: 1) the conditional reservation deadline for hourly firm and daily firm point-to-point service; 2) edits to clarify where BPA’s creditworthiness criteria are published; 3) real power loss factors, including removal of the Utility Delivery and Direct Service Industry loss factors; 4) an updated description of the available transfer capability (ATC) methodology and replacement of the long-term ATC calculation for BPA’s flow-based paths with a commercial power flow assessment; 5) updates to the large generator interconnection request form; and 6) clarifying edits to the Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) terms.
As far as public engagement processes, the TC-24 Settlement commits BPA to the following stakeholder workshops: 1) on EIM data submittal requirements; 2) on BPA’s line and load interconnection procedures and potential reforms to the load interconnection queue; 3) on BPA’s transmission planning process; and 4) regarding implementation of changes to BPA’s conditional reservation deadline.
BPA has already begun the public engagement process on generator interconnection issues and may conduct a TC-25 terms and conditions tariff proceeding to modify the OATT provisions related to potential generator interconnection reforms. Click here for more information.
Per the Final ROD and TC-24 Settlement, the OATT changes will go into effect on October 1, 2023, with the exception of changes to the conditional reservation deadline, which may be implemented sooner.
Note that while the TC-24 proceeding has concluded, the BP-24 proceeding to set power and transmission rates for FY 2024-25 is still ongoing; thus, BPA and parties to that proceeding are still subject to ex parte restrictions with respect to those issues.
Sanger Law PC represented and Renewable Northwest (RNW) and the Northwest & Intermountain Power Producers Coalition (NIPPC) in this proceeding and is continuing to represent them in the BP-24 proceeding.
RNW is a renewable energy advocacy organization with diverse members, including renewable energy professionals, energy buyers and marketers, ratepayer advocates, and environmental NGOs. RNW is committed to decarbonizing the region by accelerating the transition to renewable electricity.
NIPPC represents electricity market participants in the Pacific Northwest, including independent power producers, electricity service suppliers, and transmission companies. NIPPC is committed to facilitating cost-effective electricity sales, offering consumers choices in their energy supply, and advancing fair, competitive power markets.
Disclaimer
These materials are intended to as informational and are not to be considered legal advice or legal opinion, nor do they create a lawyer-client relationship. Information included about previous case results does not assure a similar future result.
