Energy Choice
                            

Matters

Archive

Daily Email

Events

 

 

 

About/Contact

Search

Texas PUC Moves To Protect ERCOT Ratepayers From Costs Created By New Line Exporting Power to Eastern Interconnect

August 19, 2016

Email This Story
Copyright 2010-16 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com

The Texas PUC moved to protect customers in ERCOT from paying higher costs from the City of Garland's Rusk-to-Panola Double-Circuit 345-kV line, which is to facilitate the export, via DC Tie, of ERCOT power via the Southern Cross Transmission line

Though Commissioners did not adopt any formal order or conditions at an open meeting yesterday, Commissioners were in agreement that ERCOT customers should not pay higher costs as a result of the Rusk-to-Panola project

Commissioners need more time to review and agree on a delineation of specific costs attributable to the project for which ERCOT customers should be held harmless, but noted that the universe of costs includes not only Southern Cross Transmission's use of the ERCOT system, but related costs, such as congestion or ancillary service needs created by the project's interconnection.

Chairman Donna Nelson reiterated her concerns about the DC tie's potential to open ERCOT to FERC jurisdiction, and also observed that the project amounts to, "the use of our CREZ infrastructure [paid for by ERCOT load] by out of state parties at the expense of ERCOT ratepayers."

"First and foremost, ERCOT ratepayers should not bear any of the costs to construct, operate, maintain, upgrade, or decommission the facilities," Nelson said in a memo. "I support adoption of proposed ordering paragraph 12, which would require the [developers] City of Garland and Southern Cross Transmission LLC to give effect to and honor their representations in FERC Docket No. TX11-01-001, including that Southern Cross cannot seek to recover from ERCOT ratepayers and Garland cannot seek to recover from wholesale or retail customers in Texas the costs incurred in the construction of the interconnection facilities identified in the interconnection agreement between Garland and Southern Cross."

"I support a condition that states that ERCOT ratepayers should not bear any additional costs of this project that may arise, including ancillary services costs and costs for negotiating and executing any coordination agreements with other ISOs, RTOs, or Balancing Authorities necessitated by this project. I agree with TIEC that we should directly assign any incremental transmission and ancillary services costs required to support exports over the DC tie to those exports," Nelson wrote

"I would also add conditions regarding disallowing recovery for this project in a utility's cost of service. Specifically. Garland shall not recover any costs related to the design and construction of the Garland Project in a transmission cost of service, and no costs related to the Rusk or Panola substations or the Rusk-to-Panola line should be allowed in any transmission cost of service for any utility. Further, Garland shall bear the burden of establishing that none of the costs it seeks to recover for transmission are related to this project," Nelson wrote

Commissioner Kenneth Anderson noted that the sponsors of the DC tie have represented that they will pay for the costs of the ERCOT transmission system. However, Anderson noted that under current rules, while exports are treated as load (and would be allocated transmission costs based on use at 4CP), imports are treated as generation, which does not pay to use the transmission system. Therefore, Anderson said that it would be necessary to ensure that all flows under the DC tie, whether import or export, are accounted for in ERCOT transmission cost assignment

Furthermore, Nelson proposed the condition that Garland and Southern Cross shall immediately disconnect the Garland Project from the Southern Cross DC tie if: (1) it is necessary to prevent ERCOT or any ERCOT utilities from becoming subject to FERC's jurisdiction; (2) a synchronous connection is ever made to the line outside Texas; or (3) ordered to by the Commission to protect the public interest or the ERCOT system. If the Commission orders disconnection, the disconnection should occur upon issuance of a final Commission order and not after rights to appeal have been exhausted. Furthermore, Southern Cross should be required to back down exports if asked to do so by ERCOT during an ERCOT energy emergency alert, Nelson wrote

Nelson would require ERCOT, as a result of the new DC tie, to institute proceedings to address, among other things, congestion issues; ramp rate restrictions; coordination of outages; primary frequency response and reactive power requirements, if necessary: the impact on ancillary services, including evaluating what additional ancillary services may be necessary for the reliable interconnection of the Southern Cross DC tie; and price formation issues.

"As it stands now, the DC tie that is at the heart of this docket would have a full capacity of 2,100 MW -- making it ERCOT's new most severe single contingency," Nelson wrote. Commissioners therefore directed parties to provide briefing on the possibility that the PUC order that the DC tie operate below the current most severe single contingency of 1,375 MW until ERCOT completes any required studies and implements any new standards and protocols via the ERCOT proceeding discussed above

ADVERTISEMENT
NEW Jobs on RetailEnergyJobs.com:
NEW! -- Analyst, Supply & Settlements -- Retail Supplier -- Houston
NEW! -- Pricing Analyst -- Retail Supplier
NEW! -- Manager of Supply -- Retail Provider -- Dallas
NEW! -- Channel Partner Manager, Northeast -- Retail Provider
NEW! -- Sales Operations Analyst -- Retail Provider -- Houston
NEW! -- Risk Analyst -- Retail Provider -- Houston
NEW! -- Northeast Operations Analyst -- Retail Provider -- Houston
NEW! -- Financial Analyst – Broker Commissions -- Retail Provider -- Houston
NEW! -- Channel Relations Manager -- Retail Provider
NEW! -- Software Developer -- Retail Provider -- Houston
NEW! -- Director of C&I Sales -- Retail Provider -- Texas
NEW! -- Pricing Analyst -- Retail Provider -- Houston
NEW! -- Director of Pricing -- Retail Provider -- Houston

Email This Story

HOME

Copyright 2010-16 Energy Choice Matters.  If you wish to share this story, please email or post the website link; unauthorized copying, retransmission, or republication prohibited.

 

Archive

Daily Email

Events

 

 

 

About/Contact

Search