Notice2022-25374
Proposed Modifications To Open Access Transmission Tariff; Public Hearing and Opportunities for Public Review and Comment
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Published
November 22, 2022
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentBonneville Power Administration
Abstract
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 generator interconnection services in Bonneville's Tariff, to be effective on October 1, 2023. Bonneville has designated this proceeding Docket No. TC-24.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 224 (Tuesday, November 22, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 224 (Tuesday, November 22, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71317-71320]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25374]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Bonneville Power Administration
[BPA File No.: TC-24]
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.
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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 generator interconnection services in Bonneville's Tariff, to be
effective on October 1, 2023. Bonneville has designated this proceeding
Docket No. TC-24.
DATES:
Prehearing Conference: The TC-24 tariff proceeding will begin with
a prehearing conference, which will be held via telephone on Friday,
December 2, 2022.
Intervention: Anyone intending to become a party to the TC-24
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 Monday, December 5, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may obtain call-in information by
accessing Bonneville's TC-24 tariff proceeding web page at <a href="https://www.bpa.gov/goto/tc24">https://www.bpa.gov/goto/tc24</a> or by contacting the Hearing Clerk at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2d796e1f194e41485f466d4a404c4441034e4240"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="095d4a3b3d6a656c7b62496e64686065276a6664">[email protected]</span></a>. The TC-24 prehearing conference will begin
immediately following the conclusion of the prehearing conference for
Bonneville's BP-24 Power and Transmission Rate Proceeding, which begins
at 10:00 a.m.
Participant Comments: Written comments by non-party participants
must be received by Friday, December 9, 2022 to be considered in the
Hearing Officer's recommended decision and the Administrator's Record
of Decision (ROD).
Part III of this notice, ``Public Participation in TC-24,''
provides details on requesting access to the secure website, filing a
petition to intervene, and submitting participant comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Elissa Haley, DKS-7, BPA
Communications, Bonneville Power Administration, P.O. Box 3621,
Portland, Oregon 97208; by phone toll-free at 1-800-622-4519; or by
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#40252e28212c2539002230216e272f36"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0c6962646d6069754c6e7c6d226b637a">[email protected]</span></a>.
The Hearing Clerk for this proceeding can be reached via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d88c9beaecbbb4bdaab398bfb5b9b1b4f6bbb7b5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2e7a6d1c1a4d424b5c456e49434f4742004d4143">[email protected]</span></a> or via telephone at (503) 479-8506.
Please direct questions regarding Bonneville's secure website to
the Rate Hearing Coordinator via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#accfdbcbdec5cacac9c2eccedccd82cbc3da"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="55362232273c3333303b153725347b323a23">[email protected]</span></a> or, if the
question is time-sensitive, via telephone at (503) 230-5107.
Responsible Official: Rebecca Fredrickson, Manager of Transmission
Rates, Tariff, Regulatory and Compliance, 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-24 Terms and Conditions Proceeding
Part III. Public Participation in TC-24
Part IV. Summary of Proposed Modifications to Bonneville's Tariff
Part V. Proposed Tariff
Part I--Introduction and Procedural Matters
A. Introduction
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 Administrator may
deem necessary. Bonneville's Tariff provides the generally applicable
terms and conditions for transmission 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. Section
212(i)(2)(A) of the Federal Power Act provide procedures the
Administrator may use to establish and modify terms and conditions of
general applicability for transmission service across the FCRTS. 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 Administrator,
and the 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-24 tariff
proceedings. The rules are posted on Bonneville's website at <a href="https://www.bpa.gov/energy-and-services/rate-and-tariff-proceedings/rules-of-procedure-revision-process">https://www.bpa.gov/energy-and-services/rate-and-tariff-proceedings/rules-of-procedure-revision-process</a>.
B. Proposed Settlement for Modifications to the Tariff
Since early August, Bonneville engaged its transmission and
interconnection customers in an attempt to reach settlement of the
modifications to the Tariff for the TC-24 proceeding. These discussions
have resulted in the TC-24 Settlement Agreement. Bonneville is
proposing to adopt the
[[Page 71318]]
TC-24 Settlement Agreement in the TC-24 proceeding. A summary of
Bonneville's proposed Tariff modifications is provided in Part IV of
this notice. A link to the full settlement is provided in Part V.
The TC-24 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 Administrator
adopt the TC-24 Settlement Agreement. Bonneville intends to file its
motion soon after the TC-24 prehearing conference.
If a party objects to the TC-24 Settlement Agreement, Bonneville
will notify all parties and decide how to proceed with respect to the
Tariff modifications in the initial proposal.
C. Proposed Procedural Schedule
A proposed schedule for the proceeding is provided below and is
based on an outcome in which Bonneville's proposed Tariff is settled.
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--December 2, 2022
BPA Files Initial Proposal--December 2, 2022
Deadline for Petitions to Intervene--December 5, 2022
Deadline for Objections to Settlement Agreement--December 9, 2022
Close of Participant Comments--December 9, 2022
Hearing Officer's Recommended Decision Issued--January 13, 2023
Final ROD--February 9, 2023
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) which 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 remains in effect until the Administrator's Final ROD is issued.
Part II--Scope of the TC-24 Tariff Proceeding
The TC-24 tariff proceeding is a proceeding for the adoption of
modifications to the non-rate terms and conditions in Bonneville's
Tariff. This section provides guidance to the Hearing Officer regarding
the specific issues that are outside the scope of the TC-24 tariff
proceeding. In addition to the issues specifically listed below, any
other issue that is not a Tariff term or 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-24 tariff proceeding.
Bonneville's decisions regarding the 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 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-24 tariff proceeding.
Pursuant to section 1010.4(b)(8) of the Rules of Procedure, the
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-24 tariff proceeding. Pursuant
to section 1010.4(b)(8) of the Rules of Procedure, the 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-24 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 Administrator
directs the Hearing Officer to exclude from the record all argument,
testimony, or other evidence that challenges the appropriateness or
reasonableness of the Administrator's decisions on costs and spending
levels.
[[Page 71319]]
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 Power and Transmission Rate Adjustment hearing (the BP-24
proceeding) regarding the proposed fiscal year 2024-2025 power and
transmission, ancillary, and control area services rates, including the
proposed BP-24 rates settlement agreement. Bonneville's decisions
regarding rates are outside the scope of the TC-24 tariff proceeding.
Bonneville is publishing a separate notice in the Federal Register
regarding the BP-24 proceeding. Pursuant to section 1010.4(b)(8) of the
Rules of Procedure, the 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 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.
F. Proposed Settlement of the BP-24 Rate Proceeding, FY 2024-2025
Average System Cost Process, and the FY 2022 Power Reserves
Distribution Clause Process
The proposed settlement of the BP-24 rate proceeding, FY 2024-2025
Average System Cost Process, and the FY 2022 Power Reserves
Distribution Clause Process is outside the scope of the TC-24 tariff
proceeding. Pursuant to section 1010.4(b)(8) of the Rules of Procedure,
the Administrator directs the Hearing Officer to exclude from the
record all argument, testimony, or other evidence related to this
proposed settlement.
Part III--Public Participation in TC-24
A. Distinguishing Between ``Participants'' and ``Parties''
Bonneville distinguishes between ``participants in'' and ``parties
to'' the TC-24 proceeding. Separate from the formal hearing process,
Bonneville will receive written comments, views, opinions, and
information from participants, who may submit comments without being
subject to the duties of, or having the privileges of, parties.
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 subject to this proceeding, or their affiliated customer
groups, may not submit participant comments. Members or employees of
organizations that have intervened in the terms and conditions
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 will be included in the record and
considered by the Hearing Officer and the Administrator if they are
received by Friday, December 9, 2022. The proposed Tariff and
attachments are provided in Section V of this notice. Participants
should submit comments through Bonneville's website at <a href="http://www.bpa.gov/comment">www.bpa.gov/comment</a> or in hard copy to: BPA Public Involvement, DKS-7, Bonneville
Power Administration, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon 97208. All
comments should contain the designation ``TC-24'' in the subject line.
B. Interventions
Any entity or person intending to become a party in the TC-24
proceeding must file a petition to intervene through Bonneville's
secure website (<a href="https://ratecase.bpa.gov/">https://ratecase.bpa.gov/</a>). A first-time user of
Bonneville's secure website must create a user account to submit an
intervention. Returning users may request access to the TC-24
proceeding through their existing accounts, and may submit
interventions once their permissions have been updated. The secure
website contains a link to the user guide, which provides step-by-step
instructions for creating user accounts, generating filing numbers,
submitting filings, and uploading interventions. Please contact the
Hearing Coordinator via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1d7e6a7a6f747b7b78735d7f6d7c337a726b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1a796d7d68737c7c7f745a786a7b347d756c">[email protected]</span></a> or, if the question
is time-sensitive, via telephone at (503) 230-5107 with any questions
regarding the submission process. A petition to intervene must conform
to the format and content requirements set forth in Bonneville's Rules
of Procedure sections 1010.6 and 1010.11 and must be uploaded to the
TC-24 proceeding secure website by the deadline established in the
procedural schedule.
A petition to intervene must state the name and address of the
entity or person requesting party status and the entity or person's
interest in the hearing. Bonneville customers and affiliated customer
groups will be granted intervention based on petitions filed in
conformance with Rules of Procedure. Other petitioners must explain
their interests in sufficient detail to permit the Hearing Officer to
determine whether the petitioners have a relevant interest in the
hearing. The deadline for opposing a timely intervention is two
business days after the deadline for filing petitions to intervene.
Bonneville or any party may oppose a petition for intervention. All
petitions will be ruled on by the Hearing Officer. Late interventions
are strongly disfavored. Opposition to an untimely petition to
intervene must be filed within two business days after service of the
petition.
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 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 Administrator for final decision.
The 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
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 modify the non-rate
Tariff terms and conditions consistent with the Tariff attached to the
TC-24 Settlement Agreement, to be effective on October 1, 2023. The TC-
24 Settlement
[[Page 71320]]
Agreement includes (1) changes to the conditional reservation deadlines
for hourly firm and daily firm point-to-point services; (2) maintaining
the use of two season loss factors for the Network segment, updating
the two season loss factors percentages, and removing the Utility
Delivery and DSI loss factors from Schedule 11; (3) updating the
description of BPA's ATC methodologies in Attachment C and specifying
that BPA will stop maintaining a long-term ATC methodology for the
long-term planning horizon on the flow-based paths and instead use
commercial power flow studies to evaluate new transmission service
requests; (4) modifying the large generator interconnection request
template in Appendix 1 to Attachment L, Large Generator Interconnection
Procedures, (5) clarifications to Attachment Q, Energy Imbalance
Market, including adding a reference to the rate schedules that would
be used under certain EIM contingencies, clarifying forecast data
requirements, and updating the location of BPA outage requirements; (6)
ministerial edits; and (7) other process-related commitments. The
proposed Tariff assumes the TC-24 settlement is successful. In the
event the TC-24 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-24 Settlement Agreement is
part of this notice and is available to view and download on
Bonneville's website at https://www.bpa.gov/goto/TC24.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on November 8,
2022, 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 17, 2022.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2022-25374 Filed 11-21-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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