Notice2023-07379
Proposed Power Marketing Policy, Public Forum, and Opportunities for Public Review and Comment for the Jim Woodruff System Project
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 7, 2023
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentSoutheastern Power Administration
Abstract
Southeastern Power Administration (Southeastern) proposes a Power Marketing Policy for the Jim Woodruff System Project pursuant to Notice published in the Federal Register of August 5, 2022, and in accordance with Procedure for Public Participation in the Formulation of Marketing Policy published July 6, 1978. The proposed power marketing policy will be implemented through contracts for terms not to exceed 10 years. Additionally, opportunities will be available for interested persons to review the proposed Power Marketing Policy, to participate in a public forum and to submit additional written comments. Southeastern will evaluate all comments received in this process.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 67 (Friday, April 7, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 67 (Friday, April 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20879-20882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07379]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Southeastern Power Administration
Proposed Power Marketing Policy, Public Forum, and Opportunities
for Public Review and Comment for the Jim Woodruff System Project
AGENCY: Southeastern Power Administration, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of proposed power marketing policy.
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SUMMARY: Southeastern Power Administration (Southeastern) proposes a
Power Marketing Policy for the Jim Woodruff System Project pursuant to
Notice published in the Federal Register of August 5, 2022, and in
accordance with Procedure for Public Participation in the Formulation
of Marketing Policy published July 6, 1978. The proposed power
marketing policy will be implemented through contracts for terms not to
exceed 10 years. Additionally, opportunities will be available for
interested persons to review the proposed Power Marketing Policy, to
participate in a public forum and to submit additional written
comments. Southeastern will evaluate all comments received in this
process.
DATES: Written comments are due on or before June 23, 2023. A public
information and comment forum will be held via a virtual web based
meeting to allow maximum participation June 8, 2023. Persons desiring
to attend the forum should notify Southeastern by June 1, 2023, so a
list of forum participants can be prepared. Persons desiring to speak
at the forum should specify this in their notification to Southeastern;
others may speak if time permits. Notifications should be submitted by
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f3b09c9e9e969d8780b380968392dd979c96dd949c85"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="34775b5959515a404774475144551a505b511a535b42">[email protected]</span></a>. If Southeastern has not been notified
by close of business on June 1, 2023, that at least one person intends
to be present at the forum, the forum may be canceled with no further
notice.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Administrator,
Southeastern Power Administration, Department of Energy, 1166 Athens
Tech Road, Elberton, Georgia 30635-6711; Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7635191b1b1318020536051306175812191358111900"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="94d7fbf9f9f1fae0e7d4e7f1e4f5baf0fbf1baf3fbe2">[email protected]</span></a>.
The public information and comment forum for the Jim Woodruff System
Project will take place via a virtual web based meeting.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carter Edge, Assistant Administrator
for Finance and Marketing, Southeastern Power Administration,
Department of Energy, 1166 Athens Tech Road, Elberton, Georgia 30635,
(706) 213-3800; Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4f2c2e3d3b2a3d612a2b282a0f3c2a3f2e612b202a61282039"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="452624373120376b2021222005362035246b212a206b222a33">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of intent to create a marketing
policy for future disposition of power from the Jim Woodruff System was
published in the Federal Register August 5, 2022 (87 FR 48016). The
notice advised interested parties to provide comments and proposals in
formulating the proposed marketing policy. Comments and proposals were
accepted through October 4, 2022. Comments were received from two
interested parties.
Written comments were received from Seminole Electric Cooperative,
Inc. and Southeastern Federal Power Customers, Inc. (SeFPC) are
summarized below. Southeastern's responses are also provided.
Comment 1: Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc. is interested in
receiving allocation of power and energy generated at Jim Woodruff Lock
and Dam, if such power were deemed available.
Response 1: Southeastern does not expect any additional power or
energy to be available to be allocated. Southeastern has included a
mechanism in the proposed policy to allow power and energy to be
allocated should any become available in the future.
Comment 2: SeFPC encourages Southeastern to follow the statutory
guidance in the Flood Control Act of 1944, 16 U.S.C. 825s, to market
the output of the Jim Woodruff Project to eligible ``preference
customers.''
Response 2: Southeastern will follow the guidance in the Flood
Control Act of 1944.
Comment 3: SeFPC encourages the marketing plan include the
following important components:
1. Limiting the marketing plan to the Jim Woodruff Project. SEPA
has previously rejected calls to create an integrated marketing area
for all power available from Corps multipurpose projects in the
Southeast. This approach should be followed with the marketing plan for
the Jim Woodruff Project.
2. Extend allocations to preference customers with existing
contracts. In revising marketing plans for the Georgia-Alabama-South
Carolina system of projects, SEPA offered allocations to existing
customers.
3. Refrain from allocating the output of the Jim Woodruff project
on a pro rata basis to all potential preference customers. Although the
Flood Control Act of 1944 calls for allocations to promote ``widespread
use,'' SEPA has previously reconciled that responsibility with the
obligation to allocate power consistent with sound business principles.
In this context, SEPA must recognize that the limited output of the Jim
Woodruff Project requires allocations that provide a meaningful rather
than marginal benefit.
Response 3: Jim Woodruff could be integrated financially,
hydraulically and electrically with the GA-AL-SC System of projects to
provide back stand service to this single-project, run-of-the-river
system. Preliminary discussions with the transmission provider indicate
a 70% increase in the amount of purchased power costs passed through to
the customer each month without integration under the Open Access
Transmission Tariff. However, delivering federal hydropower at the
[[Page 20880]]
project busbar and providing a pro rata reduction in energy deliveries
in lieu of replacement power is being proposed as a solution to
maintain the Jim Woodruff system financially, electrically, and
hydraulically independent of any other Southeastern system.
Southeastern does not expect any additional power or energy to be
available to be allocated. Southeastern has included a mechanism in the
proposed policy to allow power and energy to allocated should any
become available in the future. Southeastern has historically
determined a meaningful level to be 500kW.
Comment 4: SeFPC notes Southeastern may look to adopt marketing
criteria used by the Western Area Power Administration (``WAPA'') in
recent marketing plans to determine allocations of power from projects
within the WAPA marketing area. In recent marketing plans, WAPA
included criteria requiring an allottee to have utility status and be
``ready willing and able'' to utilize the allocation of power. This
approach has promoted widespread use of preference power and ensured
that the benefits of an allocation of power are provided to entities
that may need to address legal impediments prior to using an
allocation.
Response 4: Southeastern defers to the opinion of US Attorney
General, Herbert Brownell, Jr. at 41 Op. Att'y Gen.236 (1955) regarding
the criteria for preference eligible customers.
Comment 5: SeFPC supports the development of a marketing policy
that incorporates equitable considerations in the allocation of power.
Here, the Administrator should give consideration to the financial
contribution that existing customers have made in repaying the Federal
debt associated with the Jim Woodruff Project.
Response 5: Southeastern values the long-standing relationship it
has with its customers and recognizes the $42.183M Cumulative Repayment
and $1.45M allocated to Customer Funding provided through their
payments for federal hydropower. The Total Remaining Investment of
$43.358M represents a commitment to continue providing clean, carbon-
free, cost-based power to our customers.
Comment 6: SeFPC encourages Southeastern to adopt each proposed
component outlined above in the marketing policy for the Jim Woodruff
Project.
Response 6: Southeastern has duly considered each proposal and has
either adopted or rejected and provided rationale for each in
developing the draft marketing policy for the Jim Woodruff Project.
General: The project and power products subject to this policy are:
Project:
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Average
Name Capacity (kw) energy (MWh) Energy attribute
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Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam..................... 36,000 193,530 Renewable Energy Certificate.
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This Power Marketing Policy for electric power and energy not
required in the operation of Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam will replace the
arrangements in the contract between Duke Energy Florida and
Southeastern Power Administration (Southeastern) dated July 19, 1957
(Rate Schedule No. 65), which provided for a fair and reasonable
arrangement for the circumstances prevailing at the time the power was
sold. Arrangements for the sale, purchase, wheeling and firming of
power from the Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam will be implemented as soon as
contract revisions pursuant to this policy can be negotiated.
The Final Marketing Policy will be implemented through contracts
for terms not to exceed 10 years.
Deliveries will be made at the project bus bar. The project will be
hydraulically, electrically, and financially integrated as a single
project system and will be operated to make maximum contribution to the
respective utility areas. Preference in the sale of the power will be
given to public bodies and cooperatives.
Marketing Area: Southeastern's marketing area shall be the entire
state of Florida. The marketing area contains 52 eligible public bodies
and cooperatives, as listed on Appendix A attached hereto.
Allocations of Power: It is Southeastern's goal to allocate all
available and usable system power (that power remaining after provision
for reserves and losses) to preference customers.
As to the power sold to the existing preference customers prior to
contracts executed to implement this policy, each existing preference
customer within the Duke Energy Florida service area will continue with
its allocated share of the marketed capacity and resulting pro-rata
share of the associated energy. Current capacity allocations are
summarized below:
Talquin Elec. Coop. 13,500 kW
City of Quincy 8,400 kW
Tri County Elec Coop 5,200 kW
Suwannee Valley Elec Coop 4,800 kW
Central Florida Elec Coop 2,300 kW
City of Chattahoochee 1,800 kW
Southeastern does not expect any additional capacity or energy to
be marketable from the project in the foreseeable future. However, both
existing and preference-eligible customers will be eligible to share
equitably in any capacity remaining after reductions for reserves,
losses or capacity and energy relinquished by existing customers.
Allocations of any newly available power and energy to a particular
preference customer will be based on the relationship of such
customer's maximum 2020 demand to the sum of the 2020 maximum demands
of all preference customers sharing such power so long as such customer
demand is expected to be and will be treated hereunder in each month as
not less than 500 kilowatts. Southeastern recognizes that West Florida
Electric Cooperative Association Incorporated was previously included
in Jim Woodruff allocations but is now served by Southeastern's GA-AL-
SC system. For allocation purposes, they will be treated as if they are
a preference-eligible customer.
There will be times when hydraulic conditions reduce the operating
head or the available streamflow of the project and not all the
allocated capacity can be made available. The power available from the
project shall be reduced, pro-rata based on project capability.
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs): Southeastern has included a
process for REC distribution in this marketing policy. The REC
distribution process will not impact power allocation within the System
marketing area.
The M-RETS Tracking System creates and tracks certificates
reporting generation attributes, by generating unit, for each megawatt-
hour (MWh) of energy produced by registered generators. The System
project is registered within M-RETS. The RECs potentially satisfy
Renewable Portfolio Standards, state policies, and other
[[Page 20881]]
regulatory or voluntary clean energy standards in a number of states.
Southeastern has subscribed to M-RETS and has an account in which RECs
are collected and tracked for each MWh of energy produced from the
System. Within M-RETS, certificates can be transferred to other M-RETS
subscribers or to a third-party tracking system. M-RETS creates a REC
for every MWh of renewable energy produced, tracks the life cycle of
each REC created, and ensures against any double counting or double-use
of each REC.
REC Distribution: M-RETS (or a successor application) will be the
transfer mechanism for all RECs related to the System. Southeastern
shall maintain an account with M-RETS and collect RECs from the
generation at the System project. Southeastern will verify the total
amount of RECs each month. Preference Customers with an allocation of
power from the System are eligible to receive RECs by transfer from
Southeastern's M-RETS account to their M-RETS account or that of their
agent. Transfers to each customer will be based on the customer's
monthly invoices during the same three-month period (quarter). All RECs
distributed by Southeastern shall be transferred within forty-five days
of the end of a quarter. Each customer must submit to Southeastern, by
the tenth business day after the quarter, any notice of change to M-
RETS account or agent. Any REC transfers that were not claimed, or if a
transfer account was not provided to Southeastern, will be forfeited if
they become nontransferable as described in the M-RETS terms of
service, procedures, policies, or definitions of reporting and trading
periods, or any subsequent rules and procedures for transfers as
established. The initial transfer process in M-RETS will be
accomplished by the sixtieth day after the end of the first completed
quarter subsequent to publication of the final policy.
Any balance of RECs that exist in Southeastern's M-RETS account,
other than the first quarter after policy revision publication, may
also be transferred to Preference Customers according to the customer's
invoiced energy at the time of the REC creation.
Rates: No rates shall be established by Southeastern for RECs
transferred to Preference Customers. Any cost to Southeastern, such as
the M-RETS subscription, will be incorporated into marketing costs and
included in recovery through the energy and capacity rates of the
System.
Utilization at Utility Systems: In the absence of transmission
facilities of its own, Southeastern may use area generation and
transmission systems as may be necessary to dispose of system power
under reasonable and acceptable marketing arrangements. Utility systems
providing such services shall be entitled to adequate compensation.
Wholesale Rates: Rate schedules shall be drawn to recover all costs
associated with producing and transmitting the power in accordance with
then current repayment criteria. Production costs will be determined on
a system basis and rate schedules will be related to the integrated
output of the project. Rates schedules may be revised periodically.
Resale Rates: Resale rate provisions requiring the benefits of
Southeastern's power to be passed on to the ultimate consumer will be
included in each customer contract with Southeastern which provides for
Southeastern to supply more than 25 percent of the customers' total
power requirements during the term of the contract.
Conservation Measures: Each customer purchasing Southeastern's
power shall agree to take reasonable measures to encourage the
conservation of energy by ultimate consumers.
Appendix A: Preference-eligible customers
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2020 Peak Load
Municipals MW
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Alachua................................................. 28
Bartow.................................................. 60
Blountstown............................................. 8
Bushnell................................................ 6
Chattahoochee........................................... 6
Clewiston............................................... 22
Fort Meade.............................................. 10
Fort Pierce............................................. 113
Gainesville............................................. 410
Green Cove Springs...................................... 24
Havana.................................................. 7
Homestead Energy Services............................... 115
JEA formerly Jacksonville Electric Authority............ 2,658
Jacksonville Beach dba Beaches Energy Services.......... 168
Keys Energy Services formerly Key West.................. 145
Kissimmee............................................... 374
Lake Worth Beach........................................ 96
Lakeland Electric....................................... 667
Leesburg................................................ 118
Moore Haven............................................. 4
Mount Dora.............................................. 23
New Smyrna Beach........................................ 105
Newberry................................................ 9
Ocala................................................... 314
Orlando................................................. 1,294
Quincy.................................................. 28
Reedy Creek Utilities................................... 166
St. Cloud............................................... 186
Starke.................................................. 16
Tallahassee............................................. 616
Vero Beach.............................................. 180
Wauchula................................................ 14
Williston............................................... 8
Winter Park............................................. 94
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2020 Peak Load
Cooperatives MW
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Central Florida Electric Cooperative.................... 131
Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative (CHELCO)............ 219
Clay Electric Cooperative............................... 788
Escambia River Electric Cooperative..................... 43
Glades Electric Cooperative............................. 60
Gulf Coast Electric Cooperative......................... 86
Lee County Electric Cooperative......................... 970
Okefenoke Electric Cooperative.......................... 178
Peace River Electric Cooperative........................ 205
PowerSouth Energy Cooperative (G&T)..................... 2,027
SECO Energy (Sumter Electric Coop)...................... 865
Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative.................... 119
Talquin Electric Cooperative............................ 213
Tri-County Electric Cooperative......................... 60
West Florida Electric Cooperative....................... 123
Withlacoochee Electric Cooperative...................... 1,002
Florida Keys Electric Cooperative....................... 156
Seminole Electric Cooperative (G&T)..................... 3,409
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Legal Authority
The policy is developed under authority of section 5 of the Flood
Control Act of 1944, 16 U.S.C. 825s, and section 302(a) of the
Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977, 42 U.S.C. 7152. This
power marketing policy was developed in accordance with the Procedure
for Public Participation in the Formulation of Marketing Policy
published July 6, 1978, 43 FR 29186.
Environmental Impact
Southeastern has determined this action fits within the following
categorical exclusions listed in appendix B to subpart D of 10 CFR part
1021: B4.1 (Contracts, policies, and marketing and allocation plans for
electric power). Categorically excluded projects and activities do not
require preparation of either an environmental impact statement or an
environmental assessment.
Determination Under Executive Order 12866
Southeastern has an exemption from centralized regulatory review
under Executive Order 12866; accordingly, no clearance of this notice
by the Office of Management and Budget is required.
[[Page 20882]]
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on March 31,
2023, by Virgil G. Hobbs III, Administrator for Southeastern Power
Administration, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of
Energy. That 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 April 4, 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-07379 Filed 4-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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