Notice2023-21453
Robert D. Willis Hydropower Project Rate Schedule
Primary source
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Published
September 29, 2023
Effective
October 1, 2023
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentSouthwestern Power Administration
Abstract
The Administrator, Southwestern Power Administration (Southwestern), has approved and placed into effect Rate Order No. SWPA-83, which provides a temporary extension of Southwestern's current Robert D. Willis Hydropower Project rate schedule (RDW-15) through September 30, 2024, unless superseded.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 188 (Friday, September 29, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 188 (Friday, September 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67274-67275]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21453]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Southwestern Power Administration
Robert D. Willis Hydropower Project Rate Schedule
AGENCY: Southwestern Power Administration, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of rate order.
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SUMMARY: The Administrator, Southwestern Power Administration
(Southwestern), has approved and placed into effect Rate Order No.
SWPA-83, which provides a temporary extension of Southwestern's current
Robert D. Willis Hydropower Project rate schedule (RDW-15) through
September 30, 2024, unless superseded.
DATES: Extension of the rate schedule is effective October 1, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Fritha Ohlson, Senior Vice
President, Chief Operating Officer, Office of Corporate Operations,
(918) 595-6684, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5335213a273b327d3c3b3f203c3d13202423327d343c25"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ccaabea5b8a4ade2a3a4a0bfa3a28cbfbbbcade2aba3ba">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Rate Order No. SWPA-83, as contained herein,
has been approved and placed into effect by the Administrator,
Southwestern, and provides for the temporary extension, through
September 30, 2024, unless superseded, of the Robert D. Willis
Hydropower Project Rate Schedule RDW-15, Wholesale Rates for Hydro
Power and Energy.
United States of America
Department of Energy
Administrator, Southwestern Power Administration
In the matter of: Southwestern Power Administration, Robert D. Willis
Hydropower Project Rate Schedule, Rate Order No. SWPA-83
Order Approving Extension of Rate Schedule on a Temporary Basis ( 9/25/
2023 )
Pursuant to Sections 301(b) and 302(a) of the Department of Energy
Organization Act, 42 U.S.C. 7151(b) and 7152(a), the functions of the
Secretary of the Interior and the Federal Power Commission under
Section 5 of the Flood Control Act of 1944, 16 U.S.C. 825s, relating to
the Southwestern Power Administration (Southwestern), were transferred
to and vested in the Secretary of Energy. By Delegation Order No. S1-
DEL-RATES-2016, effective November 19, 2016, the Secretary of Energy
delegated: (1) the authority to develop power and transmission rates to
Southwestern's Administrator; (2) the authority to confirm, approve,
and place such rates into effect on an interim basis to the Deputy
Secretary of Energy; and (3) the authority to confirm, approve, and
place into effect on a final basis, or to remand or disapprove such
rates, to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). By
Delegation Order No. S1-DEL-S3-2023, effective April 10, 2023, the
Secretary of Energy also delegated the authority to confirm, approve,
and place such rates into effect on an interim basis to the Under
Secretary for Infrastructure. By Redelegation Order No. S3-DEL-SWPA1-
2023, effective April 10, 2023, the Under Secretary for Infrastructure
redelegated the authority to confirm, approve, and place such rates
into effect on an interim basis to the Southwestern Administrator.
Background
On December 17, 2015, in Rate Order No. SWPA-70, the Deputy
Secretary of Energy placed into effect the current Robert D. Willis
Hydropower Project (Robert D. Willis) rate schedule (RDW-15) on an
interim basis for the period January 1, 2016 to September 30, 2019.
FERC confirmed and approved RDW-15 on a final basis on June 15, 2016
for a period ending September 30, 2019. On September 22, 2019, in Rate
Order No. SWPA-76, the Assistant Secretary for Electricity extended
RDW-15 for two years, for the period of October 1, 2019 through
September 30, 2021. On August 30, 2021, in Rate Order No. SWPA-79, the
Administrator, Southwestern, extended RDW-15 for two years, for the
period of October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2023.
Discussion
Southwestern's current rate schedule for the Robert D. Willis
isolated rate system, RDW-15, is based on the 2015 Power Repayment
Study (PRS). Each subsequent annual PRS through 2022 indicated the need
for a revenue adjustment within a plus or minus five percent range of
the current revenue estimate. It is Southwestern's practice for the
Administrator to defer, on a case-by-case basis, revenue adjustments
for isolated rate systems that are within plus or minus five percent of
the revenue estimated from the current rate schedule. Therefore, the
Administrator deferred revenue adjustments annually for Robert D.
Willis through 2022. The 2023 PRS indicated a need for a revenue
adjustment above five percent and therefore a new rate is needed.
However, finalization of the 2023 PRS, development of a rate adjustment
plan including a new rate schedule (RDW-23), and the associated
procedures for public participation in accordance with 10 CFR part 903
will not be completed in time for the new rate schedule to be placed
into effect prior to the September 30, 2023, expiration of the current
rate schedule and thus temporary extension of the current rate schedule
is necessary. Pursuant to 10 CFR 903.23(b) and Redelegation Order No.
S3-DEL-SWPA1-2023, Southwestern's Administrator may extend existing
rates on a temporary basis without advance notice or comment pending
further action. In such a circumstance, the Administrator shall publish
notice of said extension in the Federal Register and promptly advise
FERC of the extension. The revenue collection associated with the
extension of the current rate will be considered in the development of
the new rate based on the 2023 PRS such that repayment obligations are
met consistent with the provisions of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Order No. RA 6120.2.
Availability of Information
Information regarding the extension of the rate schedule is
available for public review in the offices of Southwestern Power
Administration, Williams Tower I, One West Third Street Suite 1500,
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103. The rate schedule is available on the
Southwestern website at <a href="http://www.energy.gov/swpa/rates-and-repayment">www.energy.gov/swpa/rates-and-repayment</a>.
Order
In view of the foregoing and pursuant to the authority delegated to
me by the Secretary of Energy, I hereby extend, effective October 1,
2023, Robert D. Willis Rate Schedule RDW-15, Wholesale Rates for Hydro
Power and Energy. The rate schedule shall remain in effect on a
temporary basis through September 30, 2024, unless superseded.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on September
25, 2023, by Mike Wech, Administrator for Southwestern 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
[[Page 67275]]
authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for
publication, as an official document of DOE. This administrative
process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon
publication in the Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, on September 26, 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-21453 Filed 9-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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