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Notice2023-24469

Proposed Modifications to Open Access Transmission Tariff; Public Hearing and Opportunities for Public Review and Comment

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Published

November 7, 2023

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 and interconnection services in the Tariff. The proposed modifications to Bonneville's Tariff implement a first-ready, first-served cluster study process for all new large generator interconnection requests and establish the transition process available for pending requests received in Bonneville's queue as of 15 days after publication of this notice. The proposed modifications will be effective on June 30, 2024. Bonneville has designated this proceeding Docket No. TC-25.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 214 (Tuesday, November 7, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76744-76747]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24469]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration

[BPA File No.: TC-25]

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 and
interconnection services in the Tariff. The proposed modifications to
Bonneville's Tariff implement a first-ready, first-served cluster study
process for all new large generator interconnection requests and
establish the transition process available for pending requests
received in Bonneville's queue as of 15 days after publication of this
notice. The proposed modifications will be effective on June 30, 2024.
Bonneville has designated this proceeding Docket No. TC-25.

DATES: Prehearing Conference: The TC-25 tariff proceeding will begin
with a prehearing conference, which will be held virtually via WebEx at
10 a.m. on Tuesday, November 14, 2023.
Intervention: Anyone intending to become a party to the TC-25
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 Thursday, November 16, 2023. Part III of this notice, ``Public
Participation in TC-25,'' provides details on requesting access to the
secure website and filing a petition to intervene.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may obtain call-in information by
accessing Bonneville's TC-25 tariff proceeding web page at <a href="https://www.bpa.gov/goto/tc25">https://www.bpa.gov/goto/tc25</a> or by contacting the Hearing Clerk at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e89c8bdadd8b848d9a83a88f85898184c68b8785">[email&#160;protected]</a>.

[[Page 76745]]

Participant Comments: Written comments by non-party participants
must be received by Wednesday, November 22, 2023, to be considered in
the Hearing Officer's recommended decision and the Administrator's
Record of Decision (ROD). See Part III of this notice for more
information about submitting participant comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicholas Quinata, DKP-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#117f686064787f706570517361703f767e67">[email&#160;protected]</a>.
The Hearing Clerk for this proceeding can be reached via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d3a7b0e1e6b0bfb6a1b893b4beb2babffdb0bcbe">[email&#160;protected]</a> or via telephone at (503) 479-8506.
Please direct questions regarding Bonneville's secure website to
the Hearing Coordinator via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#27445040554e414142496745574609404851">[email&#160;protected]</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-25 Tariff Proceeding
Part III. Public Participation in TC-25
Part IV. Summary of Proposed Modifications to Bonneville's Tariff
Part V. Proposed Tariff

Part I--Introduction and Procedural Matters

A. Introduction and Procedural Background

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 Bonneville
Administrator may deem necessary. Bonneville's Tariff provides the
generally applicable terms and conditions for transmission and
interconnection 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. 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 Bonneville Administrator, and the Bonneville
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-25 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

Starting in June, Bonneville engaged its transmission and
interconnection customers and stakeholders in an attempt to reach
settlement of the modifications to the Tariff for the TC-25 tariff
proceeding. These discussions have resulted in the TC-25 Settlement
Agreement, which includes the proposed Tariff modifications Bonneville
is proposing to adopt in the TC-25 tariff proceeding. On September 1,
2023, Bonneville posted the TC-25 Settlement Agreement on Bonneville's
website and set a deadline of September 15, 2023, for customers and
stakeholders to inform Bonneville of any objections to the settlement.
Bonneville did not receive any objections by the deadline. A summary of
Bonneville's proposed Tariff modifications is provided in Part IV of
this notice. A link to the TC-25 Settlement Agreement and proposed
Tariff are provided in Part V.
The TC-25 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 Bonneville
Administrator adopt the TC-25 Settlement Agreement. Bonneville intends
to file its motion soon after the TC-25 prehearing conference.
If a party objects to the TC-25 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. The
proposed schedule assumes there are no objections to the proposed
settlement in the TC-25 tariff proceeding. 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--November 14, 2023
BPA Files Initial Proposal--November 14, 2023
Deadline for Petitions to Intervene--November 16, 2023
Deadline for Objections to Settlement Agreement--November 22, 2023
Close of Participant Comments--November 22, 2023
Hearing Officer's Recommended Decision Issued--December 15, 2023
Final ROD--January 26, 2024

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) that 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

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Procedure. The ex parte rule remains in effect until the Bonneville
Administrator's Final ROD is issued.

Part II--Scope of the TC-25 Tariff Proceeding

The TC-25 tariff proceeding involves the proposed modifications to
Bonneville's Tariff described in Part IV. This section provides
guidance to the Hearing Officer regarding the specific issues that are
outside the scope of the TC-25 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-25 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 Bonneville 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-25 tariff proceeding.
Pursuant to Section 1010.4(b)(8) of the Rules of Procedure, the
Bonneville 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-25 tariff proceeding. Pursuant
to Section 1010.4(b)(8) of the Rules of Procedure, the Bonneville
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-25 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 Bonneville
Administrator directs the Hearing Officer to exclude from the record
all argument, testimony, or other evidence that challenges the
appropriateness or reasonableness of the Bonneville Administrator's
decisions on costs and spending levels.

E. Rates

Pursuant to Bonneville's statutes, it must set rates to recover
costs associated with providing power and transmission services.
Bonneville's decisions regarding rates are outside the scope of the TC-
25 tariff proceeding. Pursuant to Section 1010.4(b)(8) of the Rules of
Procedure, the Bonneville 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 Bonneville 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.

Part III--Public Participation in TC-25

A. Distinguishing Between ``Participants'' and ``Parties''

Bonneville distinguishes between ``participants in'' and ``parties
to'' the TC-25 tariff 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 of the Tariff, or their affiliated customer groups, may not
submit participant comments. Members or employees of organizations that
have intervened in the 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 Bonneville Administrator if
they are received by Wednesday, November 22, 2023. 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-25'' in the subject line.

B. Interventions

Any entity or person intending to become a party in the TC-25
tariff

[[Page 76747]]

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-25 tariff
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#9cffebfbeef5fafaf9f2dcfeecfdb2fbf3ea">[email&#160;protected]</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-25 tariff 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 Bonneville 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 Bonneville
Administrator for final decision.
The Bonneville 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 Bonneville 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 adopt, effective June
30, 2024, modifications to the large generator interconnection
procedures (LGIP) in Attachment L to the Tariff and a new Attachment R
to the Tariff that would provide for a transition to the modified LGIP.
As described above, the specific Tariff modifications at issue are
reflected in the TC-25 Settlement Agreement that was developed in
discussions with customers and other stakeholders earlier this year.
The LGIP is Bonneville's procedure for interconnecting generating
facilities larger than 20 megawatts to the FCRTS. The proposed LGIP
would replace the first-come, first-served serial interconnection study
process in the current Tariff with a first-ready, first-served cluster
study process. Under the proposed first-ready, first-served cluster
study process, Bonneville will study a cluster of large generator
interconnection requests that meet readiness requirements as opposed to
studying each request serially. The proposed modifications to the LGIP
include the details necessary to implement the new study process. The
proposed modifications also provide for giving customers high-level
information early in the interconnection process and allow customers to
share costs of identified network upgrades.
The proposed Attachment R includes a process (``Transition
Process'') to transition pending interconnection requests received
prior to 15 after the publication of this Federal Register Notice
(``Transition Close Date'') to the first-ready, first-served cluster
study process. Under this Transition Process, interconnection requests
may apply to continue to be processed in a serial study process or to
be included in a Transition Cluster Study. Bonneville will not process
any interconnection request submitted after the Transition Close Date
until the opening of a new Cluster Request Window, following the
requirements in the proposed revisions to the LGIP in Attachment L of
Bonneville's Tariff.

Part V--Proposed Tariff

Bonneville's proposed Tariff and the TC-25 Settlement Agreement are
part of this notice and available to view and download on Bonneville's
website at <a href="https://www.bpa.gov/goto/tc25">https://www.bpa.gov/goto/tc25</a>.

Signing Authority

This document of the Department of Energy was signed on Tuesday,
October 24, 2023, 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 1, 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-24469 Filed 11-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

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