[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 218 (Thursday, November 10, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70122-70123]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29189]
[[Page 70122]]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Plan for Conduct of 2012 Electric Transmission Congestion Study
AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability,
Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of regional workshops and request for written comments.
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SUMMARY: Section 216(a)(1) of the Federal Power Act (FPA) requires the
Department of Energy (Department or DOE) to complete a study of
electric transmission congestion every three years. DOE issued its
first ``National Electric Transmission Congestion Study'' (Congestion
Study) in August 2006 and the second early in 2010. The Department is
now initiating preparations for the 2012 Congestion Study, and seeks
comments on what publicly-available data and information should be
considered, and what types of analysis should be performed to identify
and understand the significance and character of transmission
congestion. DOE will host four regional pre-study workshops in early
December 2011 to receive input and suggestions concerning the study.
DOE expects to release a draft of the study in 2012 for a 60-day
comment period. After reviewing and considering the comments received,
DOE will publish a final version of the study. Interested persons may
submit comments in response to this notice in the manner indicated in
the ADDRESSES section.
DATES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section III. Pre-Study Workshops
for workshop dates and locations. DOE recognizes that some commenters
may wish to draw upon or direct us to studies or analyses that are now
in process. DOE requests that commenters submit such materials as they
become available, but no later than January 31, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments to http://energy.gov/oe/congestion-study-2012, or by mail to the Office of Electricity Delivery
and Energy Reliability, OE-20, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585. The following electronic
file formats are acceptable: Microsoft Word (.doc), Corel Word Perfect
(.wpd), Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), Rich Text Format (.rtf), plain text
(.txt), Microsoft Excel (.xls), and Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt). The
Department intends to use only data that is publicly available for this
study. Accordingly, please do not submit information that you believe
is or should be protected from public disclosure. DOE is responsible
for the final determination concerning disclosure or nondisclosure of
information submitted to DOE and for treating it in accordance with the
DOE's Freedom of Information regulations (10 CFR 1004.11). All comments
received by DOE regarding the 2012 Congestion Study will be posted on
http://energy.gov/oe/congestion-study-2012 for public review.
Note: Delivery of the U.S. Postal Service mail to DOE continues
to be delayed by several weeks due to security screening. DOE
therefore encourages those wishing to comment to submit their
comments electronically by email. If comments are submitted by
regular mail, the Department requests that they be accompanied by a
CD or diskette containing electronic files of the submission.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Meyer, DOE Office of Electricity
Delivery and Energy Reliability, (202) 586-1411,
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-58) (EPAct) added
several new provisions to the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824p) (FPA),
including FPA section 216. FPA section 216(a) requires the Secretary of
Energy to conduct a study of electric transmission congestion within
one year from the date of enactment of EPAct and every three years
thereafter. The 2006 and 2009 Congestion Studies reviewed congestion
nationwide except for the portion of Texas covered by the Electricity
Reliability Council of Texas, to which FPA section 216 does not apply.
The 2012 Congestion Study will be of a similar scope. FPA section
216(a) requires the congestion study be conducted in consultation with
affected States. Also, in exercising its responsibilities under Section
216, DOE is required to consult regularly with the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC), any appropriate regional entity referred
to in FPA section 215, i.e., the regional electric reliability
organizations,\1\ and Regional Transmission Organizations approved by
FERC.
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\1\ The regional reliability organizations under FPA section 215
are the Florida Reliability Coordinating Council, the Midwest
Reliability Organization, the Northeast Power Coordinating Council,
Reliability First Corporation, SERC Reliability Corporation, the
Southwest Power Pool, the Texas Regional Entity (TRE), and the
Western Electricity Coordinating Council.
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In preparing the 2009 Congestion Study, the Department gathered
historical congestion data obtained from existing studies prepared by
regional reliability councils, regional transmission organizations
(RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs), and regional planning
groups. Unlike the 2006 Congestion Study, the Department did not
conduct or support studies of projected congestion for the 2009
Congestion Study. The Department did, however, direct the first study
of publicly available historic congestion data in the Eastern
Interconnection. As part of the data gathering, the Department held six
public Regional Workshops and one public Technical Conference. DOE
issued the 2009 Congestion Study in 2010 and requested comments within
60 days.
The 2009 Congestion Study reviewed congestion areas from the 2006
Congestion Study. The two ``Critical Congestion Areas'' (i.e., areas
where the current and/or projected effects of congestion are especially
broad and severe) identified in 2006 were still determined to be areas
of critical congestion: The Atlantic coastal area from metropolitan New
York through northern Virginia (the Mid-Atlantic Critical Congestion
Area), and southern California (the Southern California Critical
Congestion Area). Two of the ``Congestion Areas of Concern'' (i.e.,
areas where a large-scale congestion problem exists or may be emerging
but more information and analysis appear to be needed to determine the
magnitude of the problem) identified in 2006 also remain areas of
concern: The San Francisco Peninsula and the Seattle-Portland area. Two
Congested Areas of Concern areas, New England and the Phoenix-Tucson
areas, were found to have alleviated or made significant progress on
alleviating congestion; therefore, the 2009 Congestion Study did not
identify these areas as Congestion Areas of Concern. The 2009
Congestion Study identified Conditional Constraint Areas focused on
areas of potential renewable generation to satisfy requirements of the
American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Conditional Constraint Areas
were identified in a large area of the Western and Eastern
Interconnections that could support wind (Midwest), solar (Southwest)
and geothermal (Nevada-Oregon-Idaho-Utah) generation, and areas
pertaining to off-shore wind on both the east and west coasts, the Gulf
of Mexico and on the Great Lakes.
II. Plan for the 2012 Congestion Study
The 2012 study will draw upon many of the same kinds of data,
analyses and information as the earlier studies, with some additions.
These sources may include, but are not limited to:
[[Page 70123]]
[cir] Electricity market analyses, including locational marginal
price (LMP) patterns.
[cir] Reliability analyses and actions, including transmission
loading relief (TLR) actions.
[cir] Historic energy flows.
[cir] Current and projected electric supply and generation plans.
[cir] Recent, current and planned transmission and interconnection
queues.
[cir] Current and forecast electricity loads, including energy
efficiency, distributed generation (DG) and demand response (DR) plans
and policies.
[cir] The location of renewable resources and state and regional
policies with respect to renewable development.
[cir] Projected impacts of current or pending environmental
regulation on generation availability.
[cir] Effects of recent or projected economic conditions on demand
and congestion.
[cir] Analytic results from the eastern and western
interconnection-level planning studies undertaken with DOE support.
[cir] Filings under FERC Order 890.
DOE intends to release a draft version of the 2012 Congestion Study in
2012 for a 60-day comment period. After reviewing and considering the
comments received, DOE will issue a final version of the study.
III. Pre-Study Workshops
In December 2011, DOE will host four regional half-day pre-study
workshops to receive and discuss input relevant to the 2012 Congestion
Study, including comments on what publicly-available data should be
considered to identify and understand the significance and character of
transmission congestion. Each workshop will consist of panels of
invited speakers who will present their views, followed by a discussion
among the panelists led by DOE staff. Each workshop will begin at 9
a.m. and end by 12:30 p.m.
Workshops: The cities, dates, and locations for the technical
workshops are:
1. Philadelphia, PA, December 6, 2011, at the Philadelphia Airport
Hilton, 4509 Island Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19153.
2. St. Louis, MO, December 8, 2011, at the St. Louis Airport
Hilton, 10330 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO 63134.
3. Portland, OR, December 13, 2011, at the Sheraton Portland
Airport Hotel, 8235 Northeast Airport Way, Portland, OR 97220.
4. San Diego, CA, December 15, 2011, at the Sheraton San Diego
Hotel & Marina, 1380 Harbor Island Drive, San Diego, CA 92101.
Additional details about the workshops are available at http://energy.gov/oe/congestion-study-2012.
Public Participation: The workshops will be open to the public, and
will be simulcast over the Internet. Advance registration for the
Webcasts is required by visiting http://www.iian.ibeam.com/events/ener001/26552/. A complete archive of each event will be on this Web
site soon after the conclusion of the event, and will be downloadable
in podcast format.
Members of the public interested in offering oral comments at a
pre-study workshop may do so on the day of the workshop, subject to the
time available. Approximately one-half hour will be reserved for public
comments. Time allotted per speaker will depend on the number who wish
to speak but is not expected to exceed three minutes. Anyone who is not
able to attend the workshop or has had insufficient time to present
material is invited to submit a written statement in the manner
indicated in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
Note: The Department will consult with the States and regional
reliability organizations in the preparation of the 2012 Congestion
Study. DOE recognizes that in addition to (or as an alternative to)
participating in the regional pre-study workshops, some States or
other organizations may wish to discuss congestion matters with the
Department on a bilateral basis. DOE will reserve time at the sites
of the regional workshops for such bilateral discussions, and it
invites interested States or other organizations to contact the
Department to identify mutually convenient times. In addition, the
Department will maintain an ``open door'' policy, and will schedule
congestion meetings at DOE headquarters upon request with States,
reliability organizations, Regional Transmission Organizations,
Independent System Operators, utilities, and other stakeholders.
IV. Comments in Response to This Notice
All comments filed in response to today's notice should be marked
``Re Preparation of the 2012 Congestion Study,'' and sent to the
Department in the manner indicated in the ADDRESSES section of this
notice. In written comments in response to this notice and at the
regional workshops, DOE requests States, utilities, regional
transmission organizations (RTOs), independent system operators (ISOs),
and other stakeholders to describe changes in their respective areas
since 2009 that affect the location, duration, frequency, magnitude,
and significance of transmission congestion, including related
transmission constraints. Special attention should be given to the
question of how to gauge the magnitude or significance of congestion
using publicly available data, including FERC 890 filings. In addition,
DOE is particularly interested in comments that speak to the most
appropriate and effective methods for distinguishing between the
effects of technical limits on line loadings and possible contractual
limits on the use of those same lines.
Issued in Washington, DC, on November 4, 2011.
Patricia A. Hoffman,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy
Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2011-29189 Filed 11-9-11; 8:45 am]
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