[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 1, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46426-46427]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-23482]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[FE Docket No. PP-192]
Application for Presidential Permit, NRG Energy, Inc.
AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of application.
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SUMMARY: NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG) has applied for a Presidential permit
to construct, connect, operate and maintain an electric transmission
facility across the U.S. border with Mexico. The proposed facility is a
500,000-volt (500-kV) transmission line originating at the switchyard
of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station and extending
approximately 177 miles to the southwest where it will cross the U.S.
border with Mexico in the vicinity of Calixico, California.
DATES: Comments, protests, or requests to intervene must be submitted
on or before October 1, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Comments, protests, or requests to intervene should be
addressed as follows: Office of Coal & Power Import and Export (FE-27),
Office of Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence
Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585-0350.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Russell (Program Office) 202-
586-9624 or Michael T. Skinker (Program Attorney) 202-586-6667.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The construction, connection, operation, and
maintenance of facilities at the international border of the United
States for the transmission of electric energy between the United
States and a foreign country is prohibited in the absence of a
Presidential permit issued pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 10485, as
amended by EO 12038.
On August 17, 1998, NRG, an independent power producer and wholly-
owned subsidiary of Northern States Power Company, filed an application
with the Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of the Department of Energy (DOE)
for a Presidential permit. NRG proposes to construct approximately 177
miles of 500-kV transmission line from the switchyard adjacent to the
Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, to the U.S.-Mexico border in the
vicinity of Calexico, California. South of the border, NRG will
construct an additional 2.5 miles of transmission line to the Cetys
Substation, located east of Mexicali, Mexico, and owned by Comision
Federal de Electricidad (CFE), the national electric utility of Mexico.
The transmission line proposed by NRG will be designed to carry
1000 megawatts (MW) and is expected initially to operate at that
capacity. However, under certain conditions, the capacity will be
restricted to 600 MW. All but 2.5 miles of the proposed transmission
line is expected to be located within an existing utility corridor
designated by the Bureau of Land Management. However, the applicant
will need to obtain approximately 4,300 acres of additional right-of-
way from public and private landowners.
The proposed route parallels the existing Southwest Powerlink 500-
kV transmission line beginning at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating
Station Switchyard, 30 miles west of Phoenix, Arizona. The route
continues southwest, crossing the Gila Bend Mountains approximately one
mile north of the Signal Mountain Wilderness Area. The route will
traverse the Muggins Mountains on the northern boundary of the Muggins
Mountains Wilderness Area, and 8.2 miles of the Army's Yuma Proving
Grounds. The line will cross the Colorado River from Arizona into
California and proceed northwest, crossing the northeast corner of the
Fort Yuma-Quechan Indian Reservation before turning southwest and
paralleling the BLM designated utility corridor through the Imperial
Sand Dunes Recreation Area. The route continues west between the U.S.-
Mexico border and the All-American Canal. At the Hemlock Canal, the
route turns south, following the Hemlock Canal alignment for 2.5 miles
to the border.
The NRG application notes that there are no firm contracts in place
for the sale of power to Mexico using the proposed transmission line.
Prior to commencing electricity exports to Mexico using these proposed
facilities, NRG, or any other electricity exporter, must obtain an
electricity export authorization required by section 202(e) of the
Federal Power Act. NRG expects to submit such an application at a later
date.
Since the restructuring of the electric power industry began,
resulting in the introduction of different types of competitive
entities into the marketplace, DOE has consistently expressed its
policy that cross-border trade in electric energy should be subject to
the same principles of comparable open access and non-discrimination
that apply to transmission in interstate commerce. DOE has stated that
policy in export authorizations granted to entities requesting
authority to export over international transmission facilities.
Specifically, DOE expects transmitting utilities owning border
facilities constructed pursuant to Presidential permits to provide
access across the border in accordance with the principles of
comparable open access and non-discrimination contained in the FPA and
articulated in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order No. 888, as
amended (Promoting Wholesale Competition Through Open Access Non-
Discriminatory Transmission Services by Public Utilities). In
furtherance of this policy, DOE intends to condition any Presidential
permit issued in this proceeding on compliance with these open access
principles.
Procedural Matters
Any person desiring to be heard or to protest this application
should file a petition to intervene or protest at the address provided
above in accordance with section 385.211 or 385.214 of the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR
385.211, 385.214).
Fifteen copies of such petitions and protests should be filed with
the DOE on or before the date listed above. Additional copies of such
petitions to intervene or protest also should be filed directly with:
Robert S. Evans, Executive Director and Manager, Environmental
Services, NRG Energy, Inc., 1221 Nicollet Mall, Suite 700, Minneapolis,
MN 55403-2445.
Before a Presidential permit may be issued or amended, the DOE must
determine that the proposed action will not adversely impact on the
reliability of the U.S. electric power supply system. In addition, DOE
must consider the environmental impacts of the proposed action (i.e.,
granting the Presidential permit, with any conditions and limitations,
or denying the permit) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (NEPA). DOE also must obtain the concurrence of the
Secretary of State and the Secretary of
[[Page 46427]]
Defense before taking final action on a Presidential permit
application.
The NEPA compliance process is a cooperative, non-adversarial
process involving members of the public, state governments and the
Federal government. The process affords all persons interested in or
potentially affected by the environmental consequences of a proposed
action an opportunity to present their views, which will be considered
in the preparation of the environmental documentation for the proposed
action. Intervening and becoming a party to this proceeding will not
create any special status for the petitioner with regard to the NEPA
process. Notice of upcoming NEPA activities and information on how the
public can participate in those activities will appear in the Federal
Register. Additional announcements will appear in local newspapers and
public libraries and/or reading rooms in the vicinity of the proposed
transmission line.
Copies of this application will be made available, upon request,
for public inspection and copying at the address provided above. In
addition, the application may be reviewed or downloaded from the Fossil
Energy Home Page at: http://www.fe.doe.gov. Upon reaching the Fossil
Energy Home page, select ``Regulatory'' and then ``Electricity'' from
the options menu.
Issued in Washington, D. C., on August 25, 1998.
Anthony J. Como,
Manager, Electric Power Regulation, Office of Coal & Power Im/Ex,
Office of Fossil Energy.
[FR Doc. 98-23482 Filed 8-31-98; 8:45 am]
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