Updates Between Mar 06, 2024 and Apr 03, 2024
New Members: Eagle Creek Madison Hydro and Vineyard Offshore; Termination of Participant status: Power Supply Services and Green Choice Energy
FERC accepts: (i) the memberships of: Agile Energy Trading; Command Power; Eagle Creek Renewable Energy Holdings LLC; and Ocean State Power and (ii) the termination of the Participant status of Community Eco Power; MPower Energy LLC; Pixelle Energy Services; Power Ledger Pty Ltd; Union Atlantic Electricity; and Utility Services of Vermont
NSTAR submits Notice of Cancellation of the Agreement between NSTAR and Nalcor Energy Marketing Corporation (NEMC) for the Transfer of Use Rights on the Phase I/II HVDC Transmission Facilities held by Energy New England to NEMC for the Nov 1, 2020 through Dec 31, 2023 period. By its terms, the Transfer Agreement terminated on Dec 31, 2023 and the reconciliation of billings thereunder completed.
Allco Finance Limited (“Allco”) petitions the FERC to initiate an enforcement action against the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) to remedy what it asserts is CT DEEP’s improper implementation of section 210 of PURPA. Allco asks the FERC to to (i) invalidate and permanently enjoin the Shared Clean Energy Facility program 50 MW volumetric cap, (ii) invalidate and permanently enjoin the CT DEEP from implementing Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 16a-3f, 16a-3g, 16a-3j, and 16a-3m, which compel CL&P and UI to procure energy from zero carbon resources that have a 5 MW or greater nameplate capacity rating and that participate in the New England Markets, (iii) invalidate and permanently enjoin the CT DEEP from implementing solicitations for off-shore wind facilities and/or nuclear facilities, and (iv) to permanently enjoin the CT DEEP from regulating wholesale sales except as permitted by PURPA.
ISO-NE submits 2023 annual report of total MWh of trans. service
IMM submits comments supporting Canal’s Petition insofar as it requests the prompt repayment of the revenues received on behalf of Canal 3 under the IEP and, if determined to be warranted by the FERC, net of Program charges.
Settlement Judge French issues order convening a third settlement conference on Apr 19, 2024
Rumford ESS, and the Northeast Clean Energy Council and the Maine Renewable Energy Association jointly, answer CMP’s Mar 8 answer
FERC grants, effective Mar 21, 2024, Viridon NE’s request (i) for authorization to include in a regulatory asset account its prudently incurred pre-commercial and formation costs for later recovery, (ii) to use a hypothetical capital structure of 60% equity and 40% debt, to remain in effect until the first transmission project is placed in service; (iii) for a 50-basis-point ROE RTO Adder); and (iv) authorization to replicate the incentive rate treatments granted in this docket for future affiliates formed to operate in New England.
In response to the requests for rehearing and clarification filed in this proceeding, the FERC modified the discussion in Order 2023, setting aside Order 2023, in part, and clarifying Order 2023 in part.
Specifically, the FERC set aside Order 2023 to specify that: (1) where an interconnection customer is in the interconnection queue of a transmission provider that currently uses, or is transitioning to, a cluster study process and the transmission provider proposes on compliance to adopt new readiness requirements for its annual cluster study, the interconnection customer must comply with the transmission provider’s new readiness requirements within 60 days of the Commission-approved effective date of the transmission provider’s compliance filing, where such readiness requirements are applicable given the status of the individual interconnection customer in the queue; (2) a network upgrade that is required for multiple interconnection customers in a cluster may be considered a stand alone network upgrade if all such interconnection customers mutually agree to exercise the option to build; (3) transmission providers must complete their determination that an interconnection request is valid by the close of the cluster request window such that only interconnection customers with valid interconnection requests proceed to the customer engagement window; and (4) acceptable forms of security for the Commercial Readiness Deposit and deposits prior to the Transitional Serial Study, Transitional Cluster Study, Cluster Restudy and the Interconnection Facilities Study should include not only cash or an irrevocable letter of credit, but also surety bonds or other forms of financial security that are reasonably acceptable to the transmission provider.
The FERC clarified Order 2023 with respect to the following topics: (1) conflicts with ongoing queue reform efforts; (2) public interconnection information; (3) cluster study process; (4) allocation of cluster network upgrade costs; (5) shared network upgrades; (6) withdrawal penalties; (7) study delay penalty and appeal structure; (8) affected systems; (9) revisions to the material modification process to require consideration of generating facility additions; 10) availability of surplus interconnection service; (11) operating assumptions for interconnection studies; (12) consideration of the enumerated alternative transmission technologies in interconnection studies; and (13) ride-through requirements.
The deadline for compliance filings, which must include the further revisions reflected in Order 2023-A, was extended to 30 days after the publication of Order 2023-A in the Federal Register.
The ISO/RTO Council (IRC), including ISO-NE, protests proposed EOP-012-2 (Freeze Protection Standard), detailing its specific issues and concerns with the effectiveness of the
proposed Standard proposing specific language that would resolve the issues it raises and to ensure the Standard’s ’s effectiveness as a winterization standard; NEPGA comments on EOP-012-2, strongly supporting the goals of improving power plant reliability and system performance in the winter months, in particular through competitive market designs, and not protesting or challenging the Freeze Protection Standards.
FERC proposes to revise (i) the pro forma OATT’s Schedule 2 to prohibit transmission providers from including in their transmission rates any charges associated with a generating facility’s supply of reactive power within the standard power factor range; and, accordingly, (ii) to remove from the pro forma LGIA and pro forma SGIA the requirement that a transmission provider pay an interconnection customer for reactive power within the standard power factor range if the transmission provider pays its own or affiliated generators for the same service, so that transmission providers would be required to pay an interconnection customer for reactive power only when the transmission provider asks the interconnection customer to operate its facility outside the standard power factor range set forth in its interconnection agreement.
NESCOE asks the FERC to reject the out of time comments filed in this proceeding, but if it does not, then to accept NESCOE’s supplemental comments
Identified TOs answer Maine OPA’s Mar 4 Answer
CMP submits a Notice of Termination of a fully performed Engineering and Procurement Agreement (E&P Agreement) between CMP and FPL Energy Wyman
CMP and ISO-NE file non-conforming LGIA to govern the interconnection of Andro Hydro’s 27.57 MW hydro facility located in the towns of Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls, Maine. The LGIA is non-conforming in that Andro Hydro’s facility is interconnecting through certain facilities that are also used by JGT2 Energy, and are therefore not sole use facilities as contemplated in the pro forma LGIA. The revisions extend to Andro Hydro the same treatment provided to other customers interconnecting through facilities that are shared with a third party.
North East Offshore (a 50/50 joint venture (JV) between Orsted DevCo and Eversource Investment), Revolution Wind (a wholly-owned subsidiary of North East Offshore), South Fork Wind (an indirect JV between Orsted and Eversource), and GIP IV Whale Fund Holdings (Buyer, a wholly controlled affiliate of Global Infrastructure GP IV) request FERC authorization for a transaction pursuant to which Buyer will acquire Eversource Investment LLC’s (Seller’s) interests in North East Offshore, Revolution Wind, and South Fork Wind.
GIP and BlackRock request FERC authorization for a transaction pursuant to which BlackRock Funding Inc. will acquire 100% of the LLC interests in Global Infrastructure Management (GIM or GIP), and thereby an indirect controlling interest in the GIM public utility subsidiaries, including, among others, Clearway Power Marketing and GennConn Energy
CMP answers the protests filed by Rumford, EMI, the Northeast Clean Energy Council, and the Maine Renewable Energy Association