Committee on Regional Electric Power Cooperation

Meeting Summary

  April 25, 2000

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TO:                        Committee on Regional Electric Power Cooperation

FROM:                 Doug Larson

DATE:                  April 25, 2000

SUBJECT:            Summary of Decisions at CREPC Meeting

      With nine states (AZ, CA, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA) and three provinces (AB, BC, SK) present, CREPC took the following actions.

• Regarding the formation of a Western Interconnection Organization, CREPC agreed to a hybrid board to govern the organization, agreed that states/provinces should have voting roles at the board and committee levels, and agreed to a process whereby the WIO has a responsibility to decide issues affecting the interconnection when RTOs are unable to resolve such issues on their own.  More work is needed on the language to implement this last point, including provisions that would enable FERC and appropriate Canadian regulatory authorities to remove an issue from the WIO. 
• Regarding pending federal reliability legislation, there was continuing support for the language in the legislation providing for deference to decisions made at an interconnection level and creation of state advisory bodies.  There was also general agreement on the inclusion of a savings clause in the legislation along the lines of what is being worked on by NERC and NARUC.
• CREPC Chair, Marsha Smith, made the following appointments.
  • Carl Wood (CA PUC) to the WSCC Board of Trustees;
  • Bill Chamberlain (CEC) to the WRTA Board of Directors;
  • Denise Mullen-Dalmer (BC) as the Canadian representative to the Northwest RTO Regional Representatives Group and Larry Charach (AB) as the alternate;
  • Alan Davis (MT DEQ) as the state representative to the Northwest RTO Regional Representatives Group and Wally Gibson (NWPPC) and Stephanie Miller (ID PUC) as alternates; and
  • Connie White (UT PSC) (with back-up from Rich Collins and Becky Wilson) to the WSCC Facilities Expansion Task Force.
  • Additionally, CREPC members were encouraged to participate in Western Market Interface Committee meetings and the Northwest RTO topical work groups once they are formed.  Several CREPC members expressed interest in various positions should they become available and Dan Nix agreed to continue to serve as the CREPC representative to the NERC Market Interface Committee until a replacement is appointed.
• Marsha Smith, CREPC Chair, emphasized the need for PUCs to become more active in the work of CREPC.
• CREPC members raised no objections to the CREPC Seams Teams position on issues involving seams at the boundaries of RTOs.
• A work group was established to help revise language of a proposed readoption of the Western Governors’ Association expiring resolution on electric industry restructuring.  Jennifer Salisbury (NM EMNR) heads the work group.  Other members are Dick Byers (WA UTC), Marsha Smith (ID PUC), Mark Ziering (CA PUC), and Prasad Poturri (NM PRC).
• The next CREPC meeting will be held in Boise on October 17-18.  Several topics have already been identified, including:  examination of the compliance record under the RMS program for the coming summer season; and technological (i.e., meters) and regulatory hurdles to expanding the participation of the demand-side of the market.  The value of more extended discussions of regulatory issues under the regional haze rule in conjunction with the next meeting will depend on the development of the Annex to the regional haze rule which is due on October 1.