Committee on Regional Electric Power Cooperation

AGENDA

Scottsdale, AZ
April 17-19, 2001


 

Other Meetings and Workshops

WIEB/CREPC Workshop on the Natural Gas Outlook

Tuesday, April 17, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Cactus Room

WIEB/CREPC Workshop on Regulatory Electricity Pricing Options

Tuesday, April 17, 2:45 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Cactus Room

Ad hoc meeting of CREPC members interested in exploring price mitigation ideas (tentative)

Tuesday, April 17, 7:00 p.m.

Cactus Room

WIEB Board of Directors

Monday, April 16, 1:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 17, 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Cactus Room

WRTA Board of Directors

Tuesday, April 17, 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

 

 

Wednesday, April 18

 

Committee on Regional Electric Power Cooperation

            Hotel provided breakfast

 

8:30 a.m.           Call to order

                        Report of the Chair

 

9:00 a.m.           Electricity outlook

What’s the supply/demand balance this summer and for the remainder of the year?  What are the major uncertainties and their probability of occurring?  What are the differences between the forecasts/assessments?  What’s the role of economic and political considerations in the forecasts/assessments?

                        Presentations

            Northwest Power Planning Council – Dick Watson

 2001-02 Power Supply Outlook and Implications (25 pages, Powerpoint)

 Northwest Electricity Markets in 2001: Status and Proposed Actions, (1 page HTML with link; priority 1)

 Link to full report (HTML link; full report is in Word; priority 1)

                                    California Energy Commission – Bill Keese

                                                California Electricity Issues (9 pages; Powerpoint)

                                    California ISO – Terry Winter  

(CA ISO 2001 Summer Assessment (40 pages; priority 2); Presentation to the ISO Board, March 30 (4 pages); priority 1)

                                    Western Systems Coordinating Council – Dennis Eyre

WSCC Summer Assessment (21 pages; PDF file; Priority 1))

                        Response panel:  Mark Maher (BPA), Don Furman (PacifiCorp), others

 

10:30 a.m.         Break

 

10:45 a.m.         Reliability

                        1. Performance under the Reliability Management System

Frequency and type of violations of standards over the past six months.  Differences in violations between parties that have signed the RMS contracts and those that have not signed.  Effect of the violations on the integrity of the western grid.

WSCC – Bob Dintelman

WSCC Reliability Management System (RMS) Update (45 pages; Powerpoint)

State/provincial requests for information on violations

 

2. Revision of reserve criterion – Ed Eakeley (TriState G&T)

Report on WSCC’s reevaluation of the reserve requirement

 

12:00 p.m.         Luncheon

                       

1:15 p.m.           Western Electricity Coordinating Council (aka WIO)

Status of FERC/DOJ filings, bylaws, and merger agreement.  Remaining glitches. Selection of non-affiliated members of the board.  Selection of state/provincial representatives.  Organizational meeting.

Ron Nunnally, Chairman, Western Interconnection Coordination Forum

WECC Formation Progress Report (12 pages; Powerpoint)

 

2:30 p.m.                       Break

 

2:45 p.m.           RTOs

Status of RTO-West, DSTAR and California ISO.  FERC directions, if any, in response to filings.  Problematic areas.  Next steps.

 

Bill Longenecker, FERC

RTO West – Mark Maher, BPA (Powerpoint presentation, priority 1) / Don Furman  (RTO West web site link; priority 3)

Desert STAR – Mike Raezer, Desert STAR (8 pages; Powerpoint) / Ed Beck, TEP, Desert STAR RTO Pricing Proposal (7 pages; Powerpoint); (DSTAR web site link, priority 3)

California ISO – Terry Winter (California ISO web site link, priority 3)

Report of the CREPC Transmission Pricing Work Group–Larry Nordell  (MT)

                                    RTO West Congestion Management and Pricing Model (4 pages, PDF, priority 1)

 

4:00 p.m.           Resolution of issues at the boundaries of RTOs (seams issues)

                        Wally Gibson (NWPPC), Resolving RTO Seams Issues in the West (7 pages; PowerPoint; Priority 1)

 

4:15 p.m.           Demand exchange tariffs

Which customers qualify?  How does it operate?  How many megawatts?  What is the price paid customers?  Downsides of tariffs? Lessons leaned?  Why have some utilities not adopted demand exchange tariffs?  Suggested next steps?

                        Panel discussion:

                                    Chuck Goldman, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Demand Response Programs: An Emerging Resources for Competitive Electricity Markets (19 pages; Powerpoint)

                                    John Hairston, BPA (21 pages, Powerpoint presentation, priority 1)

                                    Don Fuller, California ISO, Summer 2001 Demand Response Programs (8 pages; Powerpoint)

                                    Ric Gale, Idaho Power Company, Demand Side Programs (9 pages; PowerPoint);  (Bill Eastlake’s summary table, PDF)

                                    Curtis Kebler, Reliant Energy (Reliant’s proposal to WSCC (4 pages, PDF, priority 1)

                        Background information:

                                    Washington UTC comments on FERC March 14 order relating to customer sales of load reductions (HTML link; priority 3)

5:30 p.m.           Recess

 

Thursday, April 19

            Hotel provided breakfast

 

8:00 a.m.           Better price signals to consumers – Dick Hemstad (WA UTC)

                                    Real-time pricing – Mike Jaske (CEC)

                                                California Presentation on Real Time Pricing (12 pages; Powerpoint)

Frequently Asked Questions About Implementing Real-Time Pricing in California for Summer 2001 by Severin Borenstein, March 2001 (10 pages; PDF; priority 2)

                                    Time of use pricing – Gary Swofford, Puget Sound Energy

                                    Rate design – Rich Collins (UT PSC)

                                    California actions – Steve Weissman (CA PUC)

                                    Alberta experience – Larry Charach (AB Resources) (Powerpoint; priority 1; extremely large file)

                                    Actions by other states/provinces

 

                                    Background information

                                                Impact of Retail Rate Deregulation on Electricity Consumption in San Diego (42 pages; PDF; priority 3)

 

9:15 a.m.           Electricity-Environmental Linkages – Bob Anderson (MT PSC) / Bill Keese (CEC)

A roundtable of state/provincial reports on actions to expedite the permitting powerplants and the environmental impacts of responses to the electricity crisis (e.g., increased emissions from backup generation and temporary generation, actions compromising fish recovery).

Bob Anderson (MT PSC) , Electricity/Environmental Linkages in the 2001 Montana Legislature, (11 pages; Powerpoint)

Background information

            Washington State siting decisions – Sumas2,(64 pages; PDF; priority 3),  Challis (45 pages; PDF; priority 3)

            California Energy Commission’s updated database on proposed generation in the Western Interconnection - Please email Denny Brown

[Dbrown@energy.state.ca.us] additions and corrections for proposed projects in your state/province

 

An air regulator’s perspective on the impacts of the electricity crisis

                                    Nancy Sutley, California EPA

 

10:30 a.m.         Break

 

10:45 a.m.         Discussion of region-wide database on future demand, generation, transmission

·       Adequacy of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council loads/resources forecasting and regional transmission planning processes

·       How to build on forecasts/databases of the CEC and NWPPC

Western Energy Information Repository (6 pages; Powerpoint)

Potential CREPC actions regarding access to information on generation output and transmission flows

·       WSCC Board of Trustees Policy on access to the EHV database, adopted April 3, 2000 (1 page; HTML; priority 1)

·       Energy Information Administration’s proposal on confidentiality of powerplant data – Phil Carver (OR OE)/ Steve Weissman (CA PUC) (EIA notice, 3 pages, PDF; EIA notice, 3 pages, PDF; priority 3)

·       Proposed CREPC comments to EIA (5 pages, PDF, priority 1)

Report on potential Governors’ transmission summit

 

12:00 p.m.         Lunch – on your own

 

1:15 p.m.           Roundtable on (1) short-term state/provincial/utility efficiency programs and stable program funding; (2) actions to remove barriers to distributed generation; (3) status of executing long-term contracts in California (and elsewhere)

[States/provinces need to come prepared with handouts (60 copies) or have e-mailed information to staff (dlarson@westgov.org) that will be posted on the WIEB web site in advance of the meeting.]

 

2:45 p.m.           Report of the CREPC Western Interconnection Wind Evaluation Team – Roger Hamilton (OR PUC), Team Chairman

                                    Briefing on Team activities (6 pages; PDF; priority 3)

Report on generation tracking – Phil Carver (OR OE) California/Oregon/Washington proposal to DOE (2 pages; PDF; priority 2)

Western Interconnection “green tags” – Mike Winslow, PacifiCorp (Developing a Western Regional Green Tag Market (12 pages; Powerpoint)

 

3:30 p.m.           Business meeting

Appointments (1 page; HTML; priority 1)

Identification of candidates for the state/provincial members of the Board of Directors of the WECC

Filling any vacancies on CREPC appointments to organizations

Recap of actions to be taken in response to the Governors’ recommendations  (assignments, report to the governors)

            Recommendations from February 2 Governors’ Energy Policy Roundtable (HTML link, priority 2)

Discussion of potential emergency CREPC meeting

 

4:30 p.m.           Adjourn

 

 

Workshop on the Short-term Natural Gas Outlook

1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

April 17, 2001

 

Purpose:  The purpose of the workshop is to gain a better understanding of the short-term (2001) outlook for natural gas supplies in the Western Interconnection.

 

Short-term assessments: 

 

Thom Kelly, California Energy Commission

Dick Watson, Northwest Power Planning Council

Dave Warren, Washington Office of Trade and Economic Development (30 Powerpoint slides; priority 1)

Phil Carver, Oregon Energy Office (Excel file, priority 1)

 

Discussion of where additional analysis may be required.

 

 

 Workshop on Regulatory Electricity Pricing Options

2:45 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

April 17, 2001

 

Purpose:  The purpose of the workshop is to provide an educational forum for state/provincial utility commissions and energy policy advisors to understand the fundamentals of price caps, the types of price caps that can be used, the consequences of the price caps to suppliers and consumers, any unintended consequences associated with price caps, and alternatives to price caps that could be explored within the western interconnection.

 

Price Caps Tutorial  (1 hour)

Jim Bushnell, UC Berkeley Energy Institute

What are the different types of price caps and exactly how would they work? (hard price caps, soft price caps, cost plus price caps, temporary price caps, other)

Who administers the price caps and how are they administered? (Who is the responsible entity? What is the compliance mechanism? What is the audit mechanism?  What is the role for state utility commissions?  Who administers the caps for those that are not state jurisdictional?  Who administers the caps for those that are not FERC jurisdictional? How long are the caps in place? How do you determine to end price caps and what happens after they are lifted?)

Who is affected by the price caps and how? (the energy consumers, the energy suppliers, the current utilities, state regulatory commissions, the effects in a restructured and non-restructured retail environment; How do they impact consumers and suppliers in Canada?)

How are scare supplies allocated if prices are not allowed to clear the market? Who makes the allocation decisions? What is the state role in the allocation decision?

Are there any unintended consequences associated with any of the price cap proposals?

What other alternatives are there to regional price caps?

 

The Pros and Cons of Price Caps  (1 hour, 45 minutes)

The panelists will address the different price cap proposals for their respective interests.   These panelists would focus on how the price caps would affect their industry or consumers, what unintended consequences the price cap might have for their interests, and what alternatives there are to price caps that would be better from their perspective.  There might be specific questions developed for particular industry or consumer interests.

 

Discussants

            Jim Harding, Seattle City Light

            Eric Hildebrandt, California ISO

            Bill Chamberlain, California Energy Commission (8 pages; presentation, PDF, priority 1; CEC comments to FERC; 9 pages; PDF; priority 2)

            Dave Warren, Washington State Office of Trade and Economic Development

            Doug Little, Powerex

            Roger Petersen, PPL Montana

            Curtis Kebler, Reliant Energy

 

Background:

            January 12 five governor letter to Governors Davis (1 page, HTML, priority 3)

            February 6 eight governor letter to Secretary Abraham (1 page, HTML, priority 3)

            Electricity Restructuring:  Deregulation or Reregulation (19 pages, PDF, priority 3)

            The Trouble with Electricity Markets (and some solutions) (29 pages, PDF, priority 3)

            Why Price Controls Won’t Work in California, A White Paper Prepared by Dynegy, Inc. (14 pages, PDF, priority 3)

            Solving California’s Problem, Dynegy (2 pages, PDF, priority 3)