The following news release was issued Monday by the Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative, of which PJM Interconnection is a member.
The EIPC provides a forum for interconnection-wide coordination of system planning activities of its member regions in the Eastern Interconnection while also providing policy makers and regulators with relevant, complete and technically sound information.
EIPC Files Comments on NERC Interregional Transfer Capability Study and Recommends Next Steps for Regulators and Transmission Planners
The Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative submitted comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today on the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s Interregional Transfer Capability Study.
EIPC outlines its concerns with the study while recognizing NERC’s efforts under a short time frame. EIPC also underscores the key role of planning authorities in undertaking future studies; it recommends concrete next steps that include the development by planning authorities of metrics and coordinated analyses to assess benefits and costs and navigate the complexities of increasing energy exchange across regional boundaries.
EIPC, comprising 18 planning authorities from the eastern and central U.S., provides a forum for interconnection-wide coordination of system planning activities of its member regions in the Eastern Interconnection. The EIPC’s 2023 white paper (PDF) identified important technical considerations in determining an appropriate level of interregional transfer capability that ensures the continued reliability of the transmission grid as system operators work to integrate an increasing level of renewable resources.
The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 directed NERC to consult with each regional entity and transmission utility that has transmission interconnections with neighboring transmission planning regions to conduct a study that contains:
- Current total transfer capability between each pair of neighboring transmission planning regions
- A recommendation of prudent additions to total transfer capability between each pair of neighboring transmission planning regions that would demonstrably strengthen reliability
- Recommendations to meet and maintain total transfer capability together with any recommended additions to total transfer capability between neighboring transmission planning regions
EIPC thanks NERC for its work on this complex task on a short time schedule and recognizes its outreach and coordination with the industry and its openness to feedback. While this study can provide a general overview of opportunities where expansion of interregional transfer capability has potential, EIPC asserts that such a study should not be used to drive transmission upgrades, nor be relied on for determining what constitutes prudent additions to interregional transfer capability.
“Enhancing interregional transfer capability can provide many benefits, but not without consideration of the challenges and costs that can have a significant effect on the cost/benefit analysis,” said Jordan Bakke, director of strategic insights and assessments at the Midcontinent ISO and chair of the EIPC Executive Committee. “EIPC believes policymakers should be aware of both the opportunities and challenges of enhancing interregional transfer capability.”
“Interregional transfer capability can help address individual system reliability needs and, in the long term, enhance the economics of power transfers,” Bakke noted. “But these benefits should be balanced with the cost and time of building new transmission and should not serve as a substitute for individual regions taking responsibility to ensure resource adequacy within their region.”
The initial work in this area is best assigned to transmission planners working with their respective states and stakeholders, and EIPC could serve in a coordinating role. While recognizing the need to respect regional differences, EIPC has proposed a process to develop consistent metrics to help guide decisions on possible enhancements to interregional transfer capability. These metrics should include consideration of the need, as well as the cost/benefit and feasibility of a given project to meet the identified need.
When evaluating the next steps, EIPC encourages the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which will ultimately provide its own report to Congress, to work with state regulators, policymakers and other stakeholders to leverage the expertise and understanding of Transmission Planners in developing consistent metrics for quantifying transfer capability that can drive actions and ultimately increase system resilience and reliability while lowering the overall cost of delivering power.
EIPC and its members stand ready to provide technical assistance to federal and state policymakers to support such an effort in the Eastern Interconnection.
The comments are posted (PDF) on the EIPC website.
About the EIPC
The EIPC membership currently includes Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Cube Hydro Carolinas, LLC; Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Florida, and Duke Energy Progress; Louisville Gas & Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company; Georgia Transmission Corp. (An Electric Membership Corporation); ISO New England, Inc.; Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.; Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia; New York Independent System Operator, Inc.; PJM Interconnection; Power South Energy Cooperative; Dominion Energy, South Carolina; South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper); Southern Company Services Inc., as agent for Alabama Power Company, Georgia Power Company and Mississippi Power Company; Southwest Power Pool, Inc.; and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
For more information, visit eipconline.com.