Transmission operators and state planning agencies face a dizzying array of challenges in transmission planning. Siting and permitting for transmission lines is increasingly difficult. Renewable Portfolio Standards create pressure for development of new transmission to bring power from renewable resource zones to load areas, but public policy in this area is constantly evolving. The prospect of a “smart grid” creates additional uncertainty.
E3 recognizes that traditional transmission planning modeling based on load flow analysis is not equipped for the high-level evaluation that is useful in the early stages of transmission planning under uncertainties. E3 experts assist clients with transmission planning using custom-developed models and a true understanding of current industry issues and challenges.
E3 also provides transmission pricing assistance, from design of open access tariffs for restructured jurisdictions with independent system operators, to assisting jurisdictions with vertically integrated utilities that use the pro forma tariff rooted in FERC Order 888.
The Transmission Planning and Pricing Practice includes:- Need Determination
- Non-Wires Alternatives
- Benefit Cost Analysis
- Tariff Design
- Ancillary Services Design and Pricing
- State and Provincial Regulatory Filings
Contact: Ren Orans
Transmission Planning Sample Projects +“Towards 2020” study for WEIL. For the Western Electric Industry Leaders Group (WEIL) - a group of 15 western utility CEOs and high-level executives - E3 evaluated the potential costs and benefits of new, inter-regional transmission capacity throughout the Western Interconnection in light of new challenges driven by state policy favoring renewable and low-carbon resource development. As part of the project, E3 developed a database of conventional and renewable energy cost and performance information for 98 resource “zones” in the West.
California ISO, Sunrise Powerlink. E3 provided expert testimony on behalf of the California ISO in San Diego Gas and Electric Company’s Sunrise Powerlink Application. We provided direct and rebuttal testimony, data responses, data requests, and cross examination support with regards to the need and net economic benefit of the proposed transmission line. The net economic benefit analysis included estimates of WECC-wide generation re-dispatch impacts, effects on local reliability and capacity markets, and integration with statewide renewable resource goals.
Among a number of benefits, this line provides transmission for delivering renewable energy from the Salton Sea and Imperial Valley areas to San Diego. In order to determine the relative merits of the Sunrise project compared to other options for procuring renewable resources, E3 completed a resource assessment for each major renewable energy basin in the WECC and developed a renewable energy supply curve, including transmission costs.
Transmission Pricing Sample Projects +
Hydro-Quebec Open Access Transmission Tariff filing. E3 was hired by Hydro Quebec to develop the original open access transmission tariff (OATT) that was adopted by the Regie and accepted by FERC. E3 has continued to support Hydro-Quebec with tariff modifications, appearing before the Regie multiple times to accommodate changes to design and services offered under the tariff.
British Columbia Transmission Corporation Open Access Transmission Tariff. E3 appeared before the BCUC and FERC to support BC Hydro’s first OATT. Subsequent appearances before the BCUC have included a proposal to address the challenge of wind integration in BCTC’s application for a new OATT in the fall of 2004, and in a follow-up paper listing additional rate design options. The paper included a “pay-as-you-go” rate design for “non-dispatchable” resources that recognizes the very different transmission usage pattern of non-dispatchable resources relative to other users such dispatchable resources and/or power marketers.
Non-wires alternatives for PG&E and EPRI. E3 has been a leader in evaluating non-wires alternatives dating back to the seminal projects that E3 completed for PG&E and EPRI in the early 1990s. The work initially focused on the potential of DSM to achieve local area distribution cost reductions, and evolved to consider small- and large-scale generation, as well as demand response and pricing alternatives.
