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April 15, 2005 |
The proposal would establish a new generator imbalance service schedule under the pro forma open access transmission tariff (OATT) for intermittent resources that will aid in the removal of barriers to entering the open access market for these resources.
Washington D.C. [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proposed rules this week designed to better accommodate an increased participation of wind energy in wholesale markets.
The proposal addresses transmission tariffs that will allow intermittent
resources, particularly wind, to compete on a level playing field and become a
larger part of our nation's energy portfolio. The proposal would encourage the
development of renewable resources by removing barriers that affect intermittent
resources' access to the transmission grid.
Renewable resources bring benefits to energy customers by providing
environmental benefits and support increased reliability by broadening the
diversity of energy supplies, the Commission said.
FERC noted that while wind-generated power was not a significant source of
generation when its landmark open-access transmission rule, Order No. 888, was
issued in 1996, wind resources have grown at an annual average rate of about 20
percent. As a result, these resources are now ready to take advantage of the
open access transmission tariff, but are facing challenges due to the outdated
design of the tariff that was designed for generation with controlled fuel input
and more precise scheduling ability.
The proposal would establish a new generator imbalance service schedule under
the pro forma open access transmission tariff (OATT) for intermittent resources
that will aid in the removal of barriers to entering the open access market for
these resources. The new schedule addresses the unique operating characteristics
and constraints of wind generation.
Specifically, the new proposed service schedule sets up an intermittent
generator imbalance bandwidth of plus or minus 10 percent for differences
between the amount scheduled to be generated and the actual amount generated for
each hour. Deviations outside the bandwidth will be priced at the transmission
provider's system incremental/decremental cost, plus or minus 10 percent.
In instances where a transmission provider's tariff includes a generator
imbalance charge provision more lenient than the one outlined by today's
rulemaking, the Commission proposes that the transmission provider assess the
lesser charge. The Commission does not propose to modify existing energy
imbalance service under the tariff, and seeks comment on whether generator
imbalance provisions in future interconnection agreements should conform to what
is proposed in the rulemaking.
The proposal reiterates the existing pro forma tariff provision that allows for
the modification of generation schedules up to 20 minutes before the hour to
minimize exposure to the costs associated with imbalances. System reliability
should not be compromised by the proposal, according to FERC, since the impact
of these resources for most transmission systems will be relatively small in
comparison to total generation and transmission on any system.
Commission staff issued a briefing paper in November 2004, Assessing the State
of Wind Energy in Wholesale Electric Markets (see link below). The Commission
followed this with a technical conference in December 2004 to discuss the issues
associated with wind energy in the energy market. FERC has also conducted
extensive outreach with the industry and public on wind energy issues, and means
to facilitate the renewable energy technology's integration into the nation's
highly interconnected power grid.
In January 2005, the Commission proposed regulations that would remove barriers
to wind-generated electricity's interconnection to the power grid (RM05-4-000).
The Commission proposed uniform interconnection procedures tailored to the
technical requirements of wind- generated power.
Comments on today's proposed rule should be submitted to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission's Office of the Secretary within 30 days after the
proposal, Imbalance Provisions for Intermittent Resources, is published in the
Federal Register. Comments must refer to Docket No. RM05-10-000.
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