March 29, 2006
8:30 am-3:00 pm CST

Hilton Garden Inn Chicago O'Hare Airport
2930 South River Road, Des Plaines, Illinois 60018
Phone: (888) 212-6439

Background
Section 1221(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to issue a national transmission congestion study for comment by August 2006 and every three years thereafter. Based on the study and public comments, DOE may designate selected geographic areas as "National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs)." Applicants for projects proposed within designated corridors that are not acted upon by state siting authorities within one year may request FERC to exercise federal "backstop" siting authority.

In the February 2, 2006, issue of the Federal Register, DOE issued a notice of inquiry seeking comment and information from the public concerning its plans for an electricity transmission congestion study and possible designation of NIETCs. Through this notice of inquiry, DOE invited comment on draft criteria for gauging the suitability of geographic areas as NIETCs and announced a public technical conference concerning the criteria for evaluation of candidate areas as NIETCs.

To view the notice of inquiry and the comments received, please visit DOE's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability 1221 web site.Information on how to sign up for the 1221 service list is also available on this site.

The chief purpose of this conference was to discuss key issues raised by commenters' responses to the notice of inquiry concerning the criteria proposed for the evaluation of geographic areas for designation as NIETCs.

Agenda

The following documents are available as either Adobe Acrobat PDFs or Windows Media Files. Download Acrobat Reader. Download Windows Media Player.

March 29, 2006 - 8:30 am - 3:00 pm CST
7:30 - 8:30 am Registration Check-in and Continental Breakfast
8:30 - 10:00 am Session 1: Welcome and Opening Statements by U.S. Department of Energy
8:30 am Welcome
  • Kevin Kolevar, Director, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (WMF 405 KB)
8:45 am Update on Congestion Study
  • Poonum Agrawal, Manager, Markets & Technical Integration, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (PDF 324 KB), (WMF 1.5 MB)
9:00 am Discussion of Process Questions Concerning Designation of National Corridors (WMF 1.4 MB)
  • David Meyer, Acting Assistant Director, Division of Permitting, Siting, and Analysis, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (PDF 272 KB)
9:30 am Question & Answer Period (WMF 7.6 MB)
  • Facilitated by: Jody Erikson, Keystone Center
10:00 - 10:15 am Break
10:15 - 12:00 pm Session 2: How Can the Designation of Transmission Constraint Areas and National Corridors Add Value to Existing Planning and Siting Processes? (WMF 12.8 MB)

Panelists:
  • Ricky Bittle, Vice President of Planning, Rates & Dispatching, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp.
  • Joe Desmond, Chairman, California Energy Commission
  • Dian Grueneich, Commissioner, California Public Utilities Commission
  • Sandra Hochstetter, Chairman, Arkansas Public Service Commission
  • Rob Kondziolka, Salt River Project and Chairman, Western Congestion Assessment Task Force (PDF 41 KB)
  • Michael B. Robinson, Project Manager, Transmission Planning, Southern Company Services, Inc. (PDF 667 KB)
  • William Whitehead, Manager of Transmission Planning Policy, PJM Interconnection (PDF 480 KB)

Facilitated by: Jody Erikson, Keystone Center

  • What weight should DOE give to analyses conducted by regional transmission planning processes in the identification of constraint areas and designation of National Corridors?
  • What aspects of regional planning processes should be considered in assessing these analyses, such as the extent to which they are open to all parties and not overly influenced by a single interest group; are coordinated with state and load serving entities’ resource plans; consider wires and non-wires alternatives; consider access to distant future resources, such as wind and coal, and produce well-documented and transparent analyses?
  • In the absence of an established regional transmission planning process, how should regional, state, and local considerations be addressed in the identification of constraint areas and designation of National Corridors?
  • What additional complementary or supporting actions by DOE (or others) should be triggered by the identification of constraint areas or the designation of National Corridors? For example, should DOE foster federal/state teams to encourage development and expeditious reviews of proposals to mitigate congestion in constraint areas? Should priority be placed on designating corridors on federal lands under Section 368 that could be used for projects to relieve constraint areas?

After the round of opening statements, DOE will ask the panelists a series of follow-up questions. After this round of questions, the facilitator will open the discussion to comments and questions from the audience.
12:00 - 1:00 pm Lunch
1:00 - 2:45 pm Session 3: How should Criteria Be Applied in the Identification of Constraint Areas and the Designation of National Corridors? (WMF 12.9 MB)

Overview of Comments on Criteria and Metrics
  • Poonum Agrawal, U.S. Department of Energy (PDF 266 KB)

Panelists:
  • Mary Ellen Paravalos, Director of Regulatory Policy, National Grid
  • David Till, Transmission Planning Department Manager, Tennessee Valley Authority (PDF 304 KB)
  • Michael Heyeck, Vice President, Transmission, American Electric Power (PDF 185 KB)
  • Kevin Wright, Commissioner, Illinois Commerce Commission
  • Ed Tatum, Assistant Vice President, Rates & Regulations, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (PDF 185 KB)
  • Wayne Walker, Director of Project Development, Horizon Wind Energy (PDF 3.6 MB)
  • Wayne Snowdon, Vice Chair, Canadian Electricity Association Transmission Council; Vice President, Transmission, NB Power (PDF 301 KB)

Facilitated by: Jody Erikson, Keystone Center

Each panelist will make a 5-minute presentation responding to one or more of the following questions:
  • How broadly (or narrowly) should constraint areas and corridors be defined?
  • Should thresholds be established in applying criteria for constraint area and National Corridor designations? If so, what should they be for the eight draft criteria proposed by DOE?
  • Should constraint area or National Corridor designations expire after some fixed period? If so, what should the period be?
  • How should the designation of constraint areas and National Corridors be coordinated with the planning and siting processes used in Canada, ERCOT, and Mexico?

After the round of opening statements, DOE will ask the panelists a series of follow-up questions. After this round of questions, the facilitator will open the discussion to comments and questions from the public audience.
2:45 pm Summary, Next Steps, and Closing Remarks (WMF 737 KB)
Discussion led by: Poonum Agrawal, U.S. Department of Energy
3:00 pm Adjourn

Conference Materials

  • Final Agenda (PDF 103 KB)
  • Overview of DOE's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (PDF 254 KB)
  • Comments received in response to the Notice of Inquiry are posted on DOE's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability 1221 web site.
  • Final participant lists: on-site conference attendee list (PDF 117 KB) and web cast attendee list (PDF 129 KB)
  • Transcript of conference (PDF 453 KB)

Contacts
Poonum Agrawal
Manager, Markets & Technical Integration
Office of Electric Delivery and Energy Reliability
U.S. Department of Energy
Phone: (202) 586-6048
Email: poonum.agrawal@hq.doe.gov

Lauren Giles
Program Manager
Energetics Incorporated
Phone: (410) 953-6250
Email: LGiles@energetics.com