Published in NGI’s Power Markets Today 10/23/2006

Entergy to Relinquish Transmission Management to SPP in One Month

FERC has given Entergy Services Inc. one month to relinquish management of its 15,500-mile transmission system in four states to the Southwest Power Pool (SPP).

In an order issued Wednesday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission accepted a compliance filing that, subject to modifications, allows Entergy to turn over the oversight and management of its transmission system to an independent coordinator of transmission (ICT), specifically SPP, for a four-year period [ER05-1065-002].

This "will provide for a greater level of independence and transparency in the management of our transmission system," said Larry Daspit, an Entergy transmission spokesman in Houston. In addition, it will provide "more appropriate pricing signals for the siting of new transmission and allocating costs to expand the system."

He noted that Entergy has been working 10 years to develop an independent oversight entity to ensure transparent, nondiscriminatory access to the company's transmission system, which operates in four states -- Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas -- and New Orleans.

The order establishes the higher "public interest" standard of review for any changes to the Entergy-SPP agreement that are proposed by a nonparty or the Commission, yet are not agreed to by Entergy and the SPP. The "public interest" standard places a higher burden on parties who seek changes to the original Entergy-SPP agreement.

"I believe that it is appropriate for the Commission to grant the request of the parties to the ICT agreement, and to apply the 'public interest' standard when it considers future changes to the ICT agreement sought by parties, nonparties and the Commission," said Commissioner Jon Wellinghoff.

Commissioner Marc Spitzer agreed. "I believe that, in appropriate cases, contract certainty and sanctity brought about by the application of the 'public interest standard' works to the benefit of consumers. For these reasons, I support the standard of review enunciated in the Entergy ICT order," he said.

Copyright 2006 NGI, Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of NGI, Inc.