Western Area Power
Administration (WAPA)
Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (SPP) RTO-West
Evaluation Status and Postings
Last Update(s): 09/08/2023: WAPA issued
a Decision Letter to pursue final negotiations regarding SPP RTO
membership/expanded participation SPP RTO-West Expansion Updates:
WAPA RTO-West Information
Website
09/08/2023 (New):
WAPA issued a Decision Letter to pursue final negotiations
regarding SPP RTO membership/expanded participation
On September 8, 2023, WAPA's Administrator and CEO
Tracey A. LeBeau issued a Decision Letter
authorizing WAPA's Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP), Rocky
Mountain region (RM) and Upper Great Plains region (UGP) to pursue
final negotiations with the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) regarding
Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) membership/expanded
participation. The decision was based on the recommendation report
that informed the Federal Register notice (FRN) public process;
the unique marketing and transmission footprints of CRSP, RM, and
UGP; and consideration of comments received during FRN and Tribal
comment processes.
As part of the final negotiations, WAPA will develop
implementation details for a pseudo-tie for CRSP customers from
the Western Area Colorado Missouri (WACM) Balancing Authority Area
(BAA) to the Western Area Lower Colorado (WALC) BAA to address
CRSP customer concerns about the potential implications of RTO
membership for entities outside the footprint.
If the final negotiations with SPP are successful, CRSP and RM
will then execute SPP membership agreements and UGP will expand
its participation in SPP. SPP RTO go-live in the Western
Interconnection is projected for spring 2026.
Additional information and
postings related to Decision, the FRN, recommendation report,
public process including comments and responses, and on-going
WAPA postings are available on WAPA's "wapa.gov" website at: WAPA RTO-West
Information Website
Please
direct questions related to transmission service
impacts of the RTO-West Expansion within the CRSP, RM,
and UGP footprints outlined in the FRN recommendation
to yourWAPA OATT Regional contact(s).
04/28/2023:
WAPA publication of Federal Register notice (FRN) on its
recommendation to pursue final negotiations regarding SPP RTO
membership, Notice of public meeting
In collaboration with other major utilities in the West, WAPA's
Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP) and Rocky Mountain region
(RM) are exploring full membership in the Southwest Power Pool
(SPP) Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) and the Upper Great
Plains region (UGP) is evaluating expanding its participation in
the SPP RTO in the Western Interconnection. UGP’s Western
Interconnection transmission facilities are already under the SPP
tariff, and its Eastern Interconnection facilities are already in
the SPP RTO Integrated Marketplace.
On April 28, 2023, WAPA published a Federal Register
notice (FRN) on its recommendation to pursue final negotiations
regarding SPP RTO membership. WAPA recommends CRSP and RM pursue
final negotiations regarding membership in the SPP RTO, and UGP
expand its participation in the Western Interconnection. WAPA is
seeking written public comments from its customers, Indian Tribes
and stakeholders on the substance of the recommendation.
A 45-day comment period opened on April 28, 2023, and will run
through June 12, 2023. Please see the FRN for background
information and instructions on how to provide comments. The FRN
and the Recommendation Report referenced in the FRN describes the
background and analysis for each of the WAPA regions. Written
comments received as part of this public process, along with
WAPA’s responses, will be posted after the close of the comment
period.
An informational webinar with a question and answer session
(via Microsoft Teams) will be provided: Thursday May 11, 2023 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time
A follow up question and answer session (via Microsoft Teams)
will also be provided:
Thursday May 25, 2023
9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time
Information and postings related to the FRN, Recommendation
Report, public process including comments and responses, webinar
details, and on-going WAPA postings are available at: WAPA RTO-West
Information Website
WAPA anticipates deciding on whether to pursue final negotiations
with SPP in summer 2023. WAPA will provide notice of its decision
by posting on the WAPA RTO-West Information Website
and sending a letter to customers, Indian Tribes, and
stakeholders. If WAPA decides to move forward with final
negotiations with SPP, and those negotiations are successful, RM
and CRSP will then execute SPP membership agreements and UGP will
expand its participation in SPP. If an affirmative decision is
made, SPP RTO go-live in the Western Interconnection is projected
for spring 2026.
Please direct questions
related to transmission service impacts of the RTO-West Expansion
within the CRSP, RM, and UGP footprints outlined in the FRN
recommendation to your WAPA OATT Regional contact(s).
Again, please
note that written comments on the FRN recommendation must be
submitted to WAPA as outlined in the FRN and on the WAPA RTO-West Information Website.
06/14/2021: Background Information and Notification of
June 30 Webinar on the SPP RTO-West Expansion
As posted on WAPA's website
at WAPA and markets, several WAPA Regional Offices
are considering membership in an expansion of SPP's Regional
Transmission Organization (RTO) into the Western Interconnection
(RTO-West Expansion): Colorado River Storage Project Management
Center (CRSP-MC), Rocky Mountain Region (RMR), and Upper Great
Plains Region (UGP) for its west region. Several other utilities
are also considering membership in the SPP RTO to place facilities
in the Western Interconnection under the SPP Tariff including
Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Deseret Power Electric
Cooperative, Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, and Tri-State
Generation and Transmission Association, etc. Information related
to SPP's RTO-West Expansion activities is also posted on the SPP
website at: RTO West - Southwest Power Pool (spp.org)
WAPA is hosting a two-hour webinar to learn more about the
SPP RTO. This is the second informational webinar to educate
customers about the operations and policies at SPP as WAPA
Regional Offices explore full membership in the RTO in the Western
Interconnection. Customers and interested parties are welcome to
join.
Agenda
• Introductions and context from WAPA
• SPP briefing, including details into:
o
Operations
o
Zonal constructs
o
Resource Adequacy
•
Question and answer session
WAPA previously hosted an initial webinar on May 21, 2021, which
you can view at: first webinar. This June 30 presentation
will also be posted on WAPA's website at: WAPA and markets.
Please direct questions related to transmission service impacts of
the RTO-West Expansion to your WAPA OATT Regional contact(s). Any other questions can be directed to:
Steve Sanders (WAPA-UGP) at 406-255-2807 (sanders@wapa.gov).
Previous
Updates:
04/28/2023: WAPA publication
of Federal Register notice (FRN) on its recommendation to pursue
final negotiations regarding SPP RTO membership, Notice of
Public Meeting
06/14/2021: Background Information and Notification of
June 30 Webinar on the SPP RTO-West Expansion
