Grid Mod: Rate, tariff and EIM public processes join forces

BPA’s strategy for sustaining commercial success includes objectives for maintaining competitive rates, pursuing new market opportunities and updating its open access transmission tariff. These three objectives are converging in a single public process. 
 
BPA will be making policy decisions about the remaining issues related to its potential participation in the Western Energy Imbalance Market, which will have implications in the next rate and tariff proceedings for fiscal years 2022-2023. The process will also address a number of rates and tariff issues unrelated to the Western EIM that need to be decided in the BP-22 Rate Case and TC-22 terms and conditions tariff proceeding. 
 
“BPA’s participation in the Western EIM requires BPA and its customers to address a variety of issues that will affect power and transmission rates and the transmission tariff,” said Tina Ko, acting vice president for Transmission Marketing and Sales. “For example, BPA will have to decide how it will allocate the costs and benefits associated with EIM participation in our rate case and ensure that our tariff addresses the new requirements for participation in the EIM.” 

BPA chose to discuss these topics in a single forum to provide a cohesive picture of the overlapping issues. The pre-hearing workshops provide customers and constituents an opportunity to discuss rates and tariff issues in advance of the formal rates and tariff proceedings when communications are subject to ex parte prohibitions. Ex parte limits the amount of discussion parties and BPA can have on issues outside of formal hearings. 
 
BPA kicked off this joint process at a workshop on Oct. 23. The goal of the first meeting was to review the issues that will be addressed and the relationship between BP-22, TC-22 and EIM. BPA is providing participants a two-week period for feedback following each workshop. Comments on the scope and the proposed schedule of monthly workshops are due Nov. 6 to techforum@bpa.gov. 

Workshops will be held through August 2020. The next workshop on Nov. 19 is expected to cover an update on the regional planning organization and EIM resource sufficiency. The formal rate and tariff proceedings are expected to start in November 2020. 

Details regarding the public process are here.