Midwest grid operators in the US have a $1.7bn plan to fix the interconnection backlog
(Image by Couleur from Pixabay)
Interconnection backlogs are creating headaches for just about everyone involved. So how much is being done about it?
If two Midwest grid operators get their say, about $1.7 billion worth, at least.
The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) have requested permission from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to allow the two regional transmission operators (RTOs) to implement a $1.7 billion transmission buildout plan to address the interconnection backlog.
In their filing with FERC, the RTOs said their generator interconnection queues continue to experience “unprecedented” levels of interconnection requests. Both have undertaken efforts to address the backlog, including through reforms to the interconnection study and affected system study process — but that wasn’t enough, the RTOs argue. In their filing, the RTOs have requested permissions in their tariffs to implement portfolios from the Joint Targeted Interconnection Queue (JTIQ) framework.
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In 2020, SPP and MISO announced plans to collaborate on a year-long transmission study to identify transmission projects with comprehensive, cost-effective, and efficient upgrades. Both RTOs aimed to find solutions to generation interconnection challenges customers experience in areas where boundaries, or seams, connect.
The RTOs identified an area of particular concern: when a generator seeks to interconnect to one of the RTOs, but the “elongated seams” between SPP and MISO causes impacts that necessitate upgrades to the other RTO’s system.
Ultimately, the study resulted in a five-project portfolio (shortened from seven) that serves as the basis for their request: JTIQ Portfolio #1. This $1.7 billion plan is the product of an “unprecedented, innovative, and proactive” collaboration between SPP and MISO, the RTOs said. Through the framework, the RTOs hope to implement a more efficient and cost-effective alternative to affected system studies. The RTOs argue the portfolio could enable the interconnection of 28 to 53 GW of new generator interconnection projects near the SPP-MISO seam.
Under the JTIQ framework, the RTOs argue they could develop a portfolio of backbone network upgrades in both regions that could facilitate the interconnection of “numerous” MW of new generation in the combined SPP and MISO footprints. JTIQ Portfolio #1, would address the limited availability of transmission capacity on the SPP-MISO seam that the RTOs argue is currently hindering the development of generation resources seeking interconnection in that area.
JTIQ Portfolio #1 was selected by the Department of Energy (DOE) for a substantial grant that was conditionally awarded under the Grid Resilience and Innovative Partnerships (GRIP) program. However, in order to implement JTIQ and receive federal funding, revisions to the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) and each of the RTO’s regional transmission tariffs will be required, the RTOs said. SPP and MISO are in the process of gaining FERC approval for these changes.
In June, FERC specifically called out SPP and MISO, among other grid operators, when it ordered regional transmission organizations to respond to its finding that transmission utilities profiting from generator-backed interconnection upgrades “appears to be unjust.”
FERC said existing open access transmission tariffs in those regions are allowing transmission owners to profit from network upgrades that are triggered by, and eventually paid for, by interconnecting generators. Transmission owners may “unilaterally elect” to cover upfront costs for interconnection upgrades only to recoup those expenses, plus a rate of return, from the generator.
That cost recovery framework “May increase the costs of interconnection service without corresponding improvements to that service,” FERC said, “And may result in undue discrimination among interconnection customers.” FERC added that the “initial funding” process allows transmission owners to assume no risk in owning, operating, and maintaining network upgrades.
JTIQ Portfolio #1 projects
Bison Hankinson – Big Stone South 345 kV (MISO)
The Bison – Hankinson – Big Stone South project consists of adding two 345/230 kV transformers at the existing Hankinson 230 kV substation, building seventy-two miles of a new 345 kV transmission line connecting the Hankinson 345 kV substation to the Bigstone South 345 kV substation, and building a seventy-five mile new 345 kV transmission line connecting the Hankinson 345 kV substation to the Bison 345 kV substation.
Lyons Co – Lakefield 345 kV (MISO)
The Lyons Co – Lakefield project consists of building an 80 mile new 345 kV transmission line connecting between the Lyon County 345 kV substation and the Lakefield 345 kV substation.
Raun – S3452 345/161 kV (MISO – SPP)
The Raun – S3452 345/161 kV project consists of building a new 345/161 kV double circuit line from Raun to S1252 north of Omaha, NE and expanding the S1252 substation to accommodate the new 345 kV line. This double circuit line would replace the existing Raun – Tekamah – S1226 161 kV line and add a new circuit from Raun to the Omaha Metro 345 kV system. This project also includes a rebuild of the S1209 – S1231 161 kV lines within the city of Omaha.
Auburn – Hoyt 345 kV (SPP)
The Auburn – Hoyt 345 kV project consists of building a new 345 kV line from the Hoyt 345 kV substation to a new Auburn substation near the Cooper substation tapping the Cooper – Mark Moore 345 kV line in Nebraska.
Sibley 345 kV Bus Reconfiguration (SPP)
The Sibley 345 kV Bus Reconfiguration project consists of rebuilding and expanding the Sibley 345 kV substation to protect against a single North American Electric Reliability Corporation planning event that causes the outage of two of the four existing 345 kV lines connecting to the Sibley substation.
Originally published by Sean Wolfe on power-grid.com
