US FERC OATT reform. Regulating for variable power

15-Feb-2007
The US FERC today adopted a final rule reforming its decade-old open-access transmission regulatory framework. This amendment will ensure that transmission service is provided on a nondiscriminatory and just and reasonable basis, as well as provide for more effective regulation and transparency in the operation of the transmission grid.

The good news for the North American wind industry is twofold and concerns both imbalance charges as well as transmission capacity pricing.

The rule reforms the pricing of energy and generator imbalances to require such charges to be related to the cost of correcting the imbalance, to encourage efficient scheduling behavior and to exempt variable generators, such as wind power producers, from higher imbalance charges in recognition of the special circumstances presented by such resources.

The reform also sees the Commission adopt a 'conditional-firm' component to long-term point-to-point service addressing situations in which firm service can be provided for most, but not all, hours of the requested time period. The rule also reforms the existing requirements for re dispatch service to ensure that the requirements are of greater use to transmission customers and are more consistent with reliable planning and operation of the system

FERC press release [details »]
FERC Order 890: Open Access Transmission Tariff (OATT) reform [details »]