Southwest Power Pool Grows Network, Adds Colorado System Operator To Grid System
by October 1, 2015 12:56 pm 287 views
Southwest Power Pool (SPP) is expanding its fast-growing regional transmission network with the integration of a Colorado-based power marketer that provides a large volume of hydroelectric power to utilities across 15 states in central and Western U.S., the Little Rock-based grid operator announced Thursday (Oct. 1).
Lakewood, Colo.-based Western Area Power Administration’s Upper Great Plains Region, Basin Electric Power Cooperative and Heartland Consumers Power District successfully transferred functional control of the integrated transmission system to Southwest Power Pool at midnight on Wednesday, Western and SPP officials said.
Western, one of four power marketing administrators within the U.S. Department of Energy, began immediately operating in the regional transmission organization, officials said. This is the final step in achieving full membership in SPP, one of several FERC-regulated interstate grid operators responsible for moving electricity across the U.S.
“This major achievement demonstrates Western’s commitment to evolve our services in a changing energy frontier so we can continue to reliably, economically and securely serve our customers,” said Western Administrator and CEO Mark Gabriel. “We appreciate the spirit of cooperation, dedication and professionalism by SPP and the continued involvement and support of our customers during this transition.”
With the inclusion of the Integrated System, SPP’s footprint spans almost 575,000 square miles in all or parts of 14 states in the central U.S. and includes more than 800 generating plants, nearly 5,000 substations and about 56,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines. The inclusion of Western will add about 5,000 megawatts of peak demand and 7,600 megawatts of generating capacity, including a threefold increase in SPP’s current hydroelectric capacity. Western also represents the first federal power marketing administration to become a full RTO member.
“The successful integration of the Integrated System is a significant milestone for SPP as we prepare to celebrate our 75th anniversary in 2016,” said SPP President and CEO Nick Brown. “The IS further diversifies our membership with the addition of a federal agency and creates a more robust transmission network to meet the electrical demand across the region and efficiently operate a wholesale energy market.”
The decision to integrate into SPP meant Western would need to develop systems and tools to successfully operate in a Regional Transmission Operator (RTO) environment. The integration is the culmination of years of discussions and public involvement between Western’s members, SPP, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and customers, officials said.
Western’s owners have studied several forms of potential RTO participation since the 1990s. Beginning in 2001, the IS participants began to evaluate potential options of joining SPP, joining the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) or continuing operations on a stand-alone basis. These studies identified the option to join SPP as having the most benefit and the least risk. A public process began in November 2013 to hear comments from concerned parties, which resulted in approval to pursue membership in January 2014.
Western’s Upper Great Plains Region markets Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program – Eastern Division power and energy to preference customers in Montana east of the Continental Divide, North Dakota, South Dakota, western Minnesota and Iowa and eastern Nebraska. It also operates the Integrated Transmission System, which is owned by Western, Basin Electric Power Cooperative and Heartland Consumers Power District.