FERC Denies Rehearing Of Order No. 1000

Pre-Order No. 1000 transmission planning and cost-allocation requirements are inadequate and a possible threat to the development of efficient or cost-effective transmission.

On May 17, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) issued Order No. 1000-A, upholding its Order No. 1000 reforms to transmission planning and cost allocation.1 In Order No. 1000-A, the Commission (1) upheld the minimum criteria that a regional and interregional transmission planning process must satisfy, and reiterated general principles for cost allocation; (2) upheld its decision to remove from Commission-approved tariffs and agreements any federal right of first refusal for transmission facilities selected in a regional or interregional transmission plan for purposes of cost allocation; and (3) did not alter or otherwise extend the deadlines for Transmission Providers to submit compliance filings implementing Order No. 1000. Accordingly, each public utility Transmission Provider must submit a regional Order No. 1000 compliance filing by October 11, 2012. Compliance filings for interregional transmission coordination and interregional cost allocation are due on April 11, 2013.

Background

In July 2011, the Commission issued Order No. 1000 for the purpose of reforming its electric transmission planning and cost-allocation requirements applicable to Transmission Providers. The Commission stated that Order No. 1000 was necessary in order to address deficiencies in transmission planning and cost allocation that it identified following its issuance of Order No. 890.2

The directives set forth in Order No. 1000 are designed to achieve two goals: (1) ensure that transmission planning processes at the regional and interregional levels consider and evaluate, on a nondiscriminatory basis, possible transmission alternatives that can meet transmission needs more efficiently and cost-effectively, and (2) ensure that the costs of transmission solutions chosen to meet regional and interregional transmission needs are allocated fairly to those who receive benefits from them.

Decision

The Commission denied the requests for rehearing of Order No. 1000 in all respects. Further, the Commission declined to make any changes to the regulatory text promulgated in Order No. 1000. Nevertheless, in Order No. 1000-A the Commission does address its jurisdiction to impose the requirements in Order No. 1000 and clarifies several notable issues raised in the parties' requests...