Or. Admin. Code § 345-023-0030 - System Reliability Rule for Electric Transmission Lines
The Council shall find that the applicant has demonstrated need for an electric transmission line that is an energy facility under the definition in ORS 469.300 if the Council finds that:
(1) The facility is needed to
enable the transmission system of which it is to be a part to meet firm
capacity demands for electricity or firm annual electricity sales that are
reasonably expected to occur within five years of the facility's proposed
in-service date based on weather conditions that have at least a 5 percent
chance of occurrence in any year in the area to be served by the
facility;
(2) The facility is
consistent with the minimum operating reliability criteria contained in the
Western System Coordinating Council Bulk Power Supply Program 1997-2007, dated
April 1, 1998, as it applies either internally or externally to a utility
system; and
(3) Construction and
operation of the facility is an economically reasonable method of meeting the
requirements of sections (1) and (2) compared to the alternatives evaluated in
the application for a site certificate.
(4) If the applicant chooses to demonstrate
need for a proposed electric transmission line under OAR
345-023-0030, they must submit
the following additional information:
(a)
Load-resource balance tables for the area to be served by the proposed
facility. In the tables, the applicant must include firm capacity demands and
existing and committed firm resources for each of the years from the date of
submission of the application to at least five years after the expected
in-service date of the facility;
(b) Within the tables described in (a), a
forecast of firm capacity demands for electricity and firm annual electricity
sales for the area to be served by the proposed facility. The applicant must
separate firm capacity demands and firm annual electricity sales into loads of
retail customers, system losses, reserve margins and each wholesale contract
for firm sale. In the forecast, the applicant must include a discussion of how
the forecast incorporates reductions in firm capacity demand and firm annual
electricity sales resulting from:
(A) Existing
federal, state or local building codes, and equipment standards and
conservation programs required by law for the area to be served by the proposed
facility;
(B) Conservation programs
provided by the energy supplier, as defined in OAR
345-001-0010;
(C) Conservation that results from responses
to price; and
(D) Retail customer
fuel choice;
(c) Within
the tables described in (a), a forecast of existing and committed firm
resources used to meet the demands described in (b). The applicant must
include, as existing and committed firm resources, existing generation and
transmission facilities, firm contract resources and committed new resources
minus expected resource retirements or displacement. In the forecast, the
applicant must list each resource separately;
(d) A discussion of the reasons each resource
is being retired or displaced if the forecast described in (c) includes
expected retirements or displacements;
(e) A discussion of the annual capacity
factors assumed for any generating facilities listed in the forecast described
in (c);
(f) A discussion of the
reliability criteria the applicant uses to demonstrate the proposed facility is
needed, considering the load carrying capability of existing transmission
system facilities supporting the area to be served by the proposed
facility;
(g) A discussion of
reasons why the proposed facility is economically reasonable compared to the
alternatives described below. In the discussion, the applicant must include a
table showing the amounts of firm capacity and firm annual electricity
available from the proposed facility and each alternative and the estimated
direct cost, as defined in OAR
345-001-0010, of the proposed
facility and each alternative. The applicant must include documentation of
assumptions and calculations supporting the table. The applicant must evaluate
alternatives to construction and operation of the proposed facility that
include, but are not limited to:
(A)
Implementation of cost-effective conservation, peak load management and
voluntary customer interruption as a substitute for the proposed
facility;
(B) Construction and
operation of electric generating facilities as a substitute for the proposed
facility;
(C) Direct use of natural
gas, solar or geothermal resources at retail loads as a substitute for use of
electricity transmitted by the proposed facility;
(D) Adding standard sized smaller or larger
transmission line capacity;
(h) The earliest and latest expected
in-service dates of the facility and a discussion of the circumstances of the
energy supplier, as defined in OAR
345-001-0010, that determine
these dates.
Notes
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 469.470 & 469.501
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 469.501
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
The Council shall find that the applicant has demonstrated need for an electric transmission line that is an energy facility under the definition in ORS 469.300 if the Council finds that:
(1) The facility is needed to enable the transmission system of which it is to be a part to meet firm capacity demands for electricity or firm annual electricity sales that are reasonably expected to occur within five years of the facility's proposed in-service date based on weather conditions that have at least a 5 percent chance of occurrence in any year in the area to be served by the facility;
(2) The facility is consistent with the applicable mandatory and enforceable North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Reliability Standards in effect as of September 18, 2015 as they apply either internally or externally to a utility system; and
(3) Construction and operation of the facility is an economically reasonable method of meeting the requirements of sections (1) and (2) compared to the alternatives evaluated in the application for a site certificate.
Notes
Stat. Auth.: ORS 469.470 & 469.501
Stats. Implemented: ORS 469.501