Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 81 / Thursday, April 26, 2012 / Notices 24941 

1 Market-Based Rates for Wholesale Sales of 

Electric Energy, Capacity and Ancillary Services by 

Public Utilities, Order No. 697, FERC Stats. & Regs. 

¶ 31,252, at PP 882–893, App. D, clarified, 121 

FERC ¶ 61,260 (2007), at PP 9–10, App. D–1, order 

on reh’g, Order No. 697–A, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 

31,268, at Apps. D, D–1, and D–2, clarified, 124 

FERC ¶ 61,055, order on reh’g, Order No. 697–B, 

FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,285 (2008), order on reh’g, 

Order No. 697–C, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,291 

(2009), at PP 47–48 (amending in part App. D–2), 

order on reh’g, Order No. 697–D, FERC Stats. & 

Regs. ¶ 31,305 (2010), aff’d sub nom. Montana 

Consumer Counsel v. FERC, 659 F.3d 910 (9th Cir. 

2011). 

2Load-serving entities use transmission facilities 

owned and maintained by a transmission owner to 

secure energy and transmission service to serve the 

electrical demand and energy requirements of their 

end-use customers. 

3See Vantage Wind Energy LLC, Docket No. 

ER10–956–000 (May 26, 2010) (delegated letter 

order). 

4See Puget Sound Energy, Inc. Filing, Docket No. 

ER99–845–020 (filed Jun. 29, 2010). 

5 129 FERC ¶ 61,239 (2009). 

6Puget Sound Energy, Inc., 135 FERC ¶ 61,254 

(2011) (NW SIL Order). 

7See NW SIL Order, 135 FERC ¶ 61,254 at 

Appendix A. 

8We note that Puget accounted for these 

resources as part of its imports, which artificially 

increased the SIL values reported in Puget’s 

screens. Commission staff did not ask Puget to 

amend their screens, because Puget is a net 

purchaser and passes the screens in its balancing 

authority area irrespective of whether one applies 

the accepted net SIL values or the gross SIL values 

used by Puget. 

9Specifically, we refer to Puget’s Colstrip plant 

located in Montana and its firm power purchase 

agreements from Bonneville. This reporting by 

Puget did not affect Puget’s screen results. 

10Order No. 697, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,252, 

at PP 62, 399, 408, 440. 

[FR Doc. 2012–10058 Filed 4–25–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. ER10–956–003] 

Vantage Wind Energy LLC; Order 

Accepting Updated Market Power 

Analysis and Providing Direction on 

Submitting Studies 

Before Commissioners: Jon 

Wellinghoff, Chairman; Philip D. 

Moeller, John R. Norris, and Cheryl A. 

LaFleur. 

1. In this order, the Commission 

accepts an updated market power 

analysis filed by Vantage Wind Energy 

LLC (Vantage Wind). As discussed 

below, the Commission concludes that 

Vantage Wind continues to satisfy the 

Commission’s standards for marketbased rate authority. Vantage Wind’s 

next updated market power analysis 

must be filed according to the regional 

schedule adopted in Order No. 697.1

2. Additionally in this order, the 

Commission provides further direction 

on the performance of the indicative 

screens. In the future, when filing 

updated market power analyses with the 

Commission, filers that are load-serving 

entities should account for their remote 

generation and long-term firm purchases 

as described below.2

Background 

3. On December 20, 2010, Vantage 

Wind filed an updated market power 

analysis in compliance with the regional 

reporting schedule adopted in Order No. 

697 and pursuant to the Commission’s 

order granting Vantage Wind authority 

to sell electric energy, capacity, and 

ancillary services at market-based rates.3

In performing the indicative screens, 

Vantage Wind states that it relied on the 

updated market power analysis filed by 

Puget Sound Energy, Inc. (Puget).4

4. Vantage Wind owns and operates 

90 megawatts (MW) of wind-powered 

generation facilities located near Kittias 

County, Washington. 

5. Vantage Wind is an indirect, 

wholly-owned subsidiary of Vantage 

Wind Holdings LLC (Vantage Holdings). 

Vantage Wind states that Vantage Class 

B Holdings LLC (VCB Holdings), an 

indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of 

Invenergy Investment Company LLC 

(Invenergy Investment), owns the Class 

B membership interests in Vantage 

Holdings and is the managing member. 

Vantage Wind states that Mehetia, Inc. 

(Mehetia) owns the Class A membership 

interests in Vantage Holdings. Vantage 

Wind represents that the Class A 

membership interests held by Mehetia 

are passive interests, consistent with the 

interests found to be passive in AES 

Creative Resources, L.P.5

6. Invenergy Investment is a whollyowned subsidiary of Polsky Energy 

Investments LLC, which is indirectly 

owned and controlled by an individual. 

Vantage Wind states that through 

subsidiaries, Invenergy Investment is in 

the business of acquiring or developing, 

and owning and operating, electric 

generation facilities and associated 

interconnecting transmission facilities 

in the United States or abroad. 

7. Vantage Wind states that other than 

their interests in Vantage Wind, none of 

Polsky Energy or Invenergy Investment 

and their respective affiliates own or 

control electric generation or 

transmission assets located within the 

Puget balancing authority area. 

Invenergy Investment indirectly owns 

controlling interests in two companies 

that own generation in the Bonneville 

Power Administration balancing 

authority area, which is first-tier to the 

Puget balancing authority area. The two 

companies are Grays Harbor Energy 

LLC, which owns a 650 MW gas-fired 

generation facility, and Willow Creek 

Energy LLC, which owns a 72 MW 

wind-powered generation facility. 

Vantage Wind states that this generation 

is accounted for in its market power 

analysis. 

8. On June 17, 2011, the Commission 

issued an order accepting simultaneous 

transmission import limit (SIL) values 

for the Northwest region, including the 

Puget balancing authority area.6 In 

accepting Puget’s SIL values, 

Commission staff adjusted Puget’s SIL 

values to account for long-term firm 

transmission reservations by using data 

reported by Puget to derive a ‘‘net’’ SIL 

value for the Puget balancing authority 

area. This ‘‘net’’ SIL value is the 

accepted SIL value for that balancing 

authority area as set forth in the NW SIL 

Order.7 Puget’s screens, however, used 

the higher, ‘‘gross’’ SIL values originally 

filed by Puget.8 Additionally, Puget 

reported all of its remote generation 

resources and firm power purchases that 

Puget controls, as non-firm imports 

(Line D of the pivotal supplier screen 

and Line E of the market share screen).9

9. In Vantage Wind’s December 20, 

2010 Filing, Vantage Wind filed screens 

that utilized the ‘‘gross’’ SIL values that 

Puget used in its screens. Thus, Vantage 

Wind needed to revise its indicative 

screens so that its total imports are 

consistent with the Commission’s 

accepted SIL values for the Puget 

balancing authority area. 

10. On August 8, 2011, Vantage Wind 

filed revised pivotal supplier and 

wholesale share market screens as an 

amendment to its updated market power 

analysis to demonstrate that it continues 

to pass the indicative screens when the 

Commission-accepted SIL values for the 

Puget balancing authority area are 

applied. 

Notices and Responsive Pleadings 

11. Notice of Vantage Wind’s 

December 20, 2010 and August 8, 2011 

filings were published in the Federal 

Register, 75 FR 81,600 (2010) and 77 FR 

2518 (2012), with interventions or 

protests due on or before February 18, 

2011 and January 31, 2012. None was 

filed. 

Discussion 

Market-Based Rate Authorization 

12. The Commission allows power 

sales at market-based rates if the seller 

and its affiliates do not have, or have 

adequately mitigated, horizontal and 

vertical market power.10 As discussed 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
24942 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 81 / Thursday, April 26, 2012 / Notices 

11 Id. P 62. 

12 Id. PP 33, 62–63. 

13 Id. P 38. 

14Remote generation refers to any generation 

capacity owned by a load-serving entity that is 

located outside of the load-serving entity’s 

balancing authority area. 

15Order No. 697, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,252, 

at P 38. 

16Puget’s updated market power analysis was 

accepted on June 23, 2011. See Puget Sound Energy, 

Inc., Docket No. ER99–845–020 (Jun. 23, 2011) 

(delegated letter order). 

17Order No. 697, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,252 at 

P 408. 

18 Id. 

19 Id. 

below, we find that Vantage Wind 

satisfies the Commission’s standards for 

market-based rate authority. 

1. Horizontal Market Power 

13. The Commission has adopted two 

indicative screens for assessing 

horizontal market power: the pivotal 

supplier screen and the wholesale 

market share screen.11 The Commission 

has stated that passage of both screens 

establishes a rebuttable presumption 

that the applicant does not possess 

horizontal market power, while failure 

of either screen creates a rebuttable 

presumption that the applicant has 

horizontal market power.12

14. The Commission explained in 

Order No. 697 that in performing the 

indicative screens, uncommitted 

capacity is calculated by adding the 

total nameplate or seasonal capacity of 

generation owned or controlled through 

contract and firm purchases, less 

operating reserves, native load 

commitments and long-term firm 

sales.13 The Commission further 

explained that uncommitted capacity 

from a seller’s remote generation 14

should be included in the seller’s total 

uncommitted amounts.15

15. Vantage Wind performed 

indicative screen analyses for the Puget 

balancing authority area. Vantage Wind 

states that it relied on the updated 

market power analysis filed by Puget to 

demonstrate that Vantage Wind passes 

the pivotal supplier screen and the 

wholesale market share screen in the 

Northwest region.16

16. In its updated market power 

analysis, Puget accounted for both its 

remote generation from its Colstrip 

plant located in Montana and its firm 

power purchase agreements from 

Bonneville as Imported Power (Line D 

of the market share screen and the 

pivotal supplier screen) rather than as 

Installed Capacity (Line A of the market 

share screen and the pivotal supplier 

screen) or a Long-term Firm Purchase 

(Line B of the market share screen and 

the pivotal supplier screen), 

respectively. Consequently, the total SIL 

shown in Puget’s screens exceeded the 

net SIL value for the Puget balancing 

authority area as accepted by the 

Commission in the NW SIL Order. When 

Vantage Wind applied the Commissionapproved SIL values to its analysis 

without making any other adjustments 

to Puget’s screens, Vantage Wind 

appeared to fail the screens because 

Puget’s capacity was underreported. In 

applying the Commission accepted SIL 

values, Vantage Wind effectively underreported Puget’s capacity because some 

of Puget’s capacity was no longer 

reflected as imports due to the reduced 

SIL values. Further, when Vantage Wind 

accounted for Puget’s remote generation 

resources as non-affiliate imports, 

Vantage Wind’s resulting SIL values did 

not match the ‘‘net’’ SIL for the Puget 

balancing authority area that the 

Commission accepted in the NW SIL 

Order. 

17. Thus, although Puget’s incorrect 

allocation of both its remote generation 

and its firm power purchase agreements 

as Imported Power did not affect its 

screen results, it resulted in screen 

failures for a non-affiliate within the 

same region. 

18. Vantage Wind states that in its 

revised indicative screens, it adjusted 

the amounts identified as Pugetcontrolled resources located outside the 

Puget system. Vantage Wind states that 

instead of including these amounts as a 

component of unaffiliated import 

capacity, it is reporting these amounts 

as non-affiliate Long-Term Firm 

Purchases (Line M of the market share 

screen and Line F of the pivotal supplier 

screen) in its revised indicative screens. 

19. The Commission has reviewed 

Vantage Wind’s revised pivotal supplier 

and wholesale market share screens for 

the Puget balancing authority area, as 

revised by Vantage Wind to account for 

the proper treatment of remote 

generation and Long-term Firm 

Purchases. Specifically, Vantage Wind 

accounts for Puget’s remote generation 

as non-affiliated Long-term Firm 

Purchases (Line M of the market share 

screen and Line F of the pivotal supplier 

screen) in its revised indicative screens. 

We find that Vantage Wind passes the 

pivotal supplier screen and the 

wholesale market share screen in the 

Puget balancing authority area with 

market shares ranging from 8.6 to 15 

percent across the four seasons. 

20. Accordingly, we find that Vantage 

Wind satisfies the Commission’s 

requirements for market-based rates 

regarding horizontal market power. 

21. However, to prevent 

underreporting of load-serving entities’ 

capacity in future updated market 

power analyses, and thereby affecting 

the screen results for non-affiliates 

within the same region, the Commission 

provides direction on how load-serving 

entities filing market power studies 

should account for both remote 

generation resources and long-term firm 

power purchases from generation 

resources located outside their home 

balancing authority area when 

performing the indicative screens. 

Specifically, load-serving entities 

should add their share of remote 

generation to Installed Capacity (Line A 

of the market share screen and the 

pivotal market share screen) and the 

amount of any long-term firm purchases 

into Long-term Firm Purchases (Line B 

of the market share screen and the 

pivotal supplier screen) of the indicative 

screens, when load-serving entities have 

long-term firm transmission rights 

associated with these resources. Loadserving entities should not include these 

amounts in Imported Power (Line D of 

the market share screen and the pivotal 

supplier screen) unless these resources 

do not have long-term firm reservations 

or rights to import that power. 

2. Vertical Market Power 

22. In cases where a public utility, or 

any of its affiliates, owns, operates, or 

controls transmission facilities, the 

Commission requires that there be a 

Commission-approved open access 

transmission tariff (OATT) on file or 

that the seller has received waiver of the 

OATT requirement before granting a 

seller market-based rate authorization.17

Such waivers can be relied upon to 

satisfy the lack of transmission market 

power prong of the market-based rate 

criteria.18 If a seller that previously 

received waiver of the OATT 

requirement seeks to continue to rely on 

that waiver to satisfy the vertical market 

power part of the analysis, it must make 

an affirmative statement that it 

previously received such a waiver, that 

such waiver remains appropriate, and 

the basis for that claim.19

23. Vantage Wind states that it does 

not own or control transmission 

facilities, other than the limited 

interconnection facilities that it owns as 

part of its generation project to deliver 

its power to its power purchasers. 

Vantage Wind further states that none of 

Polsky Energy, Invenergy Investment or 

their affiliates own or control 

transmission facilities in the United 

States other than limited 

interconnection facilities that Invenergy 

Investment’s exempt wholesale 

generator subsidiaries (i) use to transmit 

their power from generation facilities 

that they own to their respective power 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 81 / Thursday, April 26, 2012 / Notices 24943 

20 Vantage Wind December 20 Filing at 10 (citing 

Grand Ridge Energy, LLC, 128 FERC ¶ 61,134 

(2009), Hardee Power Partners Limited, 125 FERC 

¶ 61,036 (2008), Wolverine Creek Goshen 

Interconnection, LLC, Docket No. ER06–267–000 

(Jan. 13, 2006) (delegated letter order); Hardee 

Power Partners Limited, 114 FERC ¶ 61,131 (2006)). 

21Order No. 697, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,252 at 

P 440. 

22 Id. P 447; Order No. 697–A, FERC Stats. & Regs. 

¶ 31,268 at P 176. 

23Order No. 697, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,252 at 

P 447. 

24 Id. P 446. 

25Revised Public Utility Filing Requirements, 

Order No. 2001, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,127, reh’g 

denied, Order No. 2001–A, 100 FERC ¶ 61,074, 

reh’g denied, Order No. 2001–B, 100 FERC 

¶ 61,342, order directing filing, Order No. 2001–C, 

101 FERC ¶ 61,314 (2002), order directing filing, 

Order No. 2001–D, 102 FERC ¶ 61,334 (2003). 

Attachments B and C of Order No. 2001 describe 

the required data sets for contractual and 

transaction information. Public utilities must 

submit EQRs to the Commission using the EQR 

Submission System Software, which may be 

downloaded from the Commission’s Web site at 

http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/eqr.asp. 

26The exact filing dates for these reports are 

prescribed in 18 CFR 35.10b (2011). Failure to file 

an EQR (without an appropriate request for 

extension), or failure to report an agreement in an 

EQR, may result in forfeiture of market-based rate 

authority, requiring filing of a new application for 

market-based rate authority if the applicant wishes 

to resume making sales at market-based rates. 

27Reporting Requirement for Changes in Status 

for Public Utilities with Market-Based Rate 

Authority, Order No. 652, FERC Stats. & Regs. 

¶ 31,175, order on reh’g, 111 FERC ¶ 61,413 (2005); 

18 CFR 35.42(a) (2011). 

28Order No. 697, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,252 at 

P 882. See Vantage Wind Energy, LLC, Docket No. 

ER10–956–000, at 2 (May 26, 2010) (delegated letter 

order). 

29 Id. P 853. 

purchasers or (ii) permit third parties to 

use but because of the discrete nature of 

such interconnection facilities have 

received waivers from the Commission 

of open access transmission 

requirements.20 Vantage Wind 

represents that such waivers remain 

appropriate because the facts and 

circumstances upon which they were 

originally granted have not changed. 

24. The Commission also considers a 

seller’s ability to erect other barriers to 

entry as part of the vertical market 

power analysis.21 The Commission 

requires a seller to provide a description 

of its ownership or control of, or 

affiliation with an entity that owns or 

controls, intrastate natural gas 

transportation, storage or distribution 

facilities; sites for generation capacity 

development; and physical coal supply 

sources and ownership of or control 

over who may access transportation of 

coal supplies (collectively, inputs to 

electric power production).22 The 

Commission also requires sellers to 

make an affirmative statement that they 

have not erected barriers to entry into 

the relevant market and will not erect 

barriers to entry into the relevant 

market.23 The Commission adopted a 

rebuttable presumption that the 

ownership or control of, or affiliation 

with any entity that owns or controls, 

inputs to electric power production 

does not allow a seller to raise entry 

barriers but will allow intervenors to 

demonstrate otherwise.24

25. With regard to other barriers to 

entry, Vantage Wind states that it does 

not, nor does Invenergy Investment, 

Polsky Energy or their affiliates, own or 

control in the United States: (i) 

Intrastate natural gas transportation, 

storage or distribution facilities or 

companies that own or control such 

facilities, or (ii) coal resources or 

transportation facilities or companies 

that own or control such things. 

Moreover, Vantage Wind states that it 

and its affiliates do not own or control 

sites located within the Puget balancing 

authority area that could be used to 

impose barriers to market entry by other 

wholesale power suppliers. Vantage 

Wind states that it owns or has land 

rights to the site for its generation 

facilities and that other affiliates of 

Invenergy Investment own, or may 

acquire in the future, certain property 

rights in land for the potential 

development of generation in places 

within in the United States including 

the Puget balancing authority area. 

26. Finally, consistent with Order No. 

697, Vantage Wind affirmatively states 

that it and its affiliates have not erected 

barriers to entry and will not erect 

barriers to entry in the relevant 

geographic market. 

27. Based on Vantage Wind’s 

representations, we find that Vantage 

Wind satisfies the Commission’s 

requirements for market-based rate 

authority regarding vertical market 

power. 

B. Reporting Requirements 

28. Consistent with the procedures 

that the Commission adopted in Order 

No. 2001, an entity with market-based 

rates must electronically file an Electric 

Quarterly Report (EQR) with the 

Commission containing: (1) A summary 

of the contractual terms and conditions 

in every effective service agreement for 

market-based power sales; and (2) 

transaction information for effective 

short-term (less than one year) and longterm (one year or longer) market-based 

power sales during the most recent 

calendar quarter.25 Public utilities must 

file EQRs no later than 30 days after the 

end of the reporting quarter.26

29. Additionally, Vantage Wind must 

timely report to the Commission any 

change in status that would reflect a 

departure from the characteristics the 

Commission relied upon in granting 

market-based rate authority.27

30. Vantage Wind must also file 

updated market power analyses for all 

regions in which it is designated as a 

Category 2 seller in compliance with the 

regional reporting schedule adopted in 

Order No. 697.28 The Commission 

reserves the right to require an updated 

market power analysis at any time.29

The Commission orders: 

(A) Vantage Wind’s updated market 

power analysis is hereby accepted for 

filing, as discussed in the body of this 

order. 

(B) Vantage Wind is hereby directed 

to file an updated market analysis for all 

regions in which it is designated as a 

Category 2 seller in compliance with the 

regional reporting schedule adopted in 

Order No. 697. 

(C) The Secretary is hereby directed to 

publish a copy of this order in the 

Federal Register. 

Issued April 23, 2012. 

By the Commission. 

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2012–10085 Filed 4–25–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 12778–004] 

Fall Creek Hydro, LLC; Notice of 

Application Accepted for Filing, 

Soliciting Motions To Intervene and 

Protests, Ready for Environmental 

Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, 

Recommendations, Preliminary Terms 

and Conditions, and Preliminary 

Fishway Prescriptions 

Take notice that the following 

hydroelectric application has been filed 

with the Commission and is available 

for public inspection. 

a. Type of Application: Original Major 

License. 

b. Project No.: 12778–004. 

c. Date filed: February 28, 2011. 

d. Applicant: Fall Creek Hydro, LLC. 

e. Name of Project: Fall Creek Dam 

Hydroelectric Project. 

f. Location: The proposed project 

would be constructed at the existing 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s (Corps) 

Fall Creek Dam located on Fall Creek 

near the towns of Springfield and 

Eugene in Lane County, Oregon. The 

project would occupy 6.53 acres of 

Federal lands managed by the Corps. 

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power 

Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)–825(r). 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES