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[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 218 (Thursday, November 10, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70122-70123]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29189]

[[Page 70122]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Plan for Conduct of 2012 Electric Transmission Congestion Study

AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, 
Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of regional workshops and request for written comments.

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SUMMARY: Section 216(a)(1) of the Federal Power Act (FPA) requires the 
Department of Energy (Department or DOE) to complete a study of 
electric transmission congestion every three years. DOE issued its 
first ``National Electric Transmission Congestion Study'' (Congestion 
Study) in August 2006 and the second early in 2010. The Department is 
now initiating preparations for the 2012 Congestion Study, and seeks 
comments on what publicly-available data and information should be 
considered, and what types of analysis should be performed to identify 
and understand the significance and character of transmission 
congestion. DOE will host four regional pre-study workshops in early 
December 2011 to receive input and suggestions concerning the study. 
DOE expects to release a draft of the study in 2012 for a 60-day 
comment period. After reviewing and considering the comments received, 
DOE will publish a final version of the study. Interested persons may 
submit comments in response to this notice in the manner indicated in 
the ADDRESSES section.

DATES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section III. Pre-Study Workshops 
for workshop dates and locations. DOE recognizes that some commenters 
may wish to draw upon or direct us to studies or analyses that are now 
in process. DOE requests that commenters submit such materials as they 
become available, but no later than January 31, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments to http://energy.gov/oe/congestion-study-2012, or by mail to the Office of Electricity Delivery 
and Energy Reliability, OE-20, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585. The following electronic 
file formats are acceptable: Microsoft Word (.doc), Corel Word Perfect 
(.wpd), Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), Rich Text Format (.rtf), plain text 
(.txt), Microsoft Excel (.xls), and Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt). The 
Department intends to use only data that is publicly available for this 
study. Accordingly, please do not submit information that you believe 
is or should be protected from public disclosure. DOE is responsible 
for the final determination concerning disclosure or nondisclosure of 
information submitted to DOE and for treating it in accordance with the 
DOE's Freedom of Information regulations (10 CFR 1004.11). All comments 
received by DOE regarding the 2012 Congestion Study will be posted on 
http://energy.gov/oe/congestion-study-2012 for public review.

    Note: Delivery of the U.S. Postal Service mail to DOE continues 
to be delayed by several weeks due to security screening. DOE 
therefore encourages those wishing to comment to submit their 
comments electronically by email. If comments are submitted by 
regular mail, the Department requests that they be accompanied by a 
CD or diskette containing electronic files of the submission.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Meyer, DOE Office of Electricity 
Delivery and Energy Reliability, (202) 586-1411, 
david.meyer@hq.doe.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-58) (EPAct) added 
several new provisions to the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824p) (FPA), 
including FPA section 216. FPA section 216(a) requires the Secretary of 
Energy to conduct a study of electric transmission congestion within 
one year from the date of enactment of EPAct and every three years 
thereafter. The 2006 and 2009 Congestion Studies reviewed congestion 
nationwide except for the portion of Texas covered by the Electricity 
Reliability Council of Texas, to which FPA section 216 does not apply. 
The 2012 Congestion Study will be of a similar scope. FPA section 
216(a) requires the congestion study be conducted in consultation with 
affected States. Also, in exercising its responsibilities under Section 
216, DOE is required to consult regularly with the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (FERC), any appropriate regional entity referred 
to in FPA section 215, i.e., the regional electric reliability 
organizations,\1\ and Regional Transmission Organizations approved by 
FERC.
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    \1\ The regional reliability organizations under FPA section 215 
are the Florida Reliability Coordinating Council, the Midwest 
Reliability Organization, the Northeast Power Coordinating Council, 
Reliability First Corporation, SERC Reliability Corporation, the 
Southwest Power Pool, the Texas Regional Entity (TRE), and the 
Western Electricity Coordinating Council.
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    In preparing the 2009 Congestion Study, the Department gathered 
historical congestion data obtained from existing studies prepared by 
regional reliability councils, regional transmission organizations 
(RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs), and regional planning 
groups. Unlike the 2006 Congestion Study, the Department did not 
conduct or support studies of projected congestion for the 2009 
Congestion Study. The Department did, however, direct the first study 
of publicly available historic congestion data in the Eastern 
Interconnection. As part of the data gathering, the Department held six 
public Regional Workshops and one public Technical Conference. DOE 
issued the 2009 Congestion Study in 2010 and requested comments within 
60 days.
    The 2009 Congestion Study reviewed congestion areas from the 2006 
Congestion Study. The two ``Critical Congestion Areas'' (i.e., areas 
where the current and/or projected effects of congestion are especially 
broad and severe) identified in 2006 were still determined to be areas 
of critical congestion: The Atlantic coastal area from metropolitan New 
York through northern Virginia (the Mid-Atlantic Critical Congestion 
Area), and southern California (the Southern California Critical 
Congestion Area). Two of the ``Congestion Areas of Concern'' (i.e., 
areas where a large-scale congestion problem exists or may be emerging 
but more information and analysis appear to be needed to determine the 
magnitude of the problem) identified in 2006 also remain areas of 
concern: The San Francisco Peninsula and the Seattle-Portland area. Two 
Congested Areas of Concern areas, New England and the Phoenix-Tucson 
areas, were found to have alleviated or made significant progress on 
alleviating congestion; therefore, the 2009 Congestion Study did not 
identify these areas as Congestion Areas of Concern. The 2009 
Congestion Study identified Conditional Constraint Areas focused on 
areas of potential renewable generation to satisfy requirements of the 
American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Conditional Constraint Areas 
were identified in a large area of the Western and Eastern 
Interconnections that could support wind (Midwest), solar (Southwest) 
and geothermal (Nevada-Oregon-Idaho-Utah) generation, and areas 
pertaining to off-shore wind on both the east and west coasts, the Gulf 
of Mexico and on the Great Lakes.

II. Plan for the 2012 Congestion Study

    The 2012 study will draw upon many of the same kinds of data, 
analyses and information as the earlier studies, with some additions. 
These sources may include, but are not limited to:

[[Page 70123]]

    [cir] Electricity market analyses, including locational marginal 
price (LMP) patterns.
    [cir] Reliability analyses and actions, including transmission 
loading relief (TLR) actions.
    [cir] Historic energy flows.
    [cir] Current and projected electric supply and generation plans.
    [cir] Recent, current and planned transmission and interconnection 
queues.
    [cir] Current and forecast electricity loads, including energy 
efficiency, distributed generation (DG) and demand response (DR) plans 
and policies.
    [cir] The location of renewable resources and state and regional 
policies with respect to renewable development.
    [cir] Projected impacts of current or pending environmental 
regulation on generation availability.
    [cir] Effects of recent or projected economic conditions on demand 
and congestion.
    [cir] Analytic results from the eastern and western 
interconnection-level planning studies undertaken with DOE support.
    [cir] Filings under FERC Order 890.

DOE intends to release a draft version of the 2012 Congestion Study in 
2012 for a 60-day comment period. After reviewing and considering the 
comments received, DOE will issue a final version of the study.

III. Pre-Study Workshops

    In December 2011, DOE will host four regional half-day pre-study 
workshops to receive and discuss input relevant to the 2012 Congestion 
Study, including comments on what publicly-available data should be 
considered to identify and understand the significance and character of 
transmission congestion. Each workshop will consist of panels of 
invited speakers who will present their views, followed by a discussion 
among the panelists led by DOE staff. Each workshop will begin at 9 
a.m. and end by 12:30 p.m.
    Workshops: The cities, dates, and locations for the technical 
workshops are:
    1. Philadelphia, PA, December 6, 2011, at the Philadelphia Airport 
Hilton, 4509 Island Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19153.
    2. St. Louis, MO, December 8, 2011, at the St. Louis Airport 
Hilton, 10330 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO 63134.
    3. Portland, OR, December 13, 2011, at the Sheraton Portland 
Airport Hotel, 8235 Northeast Airport Way, Portland, OR 97220.
    4. San Diego, CA, December 15, 2011, at the Sheraton San Diego 
Hotel & Marina, 1380 Harbor Island Drive, San Diego, CA 92101.
    Additional details about the workshops are available at http://energy.gov/oe/congestion-study-2012.
    Public Participation: The workshops will be open to the public, and 
will be simulcast over the Internet. Advance registration for the 
Webcasts is required by visiting http://www.iian.ibeam.com/events/ener001/26552/. A complete archive of each event will be on this Web 
site soon after the conclusion of the event, and will be downloadable 
in podcast format.
    Members of the public interested in offering oral comments at a 
pre-study workshop may do so on the day of the workshop, subject to the 
time available. Approximately one-half hour will be reserved for public 
comments. Time allotted per speaker will depend on the number who wish 
to speak but is not expected to exceed three minutes. Anyone who is not 
able to attend the workshop or has had insufficient time to present 
material is invited to submit a written statement in the manner 
indicated in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

    Note:  The Department will consult with the States and regional 
reliability organizations in the preparation of the 2012 Congestion 
Study. DOE recognizes that in addition to (or as an alternative to) 
participating in the regional pre-study workshops, some States or 
other organizations may wish to discuss congestion matters with the 
Department on a bilateral basis. DOE will reserve time at the sites 
of the regional workshops for such bilateral discussions, and it 
invites interested States or other organizations to contact the 
Department to identify mutually convenient times. In addition, the 
Department will maintain an ``open door'' policy, and will schedule 
congestion meetings at DOE headquarters upon request with States, 
reliability organizations, Regional Transmission Organizations, 
Independent System Operators, utilities, and other stakeholders.

IV. Comments in Response to This Notice

    All comments filed in response to today's notice should be marked 
``Re Preparation of the 2012 Congestion Study,'' and sent to the 
Department in the manner indicated in the ADDRESSES section of this 
notice. In written comments in response to this notice and at the 
regional workshops, DOE requests States, utilities, regional 
transmission organizations (RTOs), independent system operators (ISOs), 
and other stakeholders to describe changes in their respective areas 
since 2009 that affect the location, duration, frequency, magnitude, 
and significance of transmission congestion, including related 
transmission constraints. Special attention should be given to the 
question of how to gauge the magnitude or significance of congestion 
using publicly available data, including FERC 890 filings. In addition, 
DOE is particularly interested in comments that speak to the most 
appropriate and effective methods for distinguishing between the 
effects of technical limits on line loadings and possible contractual 
limits on the use of those same lines.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 4, 2011.
Patricia A. Hoffman,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy 
Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2011-29189 Filed 11-9-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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