Virginia Administrative Code › Title 20 - PUBLIC UTILITIES AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS › Agency 5 - STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION › Chapter 320 - REGULATION GOVERNING TRANSFER OF TRANSMISSION OF ASSETS TO REGIONAL TRANSMISSION ENTITIES › Section 20VAC5-320-10 - Applicability and scope

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
These regulations are promulgated pursuant to the provisions
				  of the Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act (§ 56-576 et seq. of the Code
				  of Virginia), and they apply to any incumbent electric utility owning,
				  operating, controlling, or having an entitlement to transmission capacity
				  within the Commonwealth. Sections 56-577 and 56-579 of the Act require
				  Virginia's incumbent electric utilities to (i) join or establish regional
				  transmission entities (RTEs) by January 1, 2001, and (ii) seek the commission's
				  authorization to transfer their transmission assets to such RTEs.
Specifically, § 56-577 of the Code of Virginia requires that
				  on or before January 1, 2001, incumbent electric utilities owning, operating,
				  controlling, or having entitlement to transmission capacity join or establish
				  RTEs. The utilities are required to transfer the management and control of
				  their transmission systems to the RTEs, subject to the provisions of § 56-579
				  of the Code of Virginia.
Additionally, § 56-579 provides that no incumbent electric
				  utility shall transfer to any person any ownership, control, or operation of
				  any portion of any transmission system within the Commonwealth without
				  obtaining the commission's prior approval.
Finally, certain transfers of utility assets are subject to
				  the Utilities Transfers Act (§ 56-88 et seq. of the Code of Virginia).
In short, incumbent electric utilities that own, operate,
				  control or have entitlement to transmission capacity are subject to three
				  provisions:
(i) the obligation to join
				or establish an RTE,
(ii) the
				obligation to obtain commission approval before transferring ownership, control
				or operation to an RTE, and
(iii)
				obligations imposed by the Utilities Transfers Act. Although these provisions
				are distinct, they overlap.
In the interest of administrative efficiency, the commission
				  will utilize a single proceeding in which the utility seeks approval for a
				  proposed transfer under § 56-579 of the Code of Virginia and under the
				  Utilities Transfers Act. In that proceeding, the commission will determine
				  whether (i) the RTE to which the applicant proposes to transfer any ownership
				  or control of, or any responsibility to operate, any portion of its
				  transmission system satisfies the legislative criteria set forth in § 56-579 of
				  the Code of Virginia, and (ii) the transfer otherwise satisfies the provisions
				  of § 56-579 and the Utilities Transfers Act.
Accordingly, these regulations establish:
1. The elements of regional transmission
				entity structures essential to the public interest, to be applied by the
				commission in determining whether to authorize transfer of ownership or control
				from an incumbent electric utility to a regional transmission entity, all as
				required by § 56-579 of the Code of Virginia;
2. Filing requirements for entities that (i)
				are required to comply with the mandate of § 56-577 of the Code of Virginia
				that certain entities join or establish regional transmission entities, and
				(ii) seek the commission's permission to transfer control, ownership, or
				responsibility of or for transmission to a regional transmission entity
				pursuant to § 56-579 of the Code of Virginia and the Utilities Transfers Act;
				and
3. A schedule for such filings
				by the entities having obligations under § 56-577 of the Code of
				Virginia.