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Sue, et.al.,
=20 The Washington Office may have more detail, but based on a little readi= ng I did this morning, I think the answers to Sue's questions are as follow= s: DOE has commissioned a study (NTGS 2001) as part of addressing the transmis= sion issues raised in the National Energy Policy (NEP) released in May, "On= e of the recommendations directed to the Secretary of Energy to examine the= benefits of establishing a national electrical grid, identifying major tra= nsmission bottlenecks and remedies to remove them." It is not clear from m= y reading whether the study team is internal to DOE or if a contractor is i= nvolved; I suspect a combination. The workshops are scheduled to collect c= omments from industry, state government, environmental groups, etc. (the ub= iquitous stakeholders). The NTGS 2001 is accepting both oral and written statements, with a comment= portal on their website with recommendations and comments received through= October 10, 2001. A transcript of the proceedings of the workshops is to = be published. No other documents are mentioned on the website, however, I = expect that a final report to "...recommend regulatory and market based app= roaches that will stimulate new investment in our interstate bulk power tra= nsmission system". The goal of the study is for the respond to the NEP directive so the Secret= ary of Energy is the apparent decision maker. The NTGS will no doubt identify much the same information as that done for = the Western Governor's Association (WGA) during the past summer. The major= physical constraints in the systems are well known, so the key questions a= re: (1) how is investment to be made going forward and (2) what will be don= e to facilitate siting of needed transmission. The first of these question= s cannot be fully resolved until the future structure of the industry is kn= own. This in turn means the RTO debate must be resolved. The NTGS's goals= are best served by RTO formation -- the larger the better-- so RTOs format= ion should be boosted by this effort. At the same time, many states are res= isting the Big 5 RTO vision of West, Midwest, NE, SE & Texas RTOs covering = the whole country. The states also care deeply about the second issue, nam= ely should the siting become a Federal responsibility as it is in gas pipel= ines or should regional process be developed by the states? I think most s= tates acknowledge (I know they do in the West) that transmission siting nee= ds to look beyond state borders, but governors and legislatures are loathe = to cede this authority to Washington DC. Linda, Ray or Sarah, if you have better information please correct my suppo= sitions. We also ought to discuss the positions we should take on these ma= tters in making comments at the workshops. I am attaching the information = I submitted for the WGA study. They do not address exactly the same points= as DOE's study issues, but perhaps they can serve as a possible starting p= oint for discussion. =20 =20 Steve =20 =20 =20 -----Original Message----- From: Nord, Sue=20 Sent: Monday, September 17, 2001 8:19 AM To: Nicolay, Christi L.; Shapiro, Richard; Steffes, James D.; Palmer, Mark = A. (PR); Robertson, Linda; Novosel, Sarah; Guerrero, Janel; Thome, Jennifer= ; Landwehr, Susan M.; Hueter, Barbara A. Cc: Walton, Steve; Perrino, Dave; Roan, Michael; Comnes, Alan Subject: RE: National Transmission Grid Workshops Planned=20 Sounds good. Please let me know if we can help coordinate the preparation = of our written and/or oral statements responding to the NTGS questions. Al= so, I have a few questions about the meetings: =20 Who is the NTGS?=20 Will they produce a document/recommendation based on the upcoming meetings?= =20 Who are the decisionmakers for that document/recommendation?=20 Where do you expect that document/recommendation will fit into the overall = discussions around RTOs? =20 -----Original Message----- From: Nicolay, Christi L.=20 Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 10:59 AM To: Nord, Sue; Shapiro, Richard; Steffes, James D.; Palmer, Mark A. (PR); R= obertson, Linda; Novosel, Sarah; Guerrero, Janel; Thome, Jennifer Cc: Walton, Steve; Perrino, Dave; Roan, Michael; Comnes, Alan Subject: RE: National Transmission Grid Workshops Planned=20 It would seem that Enron would want to participate in these workshops for t= he National Transmission Grid Study 2001 (if RTO policy group, Janel/Sue th= inks it makes sense). I think Mike Roan would go to Detroit, Mike or I wou= ld go to Atanta and Steve W, Dave P. or Alan would go to Phoenix. -----Original Message----- From: Nord, Sue=20 Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 9:53 AM To: Shapiro, Richard; Steffes, James D.; Palmer, Mark A. (PR); Nicolay, Chr= isti L.; Robertson, Linda; Novosel, Sarah; Guerrero, Janel; Thome, Jennifer Subject: FW: National Transmission Grid Workshops Planned=20 =20 -----Original Message----- From: Thome, Jennifer=20 Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 9:23 AM To: Nord, Sue Cc: Guerrero, Janel Subject: National Transmission Grid Workshops Planned=20 Sue: Not sure who would be interested in these workshops from the RTO group (if = they are not already aware of these). Note that these workshops will inclu= de discussion on RTOs and are taking place at the end of this month in thre= e cities. More info. is at <http://tis.eh.doe.gov/ntgs/workshops.html<; NGI's Power Market Today=20 published : September 14, 2001 National Transmission Grid Workshops Planned=20 When President Bush unveiled his National Energy Policy (NEP) in May, the p= lethora of recommendations included a proposal to establish a national elec= tricity grid. Now, as the plan moves forward, three workshops are scheduled= this month to give all stakeholders a chance to participate in the Nationa= l Transmission Grid Study 2001 (NTGS). The workshops, set for Detroit on Se= pt. 24, Atlanta on Sept. 26 and Phoenix on Sept. 28, are expected to lay th= e foundation for a proposed transmission super highway.=20 As the NTGS sees it, wholesale electricity market competition has changed t= he way the U.S. electric grids are used. Transmission systems that historic= ally were used to move power within small utility service territories are n= ow frequently "stressed to their limits" as large blocks of power are moved= on a regional basis. The new patterns of power flow, higher electricity de= mand and a lack of investment has led to major transmission congestion acro= ss the country.=20 "Transmission investments go far beyond acquiring rights-of-way and buildin= g new power lines," according to the NTGS. "State-of-the-art metering and t= elemetry, upgrading the control centers computing capabilities and installi= ng new technology will also be necessary if consumers are to fully realize = the efficiency gains from competitive wholesale electric markets."=20 Could the entire U.S. electricity grid be operated as one integrated whole = or a few large integrated markets? If it was an integrated whole or a few l= arge markets, how could officials assure the reliability of a national grid= ? Those are just a couple of the questions participants will attempt to ans= wer during the workshop sessions.=20 "Removing major transmission bottlenecks will help unleash the economic ben= efits that are achieved through efficient and competitive electricity marke= ts," according to the NTGS. But how to remove the bottlenecks still remains= the biggest dilemma of all. Investment barriers, seen as keys to the puzzl= e, include a lack of regional integrated planning, difficulty in siting, an= d uncertainty regarding investment risks and returns.=20 Basically, the NTGS has identified several issues that will be covered in t= he all-day workshops including: transmission planning and new capacity need= s; transmission siting and permitting; business models for transmission inv= estment and operation; operation of interconnected transmission systems; re= liability management and oversight; and new transmission technologies.=20 Within the transmission planning issue, participants will discuss appropria= te measures and consideration of reliability and commerce along with siting= and environmental effects. Other planning issues include integration of pl= anning for transmission, generation and demand-side management programs and= the role of new technologies to reduce the need for large facilities. Plan= ning how new transmission facilities affect the ability of some generators = to artificially raise market prices for energy also will be discussed.=20 Siting and permitting issues will include input on options to establish reg= ional or federal siting institutions with the authority to obtain rights-of= -way for new projects as well as the options to improve existing state-base= d regimes. Business model issues will include the political feasibility of = choices for Regional Transmission Organizations as well as their effects on= market efficiency, system reliability, operational efficiency, transmissio= n access and interconnection policies, investment and innovation and regula= tory oversight.=20 Workshop participants also will discuss who should make the decisions about= reliability and the technical and economic bases for making decisions, alo= ng with who should take the risks. "The restructured industry will require = a more open and inclusive process for establishing mandatory standards and = monitoring and enforcing compliance," according to the NTGS.=20 One way to solve many of the problems will be through new transmission tech= nologies. A major part of the workshops will be to learn the capability and= cost of new technologies that could improve the operation of the transmiss= ion system, along with options available to support the development and dep= loyment of new technologies in the current restructuring period.=20 The Detroit workshop, set for Sept. 24, will be held at the Detroit Marriot= t Romulus at Metro Airport, 30559 Flynn Dr., Romulus. The Atlanta workshop,= set for Sept. 26, will be held at the Hyatt Regency, 265 Peachtree St. NE.= The Phoenix workshop will be Sept. 28 at the Phoenix Airport Marriott. All= three workshops will begin at 9 a.m. and adjourn by 4 p.m.=20 For those unable to participate in a workshop session, the NTGS also will o= ffer an opportunity for non-registrants to make recommendations, with a tra= nscript of the proceedings for each workshop available. Recommendations and= comments also will be accepted through Oct. 10 by the NTGS.=20 To learn more about the workshops or to register, contact NTGS's Zead Hadda= d at (202) 586-2577 or by e-mail at zead.haddad@hd.doe.gov. For technical q= uestions about the study, contact Paul Carrier at (202) 586-5659 or send an= e-mail to paul.carrier@hq.doe.gov. The registration form is available onli= ne at <http://tis.eh.doe.gov/ntgs/workshops.html<;.
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