Grid Reliability & Expansion Planning (Core Services Overview) Overview

ColumbiaGrid is one of the four U.S. regional transmission planning entities in the Western Interconnection. The mission of ColumbiaGrid’s grid expansion planning is to identify potential needs and to determine reasonable solutions, or mitigations, pertaining to the reliable long-term planning and use of the Members’ and Qualified Non-Member Parties interconnected transmission systems. In short, ColumbiaGrid’s core grid expansion planning process seeks to answer these fundamental questions:

What, Where, and When are the potential future reliability needs of the grid (i.e. independently assessing needs)?

What and Which cost-effective and efficient projects should be built to mitigate or solve the reliability needs (i.e. regional collaboration to develop solutions)?

Who should build, benefits from, and should pay for the projects (i.e. allocating costs)?

ColumbiaGrid's planning mission and process is defined and enabled by the Planning and Expansion Functional Agreement (“PEFA”) and works in conjunction with the regulatory overlay of the Order 1000 Functional Agreement to enable ColumbiaGrid’s Planning Parties to meet their respective FERC Order 890 or Order 1000 requirements.

Planning and Expansion Agreement

Order 1000 Agreement

Order 1000 Regional

Order 1000 Interregional

Timeframe: April 2007 - Ongoing

Status: Active

Lead Staff:
Patrick Damiano Contact