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Published: December 03, 2021
Third Amended and Restated Order 1000 Functional Agreement
ColumbiaGrid’s Stakeholders and Interested Parties: On October 22, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“Commission”) conditionally accepted, subject to revision, the portions of the Second Amended and Restated Order 1000 Functional Agreement (“Agreement”) that were included in the jurisdictional transmission providers’ (i.e. Avista Corporation, MATL LLP, and Puget Sound Energy) Attachment K’s of their Open Access Transmission Tariffs (OATT’s). The Commission further directed the jurisdictional transmission providers to file a revised Agreement, incorporating the Commission’s directives, with the Commission within 30 days of the ruling.
On November 23, the jurisdictional transmission providers made their compliance filings to comply with the October 22 Commission ruling. A combined notice of filings can be found at http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20151123-3032 and includes docket numbers:
MATL LLP – (ER13-836-006)
Puget Sound Energy – (ER13-99-007 / ER15-429-003)
“With the most recent round of modifications to the Agreement, we are hopeful that the Commission will determine that we now have a fully conforming regional Order 1000 planning process to go along with our conforming interregional Order 1000 process, which was accepted by the Commission earlier this year. It has been a long regulatory process, however, the diligence and collaboration among ColumbiaGrid and its planning parties has developed a well-structured Order 1000 process,” said Patrick Damiano, ColumbiaGrid’s president and CEO. “Despite not having final approval from the Commission on all aspects of the Agreement’s regional Order 1000 planning components, ColumbiaGrid has been providing regional and interregional Order 1000 transmission planning since January of this year. Order 1000 transmission planning is another example of how ColumbiaGrid is fulfilling its mission in providing services that help our Members and planning parties solve complex issues related to grid planning and expansion.”
Background: The Commission issued its final rule Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation by Transmission Owning and Operating Public Utilities, Order No. 1000, on July 21, 2011, which required the jurisdictional transmission providers that are parties to the PEFA to make certain changes to the transmission planning and cost allocation provisions of their respective planning attachment in their OATT. These jurisdictional transmission providers submitted their corresponding compliance filings, including revisions to PEFA, on October 11, 2012. On June 20, 2013, the Commission directed additional revisions to the open access transmission tariffs of the jurisdictional transmission providers and conditionally accepted the proposed revisions to the PEFA, subject to further revisions. Compliance with the Commission’s directives in the June 20, 2021 order necessitated the development of the Order 1000 Functional Agreement by and among the jurisdictional transmission providers who filed their compliance letters with the Commission by December 17, 2013. Compliance with the Commission’s directives in the September 18, 2014, order necessitated the development of the First Amended and Restated Order 1000 Functional Agreement by and among the jurisdictional transmission providers who filed their compliance letters with the Commission by November 17, 2014. Compliance with the Commission’s directives in the May 14, 2015, order necessitated the development of the Second Amended and Restated Order 1000 Functional Agreement by and among ColumbiaGrid and the jurisdictional transmission providers, who filed their compliance letters with the Commission by June 15, 2015. Compliance with the Commission’s directives in the October 22, 2015, order necessitated the development of the Third Amended and Restated Order 1000 Functional Agreement, by and among ColumbiaGrid and the jurisdictional transmission providers, who filed their compliance letters with the Commission by November 23, 2015.
ColumbiaGrid, a non-profit membership corporation, was formed in 2006 to improve the operational efficiency, reliability, and planned expansion of the northwest transmission grid. The members are Avista Corp., Bonneville Power Administration, Chelan County PUD, Grant County PUD, Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light, Snohomish County PUD and Tacoma Power. Cowlitz PUD, Douglas County PUD, and MATL LLP are non-member participants in grid expansion planning.
