Press Releases
Articles
April 23, 2009: Message from the CEO
Author: Jon Kaake
You don’t have to read far in this edition of GridLines to realize most of the articles are connected by a common thread: wind integration. From the Joint Initiative to WECC’s variable generation effort to a new study team, developing tools to integrate wind has risen quickly to the top of ColumbiaGrid’s agenda. Read full article >>
April 23, 2009: Meet Our Participants: Chelan PUD
Author: ColumbiaGrid Staff
Our spotlight for this edition of GridLines lands on a public utility district in central Washington that owns the oldest hydroelectric dam on the Columbia River. Chelan County PUD, headquartered in Wenatchee, was formed in 1936, three years after Rock Island Dam began producing power. Today the PUD provides water, wastewater and fiber-optic services, in addition to serving about 47,000 electricity customers. Read full article >>
April 23, 2009: JI Makes Case for Dynamic Scheduling
Author: ColumbiaGrid Staff
The Joint Initiative infrastructure strike team tipped out a proposal for the flexible application of a Dynamic Scheduling System (DSS) this month and is looking for shows of interest to move to the next stage of development. “Agreements of Interest” are due May 8, with final participant agreements and a contract award planned for June 30. Read full article >>
April 23, 2009: Board Endorses Biennial Plan
Author: ColumbiaGrid Staff
ColumbiaGrid wrapped up its 2009 Biennial Transmission Expansion Plan earlier this year, with board approval and adoption. The 10-year plan, a first for ColumbiaGrid, addresses two major transmission projects and highlights areas on the grid that will require upgrades in the future. Staff wasted no time getting an update under way; a draft of the first step in the update process, the 2009 System Assessment, is due out by the end of June. Read full article >>
April 23, 2009: CG and NTTG Dig Deep into Integration
Author: ColumbiaGrid Staff
ColumbiaGrid and NTTG have formed a study group to delve into details of operations and planning that support connecting wind generation to the grid. In a collaboration spawned by the JI and the Wind Integration Forum, the two will look into potential constraints on dynamic scheduling, as well as new planning methodologies that are geared to variable resources. Read full article >>
April 23, 2009: VG Spurs New Look at Old Standards
Author: ColumbiaGrid Staff
Load following, regulation, energy balancing and reserves, all are familiar issues for transmission operators. But the influx of variable resources, like wind and solar, have amplified the challenges. ColumbiaGrid’s Vice President Paul Arnold is in the thick of WECC’s effort – the Variable Generation Subcommittee (VGS) – to explore whether existing reliability standards and business practices are adequate for the new world of variable generation. Read full article >>
June 05, 2008: From the Desk of CEO Jon Kaake
Author: Jon Kaake
ColumbiaGrid’s 2008 System Assessment report is a major achievement on the road to our biennial transmission plan. In addition to weaknesses in the transmission system, the assessment underscored the value of a unified regional planning process. Read full article >>
June 05, 2008: System Assessment Complete; Study Teams Formed
Author: ColumbiaGrid Staff
ColumbiaGrid put finishing touches on a system assessment study in May and has convened study teams to address multi-system issues in North downtown Seattle, the Olympic Peninsula, and in the mid-Columbia area. Read full article >>
June 05, 2008: Uprate to Canada Under Study
Author: ColumbiaGrid Staff
ColumbiaGrid and BC Transmission Corporation (BCTC) have teamed up to study the potential for increasing the south-to-north rating of the transmission system between the Northwest and British Columbia. Read full article >>
June 05, 2008: Rolling on Redispatch
Author: ColumbiaGrid Staff
Stepping ahead from its 2007 reliability studies, ColumbiaGrid is discussing ideas for redispatch that would match buyers and sellers of redispatch service and provide a technical platform to route signals that move generation among control areas. Read full article >>
June 05, 2008: Meet Our Participants: BPA
Author: ColumbiaGrid Staff
The featured participant in this edition of GridLines hardly needs an introduction. The Bonneville Power Administration has been a fixture in the Northwest for over 70 years. One of ColumbiaGrid’s original members, BPA owns and operates over 15,100 circuit miles of high-voltage transmission line and related facilities, including 259 substations. Read full article >>
