2016-31884. Application To Export Electric Energy; Southwest Power Pool, Inc.

AGENCY:

Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, DOE.

ACTION:

Notice of application.

SUMMARY:

Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (SPP or Applicant) has applied for authority to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada pursuant to section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act.

DATES:

Comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be submitted on or before February 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES:

Comments, protests, motions to intervene, or requests for more information should be addressed to: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Mail Code: OE-20, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0350. Because of delays in handling conventional mail, it is recommended that documents be transmitted by overnight mail, by electronic mail to [e-mail], or by facsimile to 202-586-8008.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Exports of electricity from the United States to a foreign country are regulated by the Department of Energy (DOE) pursuant to sections 301(b) and 402(f) of the Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7151(b), 7172(f)) and require authorization under section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824a(e)).

On November 14, 2016, DOE received an application from SPP for authority to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada on an emergency basis for five years using existing international transmission facilities owned by Basin Electric Power Cooperative. SPP is a FERC approved Regional Transmission Organization (RTO).

In its application, SPP states that Basin Electric, a utility currently holding an Export Authorization issued by the Department in EA-64, became a full transmission-owning member of SPP on October 1, 2015. Upon the October 1, 2015 integration of Basin Electric into SPP, SPP began administering transmission service over and assumed functional control of Basin Electric's transmission system, while Basin Electric retains actual ownership and operational control of its transmission facilities. Through Basin Electric's membership in SPP, electricity transmission transactions along Basin Electric's transmission facilities are now governed by SPP's Tariff. The electric energy that SPP proposes to export to Canada would be surplus energy in excess of SPP's load requirements. The existing international transmission facilities to be utilized by SPP have previously been authorized by Presidential permit PP-64 issued pursuant to Executive Order 10485, as amended, and are appropriate for open access transmission by third parties.

Procedural Matters: Any person desiring to be heard in this proceeding should file a comment or protest to the application at the address provided above. Protests should be filed in accordance with Rule 211 of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 385.211). Any person desiring to become a party to these proceedings should file a motion to intervene at the above address in accordance with FERC Rule 214 (18 CFR 385.214). Five copies of such comments, protests, or motions to intervene should be sent to the address provided above on or before the date listed above.

Comments and other filings concerning SPP's application to export electric energy to Canada should be clearly marked with OE Docket No. EA-434. An additional copy is to be provided directly to Matthew Harward, Attorney, Southwest Power Pool, Inc., 201 Worthen Drive, Little Rock, AR 72223 and Matthew J. Binette, Victoria M. Lauterbach, and Brett K. White, Wright & Talisman, P.C., 1200 G Street NW., Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005.

A final decision will be made on this application after the environmental impacts have been evaluated pursuant to DOE's National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures (10 CFR part 1021) and after a determination is made by DOE that the proposed action will not have an adverse impact on the sufficiency of supply or reliability of the U.S. electric power supply system.

Copies of this application will be made available, upon request, for public inspection and copying at the address provided above, by accessing the program Web site at http://energy.gov/​node/​11845,, or by emailing Angela Troy at [e-mail].

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 28, 2016.

Christopher Lawrence,

Electricity Policy Analyst, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.