About economic planning

FERC Order 890-A

In March 2008, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order 890-A took effect. As part of this order, FERC requires a coordinated, open, and transparent transmission planning process on both a local and regional level. To comply with these requirements, ATC submitted a compliance filing on Order 890-A that provides a timeline of actions to ensure that the economic planning process is both coordinated and open.

Annually, ATC will use a process with consistent timelines that combines stakeholder input, historical data, future line flow forecasts, and updated information on the electric system to identify transmission upgrades for economic evaluation.

Each year:

• During February, we’ll hold an initial stakeholder meeting to review the market congestion summary and potential fixes and to discuss economic study scenarios, drivers, ranges, and assumptions.
• By March 1, we’ll work with stakeholders to request and prioritize new/other economic studies and recommend study assumptions.
• By April 15 – we’ll identify preliminary areas of economic study, study assumptions and models and solicit further comments from stakeholders.
• By May 15 – we’ll finalize areas of economic study, study assumptions and models to be used in analysis.

ATC has developed the Congestion Severity Index for use in 2009 as the screening indicator to track locations on the transmission system where constraints to the delivery of economic energy exist.  The Congestion Severity Index combines the financial impact of constraints with the frequency of constraints.  The financial impact during an hour is the calculated theoretical maximum number of dollars paid into the market due to congestion on the constraint in question.  The sum total of the financial impacts for each hour during which the constraint occurs forms the basis of the Congestion Severity Index.  This information is used as a starting point in determining areas of the system where potential upgrades may be cost-effective. This data is combined with stakeholder input and ATC planning recommendations to identify a group of projects to study.

In the past, ATC used the shadow price (amount that congestion costs would be reduced if the transmission constraint were relieved by 1 MW) or the hours measure (frequency metric) to determine the relative severity of constraints.  Using these metrics, a list of the most severe market constraints in the Day Ahead and Real Time markets for 2007 is supplied in Tables ZS-5 and ZS-6, respectively.

ATC conducts analyses of the projects identified for study over several months' time and posts the key results, including the extent to which these savings offset project costs. When the expected benefits of a studied project are high enough to justify its costs, the process of developing it as a formal proposal is begun.

Studies will be performed and results shared with stakeholders over the course of the year. In addition, customers and stakeholders who would like to request specific economic studies can do so if they are willing to pay for the studies and are willing to have the results posted publicly.

2009 Meetings and materials

After consultation with and input from stakeholders, ATC has finalized the assumptions and list of projects to study in 2009.  The ATC futures matrix summarizes the assumptions that will be used to develop the economic planning models.  The following projects will be studied in 2009:

• North La Crosse-Spring Green-Cardinal 345 kV,

• Lore-Spring Green-Cardinal 345 kV,
• A combination of both of the two lines listed above,

• Genoa-North Monroe 765 KV, and

• Bain-Zion 345 kV

July meeeting (posted 06/09/09)

July 10, 2009 - 9:30 am - 2 pm RSVP requested

Meeting agenda (agenda and materials updated 6/10/09)

Agenda Item 1: Opening Remarks

Agenda Item 2: 2009 Futures Matrix Review

Agenda Item 3: Detail PROMOD Study Assumptions

Agenda Item 4: Projects to Study

Agenda Item 5: Regional Updates

Agenda Item 6: 10-Year Assessment Update

Agenda Item 7: Adjorn

March meeeting (posted 02/11/09)

March 6, 2009 - 9 am - 3 pm RSVP requested

Meeting agenda (agenda and materials updated 3/5/09)

6/10/09 - Update to Economic Planning Study Results

An adjustment was made to update an incorrect value for the 40-Year PV Savings of the Slow Growth Future with North La Crosse – Hilltop – Spring Green – Cardinal 345 kV Project.  Previously, this material was presented during the March 6, 2009 meeting – Agenda Item 1: Economic Planning Study Results. The updated value can be found on Slide 9 of the following presentation:

Agenda Item 1: Economic planning study results

Agenda Item 1: Supplemental information

Agenda Item 2: Economic metric comparisons

Agenda Item 3: Congestion review

Agenda Item 4: 2009 Futures: economic and reliability studies

Agenda Item 5: West Wisconsin study and UMTDI and RGOS update

Agenda Item 6: 2009 10-Year Assessment update

Agenda Item 6: Energy collaborative supplement

Stakeholder feedback from December 2008 meeting

Economic projects under consideration

• Bain-Zion 345 kV,
• North La Crosse-Hilltop-Spring Green-Cardinal 345 kV, and
• Lore-Spring Green-Cardinal 345 kV

2008 Meetings and materials

December meeting (posted 12/18/08)

December 18, 2008 - 9:30-11:30am

Web meeting/conference call

Meeting Agenda

Agenda item 1: Futures Review and Base Case Implementation

Agenda item 2: Base Case Imports and Tie Line Flows

Agenda item 3: Preliminary Base Case and Projects Results

Agenda item 4: Potential Modeling Refinements

On May 15, 2008, ATC posted the final set of assumptions and final futures matrix to be used for ATC’s 2008 economic planning.  At that time, ATC anticipated that the latest base PROMOD models would be available shortly but those models were not received until early August.  ATC hosted a generation expansion workshop on August 22, 2008 to obtain additional input from stakeholders on the methodology to review the generation expansion assumptions in the MISO models and to add generation to the model to accommodate a wide range of futures.  The development of the models for the futures is nearing completion. 

December's meeting will discuss interim results.  

August meeting materials (posted 8/25/08)

Meeting agenda

Generation needed for various futures

MISO siting spreadsheet for MTEP 2009

June planning meeting materials (posted 6/18/08)

Meeting agenda

Agenda item 1: Futures diagrams

Agenda item 1: Futures narratives

Agenda item 2: Peak load forecasts

Agenda item 3: Generation portfolio

Agenda item 4: Modeling modifications

Agenda item 5: MISO MTEP 09 modeling

Spring meeting materials

Recent meeting agenda and materials  (posted 2/18/08)

Comment summary, draft futures matrix and request for comments (posted 3/19/08)

Comment summary Round II, updated futures matrix and next steps (posted 4/15/08)

Final futures matrix (posted 5/15/08)

Midwest ISO Market Constraints Report for ATC's service area (updated monthly)

Contact:

Jamal Khudai , Manager - Economic Planning                                

1.866.899.3204, ext. 6166