The Western Interconnection As it relates to the justification for - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Western Interconnection

As it relates to the justification for (or lack thereof) of the Energize Eastside Project Presented to Newcastle City Council August 18, 2015 By Richard Lauckhart Energy Expert Contact through CENSE at info@cense.org

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Richard Lauckhart background

• BSEE…Washington State University 1971
• MBA…University of Washington 1975
• 40+ years experience in the power industry
• 22 years with Puget
• Transmission Planning
• Financial Planning
• Power Planning…
• 5 years as Vice President
• 19 years as a Consultant
• Primarily Focused on Western Interconnect matters
• Resource and Transmission studies for many clients
• Full Bio available on FERC website or from CENSE

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Introduction

• In order to understand our concerns about PSEs efforts

to justify the EE project and what we are doing about those concerns, you need to understand how the Western Interconnect is studied and planned to ensure the Bulk Electric System (BES) of the Western Interconnect is reliable.

• The BES is made up of all facilities in the Western

Interconnect that are 100,000 Volts (i.e. 100 KV) or

• higher. This includes all the lines on the “eastside” that

are 115 KV, 230 KV and 500 KV and the 230/115 KV transformers and the 500/230 KV transformers.

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The Three Interconnects

EASTERN INTERCONNECT WESTERN INTERCONNECT ERCOT INTERCONNECT

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WECC Demand and Supply

See maps of Transmission and Generation Locations

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Over 223,00 MW of Generating Capacity in the Western Interconnect Winter Extreme Peak Load 154,000 MW in 2018… Arctic front sags into US… 15 degrees at SeaTac at 6 PM Northwest portion of Extreme Peak Load 33,000 MW Northwest generation expected to

• perate during Winter Extreme Peak

Load = 36,100 MW (includes all PSE gas fired generation in Puget Sound Area)

Could shut down all Northwest Generation during extreme peak and serve the Northwest load with

• ther generators in WECC…but transmission would become a problem. Would not study that!

PSE Demand and Supply

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The “Eastside” is an integral part of the Western Interconnect

It is not isolated

• Complex computer models are used to study the Western Interconnect to identify

reliability issues and alternatives that could fix any reliability issues. These are called “loadflow” studies.

– PSE ran loadflow studies and decided Energize Eastside was needed – Utility Systems Efficiencies also ran loadflow studies

• Problems with loadflow studies done by PSE

– PSE studies did not turn on 1,400 MW of PSE owned/controlled natural gas fired generation located in the Puget Sound area. This makes no sense. PSE says there is need to increase its ability to transform power from 230 KV to 115 KV at Lakeside. But these PSE owned gas fired generators would inject power into the grid at 115 KV – PSE studies assumed there is a Firm Requirement to deliver 1,500 MW to Canada. There is

• not. In 1998-9 the Canadian Treaty was amended to remove the requirement to move

Canada’s share of treaty power to Canada. BPA has confirmed via an FOIA response that the US entity has not requested that BPA provide firm transmission to Canada for Treaty power. No entity is paying BPA to provide Firm Transmission to Canada – PSE studies did not address the fact that PSE needs to acquire another 1,500 MW of firm power supply in order to demonstrate PSE is “Resource Adequate” to cover its system wide winter peak load by the year 2018. And that some of that needed supply can/should be located where there would otherwise be transmission system overloads. – PSE studies were not performed on a “single-utility” basis which would have logically looked at using the SCL lines (looped through Lakeside) if there is still a reliability issue in the Bellevue area after fixing the deficiencies in the loadflow studies indicated above.

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Regional Transmission Planning Entities

in WECC

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Generation Plant Name Winter MW Rating PSE/Quanta Dispatch ColumbiaGrid Dispatch 2012 Sys Assess PSE/Quanta Short of Rating Enserch 184.8 125 176 59.8 Sumas 139.8 130 139.8 Ferndale 282.1 266 282.1 Whitehorn 162.2 162 162.2 Fredonia 341 312 341 March Point 151.6 134 147 17.6 FredricksonCCCT 270 270 270 FredricksonSCCT 162.2 162 162.2 Total 1693.7 259 1625 1434.7 Total N 1261.5 Total S 432.2 PSE Westside Natural Gas Generation Dispatch Winter Cases PSE/Quanta Studies vs ColumbiaGrid System Assessment studies

New Loadflow studies need to be done

They should be done by Columbia Grid

• PSE was asked by CENSE to have ColumbiaGrid run these needed studies. PSE

refused.

• CENSE/CSEE have filed a Complaint with FERC, asking FERC to require ColumbiaGrid

to do these needed studies. FERC has not yet ruled.

• If ColumbiaGrid does not do these needed studies, then the studies need to be done

by someone else (in a transparent manner) for the purposes of the EIS

Note: WECC files base case loadflow studies with FERC every year in their Form 715 filings. I have looked at the latest WECC Form 715 filed winter peak loadflow studies. These WECC loadflow studies had PSE Puget Sound Area generation running at maximum rated output capacity rather than the low level that PSE included in its studies. These WECC loadflow studies all had considerably less than 1,500 MW of power flowing to Canada as opposed to PSEs requirement that 1,500 MW flow to Canada in their loadflow studies.

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Final Observations

• Proper studies need to be done:

– All Puget Sound Area gas fired Generation running – No 1500 MW Firm Transmission Obligation to Canada

• Such studies may well show no problem exists that needs to be

solved.

• If the studies still show a problem, then other less financially and

environmentally problematic alternatives should be evaluated:

– Add a third 230/115 KV transformer at Renton/Talbot substation – Looping the SCL line through Lakeside rather than building EE – Building new peaking units (e.g. 50MW aero-derivative or 48 MW from 3-16 MW diesel generator units) in the eastside..e.g. near Lakeside – Other?

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Final Observation page 2

1) Under standard power planning, we already know that EE is not needed. 2) We know this because of the Peter Mackin/USE loadflow study showing there is no need for EE if the 1500 MW to Canada is not required. 3) We know the 1500 MW is not required because of (1) the Treaty Amendment in 1999, (2) the 1999 Disposal Agreement, and (3) the BPA FOIA response. 4) PSE's defense now is to say that FERC will allow it to do anything it wants in its service territory. That is a scary

• defense. It should raise all sorts of alarms to the Newcastle City

Council and others living in PSE service territory.

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