FERC last week set hearing and settlement judge procedures for Xcel Energy’s formal challenge to GridLiance High Plains’ proposed annual transmission revenue requirement (ATRR) for 2020 (ER20-1313, ER19-1357, ER18-2358).

Xcel, filing on behalf of subsidiary Southwestern Public Service, argued that GridLiance’s inclusion of upgraded Oklahoma assets in the SPP transmission zone it shares with SPS was improper and requested the proceeding be consolidated with two pending dockets that also concerned its Oklahoma Panhandle facilities. The commission agreed, holding the hearing in abeyance to provide time for settlement procedures.

Xcel says Gridliance’s Oklahoma assets do not qualify for regional cost allocation under the SPP Tariff and would result in a cost shift to its SPS subsidiary.

The commission found Xcel’s challenge raised factual issues that could not be resolved based on the record before it and disagreed with GridLiance’s charge that Xcel’s challenge was duplicative and should be dismissed. It said GridLiance was attempting for the first time to recover the costs of one of its projects and that they were different than the costs at issue in the other proceedings.

FERC also disagreed with GridLiance that Xcel’s motion to consolidate should be denied given the status of the proceedings. “There are no additional issues in Xcel’s formal challenge that would inject unnecessary delay into the pending proceedings, which are in their early stages,” the commission wrote.

Xcel also issued a formal challenge of GridLiance’s 2019 annual update, which resulted in an October 2019 order that set hearing and settlement judge procedures. FERC in August ruled that qualifying as a transmission facility under SPP’s Tariff Attachment AI does not eliminate the need to pass the seven-factor test established by Order 888. GridLiance has responded that SPP may have been incorrectly charging transmission customers for their use of certain facilities. (See GridLiance, Xcel Battle over Tx Qualifications.)