NERC has certified SPP’s reliability coordination offering in the Western Interconnection, allowing the RTO to offer those services effective Dec. 3.
SPP said the certification, which it received Nov. 15, confirms it has the necessary tools, processes, training, procedures and personnel to operate as a RC in the West. (See “Staff Prepping for 2nd Certification Visit, Shadow Ops,” SPP Western Reliability Briefs: Week of Sept. 16, 2019.)
The RTO has agreements with 13 customers, representing about 12% of the Western Interconnection, which has been managed by Peak Reliability. Peak announced last year it would be going out of business by the end of 2019, opening the door to SPP and CAISO to provide RC services to its previous customers.
SPP has been a NERC-certified RC in the Eastern Interconnection since 1997, managing about 40 GW of load. Its RC service territory now extends from the Canadian border to the Texas Panhandle.
The RTO also plans to open a Western real-time market in 2021 as an alternative to CAISO’s Western Energy Imbalance Market. Five regional organizations are helping fund the market’s development. (See WAPA, Basin, Tri-State Sign up with SPP EIS.)
— Tom Kleckner
