SPP’s Schedule 1A Task Force last week kicked off an expected monthslong effort to develop an alternative rate structure to the RTO’s current method for recovering its administrative costs.

The Finance Committee and SPP staff have both discussed changing the fee’s billing units from transmission metrics to energy metrics by charging market transactions. The administrative fee, currently 42.9 cents/MWh, is collected under Schedule 1A of SPP’s Tariff on contracts between transmission providers and customers. (See SPP Stakeholders to Study Admin Fee Changes.)

“From an SPP standpoint, what we have now works fine,” CFO Tom Dunn told the group Aug. 8. “From a members’ standpoint, feedback indicates it’s not necessarily fine.” He said transmission customers have complained of difficulty recovering the charges “through their rate base process.”

While SPP’s costs have increased with the addition of the Integrated Marketplace, “the number of folks paying [the costs] is not necessarily growing,” Dunn said.

The task force discussed Dunn’s July presentation to the Markets and Operations Policy Committee, which led to the group’s creation. Members also took a first look at other grid operators’ recovery mechanism.

The task force is scheduled to present a recommendation to SPP’s Board of Directors and Members Committee in January.

SPP, MISO to Discuss Seams Transmission with Stakeholders

SPP and MISO are bringing stakeholders into the conversation as they continue efforts to improve transmission service along their seam.

The RTOs have agreed to remove their $5 million cost threshold and joint modeling requirement for transmission projects, two barriers that have prevented them from agreeing on interregional projects. (See MISO, SPP Loosen Interregional Project Requirements.)

The Interregional Planning Stakeholder Advisory Committee has scheduled a conference call on Aug. 27 to review with stakeholders the proposed changes to the interregional planning process.

Adam Bell, SPP’s interregional coordinator, told the Seams Steering Committee on Aug. 8 that feedback to the changes has been “somewhat split,” but staff are working to address stakeholder concerns.

“We need to move the conversation in a direction that everybody is happy with,” Bell said. He said the grid operators plan to file the revised process this year so they can begin a new study in 2019.

The RTOs are also working to schedule a meeting this fall with staff and stakeholders to further explain the January “Big Chill” and actions being taken to prevent a reoccurrence. Colder-than-normal weather and generation shortfalls in MISO South on Jan. 17 led to MISO exceeding its regional dispatch limit on transfers between its northern and southern footprints across SPP’s system.

MISO Adds $213,189 in M2M Payments to SPP

June’s market-to-market (M2M) payments between SPP and MISO came in at $213,189 in SPP’s favor. While the amount was the lowest since last August, June was also the 11th straight month and 19th of the last 21 in which the payments have been in SPP’s favor.

The RTO has recorded $53.8 million in M2M payments from MISO since the two began the process in March 2015.

Flowgates were binding for 713 hours in June.

— Tom Kleckner