By Rich Heidorn Jr.

FERC on Tuesday approved Tariff revisions refining ISO-NE’s rules for conducting competitive transmission solicitations, a process that may be tested for the first time this month (ER20-92).

The changes increase the information to be provided by transmission developers and provide more detail on the evaluation criteria the RTO will use.

ISO-NE plans to issue its first competitive transmission solicitation — for solutions to non-time sensitive needs identified in its 2028 Boston Needs Assessment Update and Needs Assessment Addendum — as soon as this month. The request for proposals (RFP) will address transmission facility overloads under peak load conditions in the Boston area and system restoration concerns with the underground cable system in the area. (See “Needs Update Reduces Thermal Violations” in ISO-NE IDs $8.7M Tx Fix for Boston Area.)

Two-Step Process

The RTO will use a two-step process, with developers first submitting plans describing a project’s interconnection to the existing transmission system, estimated costs, financing and any cost containment measures.

ISO-NE will review the proposals, with input from the Planning Advisory Committee (PAC), to ensure they address the identified needs and are feasible and cost competitive. The RTO will then identify finalists who will be required to provide additional details to guide its selection of the preferred solution.

The RTO also created a new pro forma agreement between it and the selected qualified transmission project sponsor (QTPS) spelling out the development, design and construction of the project, including project milestones, status reports and cost containment measures. The RTO’s agreement is modeled on the designated entity agreement PJM uses in its competitive transmission solicitation process.

The changes also include a clause allowing the RTO to cancel an RFP if new assumptions modify or eliminate the identified need.

Outside the Scope

The commission dismissed as outside the scope of the proceeding the Connecticut attorney general’s protest arguing that while the RTO’s proposals are an improvement, they are insufficient to ensure truly competitive procurements and thus not compliant with Order 1000. The AG contends the process does not adequately consider non-transmission alternatives (NTAs), such as battery storage and transmission line ratings, and asked the commission to order RTOs to report annually or biannually on their adoption of NTAs or other grid management options.

The Massachusetts Attorney General asked FERC to determine ways to improve the ability of NTAs to compete with traditional transmission solutions.

Transmission developer New England Energy Connection (NEEC), an affiliate of LS Power, asked the commission to encourage ISO-NE to establish a stakeholder process to address broader issues in the competitive solicitation process after the 2019 RFP.

NEEC said an “over-reliance on the immediate need designation” is a significant factor in the lack of competitive windows in New England to date and the region should consider replacing its sponsorship model with competitive bidding.

FERC said the Massachusetts and Connecticut proposals were outside the scope of the proceeding because the proposed Tariff changes don’t address NTA participation.

“Although we find that NEEC’s request to encourage ISO-NE to establish a stakeholder process to address broader issues in the existing transmission competitive solicitation process is also outside the scope of this proceeding, we note ISO-NE’s intention to hold stakeholder discussions following the 2019 RFP to consider additional changes to the competitive solicitation process,” FERC wrote.

ISO-NE spokesman Matt Kakley said the RTO does not have a firm date for release of the RFP, “though we are hoping to get it out this month.”