Northern States Power’s Wisconsin ratepayers will be billed for 15% of the nearly $79 million spent on the now-abandoned Prairie Island nuclear project under an agreement approved by FERC last week. The 15% share, totaling $12 million, reflects the most recent coincident peak demand ratios approved for the Wisconsin utility’s interchange agreement with Northern States Power Minnesota, FERC said (ER15-698).

Northern States had planned to expand the capacity of two existing units at the Prairie Island site. Northern States said the shrinking cost of alternative energy and delays in obtaining Nuclear Regulatory Commission approvals “reduced [the project’s expected benefits] to an extent that the project was no longer economical.”

The Minnesota Public Service Commission, which granted a certificate of need for the project in 2009, approved its cancellation in February 2013. In late August, the commission found that Northern States acted in good faith in the development and cancellation of the project.

No Rehearing in MISO Wind Interconnection Study Matter

FERC denied MISO’s request for rehearing of an order that found that the RTO violated its obligations to an interconnection customer regarding network upgrade studies. The commission said that MISO had not alleged any specific errors in a 2013 order that found the RTO had improperly concluded that the Jeffers South wind generation facility was obligated to fund construction of a $43 million 161-kV line from Dotson to New Ulm, Minn. (EL10-86-004).

Jeffers South said MISO neglected its duty to identify the least expensive network upgrade option. In its rehearing request, MISO argued that the study process was valid because Summit Wind, Jeffers South’s predecessor, had agreed to it.

In last week’s order, FERC told MISO to permit Jeffers South to name a new point of interconnection at Heron Lake. “We expect all of the parties to endeavor to perform their obligations pursuant to the Tariff and in a cooperative manner going forward,” FERC said.

No Time Value Refunds in Michigan Contract Dispute

FERC reversed an administrative law judge ruling requiring the payment of time value refunds in a dispute between the 1,633-MW Midland Cogeneration plant and Consumers Energy (ER10-2156). The dispute concerned the plant’s interconnection agreement with Consumers and a second agreement in which Consumers bought most of the output of the plant. Consumers later sold its transmission to Michigan Electric Transmission. “If Consumers Energy and Michigan Electric were required to refund the time value of payments received, or to be received, from Midland for services performed prior to acceptance of the facilities agreement, they would necessarily have operated at a loss, contrary to long established commission policy,” the commission said.

FERC Rejects Louisiana Rehearing Bids on Entergy Depreciation

FERC rejected two rehearing requests by the Louisiana Public Service Commission in cases involving Entergy’s depreciation rates:

• FERC denied the Louisiana PSC’s request to reconsider a previous order that affirmed an administrative law judge’s initial determinations approving depreciation rates for Entergy Arkansas (ER10-2001). The Louisiana regulators had challenged the judge’s decisions regarding the admissibility of witness testimony.
• FERC also denied rehearing of the Louisiana PSC’s complaint that the state could not use state-determined depreciation inputs in the bandwidth formula used to equalize production costs among Entergy’s operating companies (EL10-55). The order affirmed FERC’s finding that the PSC had not shown the commission’s use of the depreciation rates was unjust or unreasonable.

– Amanda Durish Cook and Tom Kleckner