The Western Transmission Expansion Coalition’s (WestTEC) transmission planning study is getting a boost from a $1.75 million Department of Energy grant even as the cost of the project has grown to $6.1 million. 

When the grant application was submitted in January, the preliminary project cost was $4.8 million. DOE is funding 37% of that, or $1.75 million. Western Power Pool (WPP), which is facilitating WestTEC, is expected to provide about $3 million in matching funds. 

Additional funding of $2.2 million is coming from WECC, which is partnering with WPP on the project. 

With the new cost estimate of $6.1 million, WPP is working to close a funding gap of about $2.1 million. Funds will come from sources including WPP members, WestTEC participants and other regional partners that support WestTEC, WPP CEO Sarah Edmonds said in an email. 

During the WECC Board of Directors meeting Sept. 17, CEO Melanie Frye said a three-party contract for the WestTEC project has been drafted among WPP, WECC and Energy Strategies, an energy consulting firm that will do most of the analytical work. 

Frye said WECC is making sure the project qualifies as reliability work under Section 215 of the Energy Policy Act. 

“As of yet, we’ve not expended any funds,” Frye said. “We are wanting to make sure that we have the contract in place and that we’re very clear on what it’s funding so that it’s not falling outside the bounds of the Section 215.” 

The WestTEC study will address long-term interregional transmission needs across the Western Interconnection. The WestTEC Steering Committee recently unanimously approved the project’s study plan. (See WestTEC Committee OKs Plan for ‘Actionable’ Tx Study.) 

The study is expected to take place over the next two years. The goal is to produce transmission portfolios for 10- and 20-year planning horizons. In addition to enhancing Western reliability, the portfolios will also factor in economic efficiencies and state policy goals. 

The grant funding for the study is from the Wholesale Electricity Market Studies and Engagement Program in the DOE’s Grid Deployment Office. The program provides funding to states and regions related to developing, expanding or improving wholesale electricity markets. 

When U.S. wholesale markets were designed three decades ago, the nation’s electric grid “looked much different,” GDO Director Maria Robinson said in a statement regarding the grant program. 

“With the widespread deployment of new clean energy resources and advanced grid and transmission technologies, creating effective wholesale electricity markets is critical,” Robinson said.