FERC on Friday accepted SPP’s request to waive Tariff provisions governing the selection of an industry expert panel, allowing it to use one of its 2016 panelists to complete the 2015 panel evaluating proposals for the RTO’s first competitive solicitation under Order 1000 (ER16-126).

SPP filed the waiver request with FERC on Oct. 20, saying that the only candidate in its 2015 pool with expertise in one of five subject areas required wouldn’t be able to serve. (See SPP Seeks Waiver on Panel; Sets New Wind Records.)

FERC found “good cause” to grant SPP’s requested waiver, saying it “will remedy a concrete problem and allow for regulatory certainty regarding review of the proposals submitted for the project.”

FERC noted the waiver requested was of limited scope, covering just two subsections of SPP’s Tariff and it addressed a one-time event. The commission said the request “will create no undesirable consequences since the candidate’s qualifications will be reviewed and approved by both the Oversight Committee and the SPP Board of Directors prior to serving on the IEP.”

— Tom Kleckner