82 FR 831 - Application To Export Electric Energy; Southwest Power Pool, Inc.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 2 (January 4, 2017)

Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (SPP or Applicant) has applied for authority to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada pursuant to section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 4, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 831]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31884]



[[Page 831]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. EA-434]


Application To Export Electric Energy; Southwest Power Pool, Inc.

AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of application.

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SUMMARY: Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (SPP or Applicant) has applied for 
authority to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada 
pursuant to section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act.

DATES: Comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be submitted on 
or before February 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments, protests, motions to intervene, or requests for 
more information should be addressed to: Office of Electricity Delivery 
and Energy Reliability, Mail Code: OE-20, U.S. Department of Energy, 
1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0350. Because of 
delays in handling conventional mail, it is recommended that documents 
be transmitted by overnight mail, by electronic mail to 
[email protected], or by facsimile to 202-586-8008.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Exports of electricity from the United 
States to a foreign country are regulated by the Department of Energy 
(DOE) pursuant to sections 301(b) and 402(f) of the Department of 
Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7151(b), 7172(f)) and require 
authorization under section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 
824a(e)).
    On November 14, 2016, DOE received an application from SPP for 
authority to transmit electric energy from the United States to Canada 
on an emergency basis for five years using existing international 
transmission facilities owned by Basin Electric Power Cooperative. SPP 
is a FERC approved Regional Transmission Organization (RTO).
    In its application, SPP states that Basin Electric, a utility 
currently holding an Export Authorization issued by the Department in 
EA-64, became a full transmission-owning member of SPP on October 1, 
2015. Upon the October 1, 2015 integration of Basin Electric into SPP, 
SPP began administering transmission service over and assumed 
functional control of Basin Electric's transmission system, while Basin 
Electric retains actual ownership and operational control of its 
transmission facilities. Through Basin Electric's membership in SPP, 
electricity transmission transactions along Basin Electric's 
transmission facilities are now governed by SPP's Tariff. The electric 
energy that SPP proposes to export to Canada would be surplus energy in 
excess of SPP's load requirements. The existing international 
transmission facilities to be utilized by SPP have previously been 
authorized by Presidential permit PP-64 issued pursuant to Executive 
Order 10485, as amended, and are appropriate for open access 
transmission by third parties.
    Procedural Matters: Any person desiring to be heard in this 
proceeding should file a comment or protest to the application at the 
address provided above. Protests should be filed in accordance with 
Rule 211 of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) Rules of 
Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 385.211). Any person desiring to become 
a party to these proceedings should file a motion to intervene at the 
above address in accordance with FERC Rule 214 (18 CFR 385.214). Five 
copies of such comments, protests, or motions to intervene should be 
sent to the address provided above on or before the date listed above.
    Comments and other filings concerning SPP's application to export 
electric energy to Canada should be clearly marked with OE Docket No. 
EA-434. An additional copy is to be provided directly to Matthew 
Harward, Attorney, Southwest Power Pool, Inc., 201 Worthen Drive, 
Little Rock, AR 72223 and Matthew J. Binette, Victoria M. Lauterbach, 
and Brett K. White, Wright & Talisman, P.C., 1200 G Street NW., Suite 
600, Washington, DC 20005.
    A final decision will be made on this application after the 
environmental impacts have been evaluated pursuant to DOE's National 
Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures (10 CFR part 1021) and 
after a determination is made by DOE that the proposed action will not 
have an adverse impact on the sufficiency of supply or reliability of 
the U.S. electric power supply system.
    Copies of this application will be made available, upon request, 
for public inspection and copying at the address provided above, by 
accessing the program Web site at http://energy.gov/node/11845, or by 
emailing Angela Troy at [email protected].

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 28, 2016.
Christopher Lawrence,
Electricity Policy Analyst, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy 
Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2016-31884 Filed 1-3-17; 8:45 am]
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