[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 3 (Monday, January 6, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 610-611]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-140]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Part 37

[Docket No. RM95-9-000]


Open Access Same-Time Information System (OASIS) and Standards of 
Conduct

    Issued December 27, 1996.

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Final rule; order granting request for clarification.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, at the request of 
the How Working Group, is clarifying its Phase 1 OASIS regulations 
concerning ``next hour'' reservations of transmission service. The 
Commission finds that, during Phase 1, a request for transmission 
service made after 2:00 p.m. of the day preceding the commencement of 
such service, will be ``made on the OASIS'' if it is made directly on 
the OASIS, or, if it is made by facsimile or telephone and promptly 
(within one hour) posted on the OASIS by the Transmission Provider. In 
all other circumstances, requests for transmission service must be made 
exclusively on the OASIS.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 27, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marvin Rosenberg (Technical 
Information), Office of Economic Policy, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20426 (202) 208-1283
William C. Booth (Technical Information), Office of Electric Power 
Regulation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, 
N.E., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208-0849
Gary D. Cohen (Legal Information), Office of the General Counsel, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., 
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208-0321

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In addition to publishing the full text of 
this document in the Federal Register, the Commission also provides all 
interested persons an opportunity to inspect or copy the contents of 
this document during normal business hours in the Public Reference Room 
at 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20426.
    The Commission Issuance Posting System (CIPS), an electronic 
bulletin board service, provides access to the texts of formal 
documents issued by the Commission. CIPS is available at no charge to 
the user and may be accessed using a personal computer with a modem by 
dialing 202-208-1397 if dialing locally or 1-800-856-3920 if dialing 
long distance. CIPS is also available on the Internet through the Fed 
World system. To access CIPS, set your communications software to 
19200, 14400, 12000, 9600, 7200, 4800, 2400, or 1200 bps, full duplex, 
no parity, 8 data bits and 1 stop bit. The full text of this order will 
be available on CIPS in ASCII and Wordperfect 5.1 format. The complete 
text on diskette in WordPerfect format may also be purchased from the 
Commission's copy contractor, La Dorn Systems Corporation, also located 
in the Public Reference Room at 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, DC 
20426.

Order Granting Request for Clarification

Background

    On December 23, 1996, the How Working Group 1 filed a letter 
seeking clarification of whether the Commission intended, in the OASIS 
Final Rule,2 to require that the OASIS serve as a ``next hour'' 
reservation tool during Phase 1 of OASIS implementation. Specifically, 
the letter states:
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    \1\ The How Working Group is an industry-led group, with diverse 
industry and customer representatives, working to reach consensus on 
OASIS-related issues.
    \2\ Open Access Same-Time Information System and Standards of 
Conduct, Final Rule, Order No. 889, FERC Stats. & Regs. para. 
31,037, 61 FR 21737 (May 10, 1996), reh'g pending.
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    It was the interpretation of the How Working Group that a Provider 
would accept reservation requests after 2 p.m. of the preceding day, 
only if practical. Otherwise, these requests would be accepted off-line 
and posted after-the-fact. It was our view that ``next hour'' 
functionality was not feasible in Phase 1. The How Working Group asks 
us to confirm its interpretation.

Discussion

    The OASIS Final Rule makes a clear distinction between reserving 
transmission service and scheduling transmission service.3 The 
Phase 1 OASIS regulations create a mechanism for making reservations of 
transmission service, while the inclusion of energy scheduling as part 
of the OASIS requirements was left as a Phase 2 OASIS issue. The 
problem, however, is that for near-term transactions, the distinction 
between scheduling and reservations tends to blur.
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    \3\ See 61 FR at 21743.
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    The OASIS regulations provide, at 18 CFR Sec. 37.6(e)(1), that 
``[a]ll requests for transmission services offered by Transmission 
Providers under the pro forma tariff must be made on the OASIS.'' 
Notwithstanding the clear language of this regulation, the How Working 
Group would like to accommodate requests for service, made after 2:00 
p.m. of the day preceding the commencement of such service, off the 
OASIS and states that it is not feasible to handle such requests on the 
OASIS during Phase 1.4
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    \4\ The 2:00 p.m. deadline is consistent with Sec. 14.6 of the 
pro forma tariff, which provides: ``Schedules for Non-Firm Point-to-
Point Transmission Service must be submitted to the Transmission 
Provider no later than 2:00 p.m. . . . of the day prior to 
commencement of such service. Schedules submitted after 2:00 p.m 
will be accommodated, if practicable.''

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[[Page 611]]

    We find that, during Phase 1, a request for transmission service 
made after 2:00 p.m. of the day preceding the commencement of such 
service, will be ``made on the OASIS'' if it is made directly on the 
OASIS, or, if it is made by facsimile or telephone and promptly (within 
one hour) posted on the OASIS by the Transmission Provider. In all 
other circumstances, requests for transmission service must be made 
exclusively on the OASIS.
    The Commission orders: The request of the How Working Group for a 
clarification of the OASIS Final Rule is hereby granted, as discussed 
in the body of this order.

    By the Commission.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-140 Filed 1-3-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P