[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 16, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7859-7860]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-3697]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[FE Docket Nos. PP-50 and PP-219]


Application for Presidential Permit, Central Power & Light; 
Request to Rescind Presidential Permit, Comision Federal de 
Electricidad

AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of Application; Request for Rescission.

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SUMMARY: Central Power and Light Company (CPL) has applied for a 
Presidential permit to operate and maintain existing electric 
transmission facilities across the U.S. border with Mexico. In the same 
application, Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) has requested a 
rescission of its Presidential permit originally granted for the 
construction of these same cross-border transmission facilities.

DATES: Comments, protests or requests to intervene must be submitted on 
or before March 17, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments, protests, or requests to intervene should be 
addressed as follows: Office of Coal & Power Import and Export (FE-27), 
Office of Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Russell (Program Office) 202-
586-9624 or Michael T. Skinker (Program Attorney) 202-586-2793.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The construction, connection, operation, and 
maintenance of facilities at the international border of the United 
States for the transmission of electric energy between the United 
States and a foreign country is prohibited in the absence of a 
Presidential permit issued pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 10485, as 
amended by EO 12038.
    On February 9, 2000, CPL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Central and 
South West Corporation, a public utility regulated by both the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Public Utility Commission 
of Texas, filed an application with the Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of 
the Department of Energy (DOE) for a Presidential permit. CPL proposes 
to operate and maintain existing international transmission facilities 
at Eagle Pass, Texas. Construction of these existing facilities was 
authorized by Presidential Permit PP-50 issued to CFE, the national 
electric utility of Mexico. The CPL application also includes a letter 
from CFE requesting that DOE rescind PP-50 coincident with issuance of 
a Presidential permit to CPL.
    Presidential Permit PP-50 originally was granted by the Federal 
Power Commission on February 8, 1971, in Order E-6192, and authorized 
construction of a 138,000-volt (138-kV) transmission line extending 
approximately 1.3 miles from CPL's Eagle Pass, Texas, substation to the 
United States border with Mexico. From the border, the transmission 
line continues approximately 3.7 miles to Piedras Negras in Mexico's 
State of Coahuila. CPL does not propose to change the physical 
facilities previously authorized to CFE. Rather, CPL proposes to change 
the manner in which the facilities will be operated.
    In its application, CPL indicates that it is installing High 
Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) equipment in the form of Voltage Source 
Converter technology at its Eagle Pass substation to address 
transmission reliability problems that exist in the area. CPL expects 
that the installation of this equipment will relieve the existing 
transmission constraints within the Electric Reliability Council of 
Texas. In its Presidential permit application, CPL is requesting DOE to 
authorize the connection of this HVDC equipment to

[[Page 7860]]

the international transmission facilities authorized by PP-50 in order 
to enhance cross-border transmission of electric energy.
    Presently, the PP-50 facilities can only be operated as a radial 
connection between the CFE and CPL systems. In this mode of operation, 
electric energy can only be transmitted from one system to the other by 
means of a ``block-loading'' scheme. Connection of the HVDC equipment 
to the PP-50 facilities would convert the interconnection with CFE to a 
continuous asychronous interconnection.
    On July 27, 1999, DOE published a notice in the Federal Register 
indicating its intention to amend certain Presidential permits to 
require permit holders to provide non-discriminatory open access 
transmission services over their international transmission lines. In 
that notice, the cross-border facilities authorized by Presidential 
Permit PP-50 were included in a list of facilities proposed to receive 
this open access condition. Since the facilities covered by 
Presidential Permits PP-50 and the proposed PP-219 are the same, it 
would be DOE's intention to add such an open access condition to PP-
219, if granted, at the conclusion of DOE's open access proceeding in 
Docket No. 99-1.

Procedural Matters

    Any person desiring to be heard or to protest this application 
should file a petition to intervene or protest at the address provided 
above in accordance with section 385.211 or 385.214 of the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFE 
385.211, 385.214).
    Fifteen copies of such petitions and protests should be filed with 
DOE on or before the date listed above. Additional copies of such 
petitions to intervene or protest also should be filed directly with: 
Alan McQueen, Project Manager, Central and South West Service Inc., Two 
West Second Street, Tulsa, OK 74103 and Carolyn Y. Thompson, Jones, 
Day, Reavis & Pogue, 51 Louisiana Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001-
2113.
    Before a Presidential permit may be issued or amended, DOE must 
determine that the proposed action will not adversely impact on the 
reliability of the U.S. electric power supply system. In addition, DOE 
must consider the environmental impacts of the proposed action pursuant 
to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). DOE also must 
obtain the concurrences of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of 
Defense before taking final action on a Presidential permit 
application.
    Copies of this application will be made available, upon request, 
for public inspection and copying at the address provided above. In 
addition, the application may be reviewed or downloaded from the Fossil 
Energy Home Page at: http://www.fe.doe.gov. Upon reaching the Fossil 
Energy Home page, select ``Electricity'' from the ``Regulatory Info'' 
menu, and then ``Pending Proceedings'' from the options menu.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 10, 2000.
Anthony J. Como,
Deputy Director, Electric Power Regulation, Office of Coal & Power Im/
Ex, Office of Coal & Power Systems, Office of Fossil Energy.
[FR Doc. 00-3697 Filed 2-15-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P