[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 155 (Thursday, August 10, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48992-48994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-19975]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. RM95-9-013]


Open Access Same-Time Information System and Standards of Conduct

Issued August 1, 2000.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission).

ACTION: Order seeking comments on proposed changes to ``Business 
Practice Standards for OASIS Transactions'' (BPS Document).

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SUMMARY: The Commission is considering revising the BPS Document 
adopted by the Commission on February 25, 2000 in Open Access Same-Time 
Information System and Standards of Conduct, Order No. 638, FERC Stats. 
& Regs. para. 31,093 (2000). The Commission invites comments on these 
proposed revisions.

DATES: Written comments (an original and 14 paper copies) must be 
received by September 11, 2000. In addition, the Commission encourages 
the filing of a copy of the comments on computer diskette or by E-Mail 
to ``[email protected]'' by the same date.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the BPS Document are available at the Office of 
the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, 
NE., Washington, DC 20426. E-Mail address: ``[email protected]''.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Marvin Rosenberg (Technical Information), Office of Markets, Tariffs, 
and Rates, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208-1283.
Paul Robb (Technical Information), Office of Markets, Tariffs, and 
Rates, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 219-2702.
Gary D. Cohen (Legal Information), Office of the General Counsel, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 208-0321.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Before Commissioners: James J. Hoecker, Chairman; William L. 
Massey, Linda Breathitt, and Curt Hubert, Jr.

Order Seeking Comments on Proposed Changes to ``Business Practice 
Standards for Oasis Transactions''

I. Introduction

    The Commission is considering making revisions to the ``Business 
Practice Standards for OASIS Transactions'' (BPS) adopted by the 
Commission on February 25, 2000 in Open Access Same-Time Information 
System and Standards of Conduct, Order No. 638, FERC Stats. & Regs. 
para. 31,093 (2000) to reflect, with minor edits by the Commission, 
suggested revisions jointly recommended by the OASIS How Working Group 
(How Group) and the Market Interface Committee (MIC) (jointly MIC/How 
Groups). We, therefore, are inviting comments on these suggested 
changes, as edited by the Commission. We intend to issue a revised BPS 
document, after

[[Page 48993]]

a review of any comments filed, unless persuaded otherwise.

II. Background

    In Order No. 638, the Commission adopted a set of uniform business 
practices (i.e., the BPS), implementing the Commission's policies on 
transmission service price negotiations and on improving interactions 
between transmission providers and customers over Open Access Same-Time 
Information System (OASIS) sites. Order No. 638 also contained a number 
of requests to the MIC/How Groups,\1\ including a request that the MIC/
How Groups submit a report to the Commission, by June 29, 2000,\2\ 
providing recommendations for revisions to the BPS to reflect the 
Commission's findings in North American Electric Reliability Council, 
89 FERC para. 61,277 (1999) (Next Hour Order), reconsideration denied, 
92 FERC para. 61,012 (2000), and to consider specified changes related 
to the State Diagram.\3\
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    \1\ See Order No. 638, FERC Stats. & Regs. para. 31,093 at 
31,448-49.
    \2\ Ninety days from March 31, 2000, the date of publication of 
Order No. 638 in the Federal Register.
    \3\ See section 4.2.10.2 of the OASIS Standards and 
Communication Protocols Document (S&CP Document).
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    On June 16, 2000, the MIC/How Groups jointly submitted for 
Commission consideration recommended revisions to the BPS. In this 
order, we are inviting comment on whether the Commission should adopt 
the recommended revisions to the BPS suggested by the MIC/How Group, as 
edited by the Commission (these edits are discussed below).

III. Discussion

    In response to our request in Order No. 638, the June 16, 2000 
submittal recommends a series of minor revisions to the BPS,\4\ 
including: (1) Revised definitions of the scheduling period for ``same-
day'' and ``next-hour'' transactions in BPS section 2.6.1; (2) 
designation in Table 1-1 of Next Hour Market Service (NHM Service) as a 
standard product (leaving the definition of this product to each 
transmission provider's Open Access Transmission Tariff); (3) revisions 
to Tables 4-2 and 4-3 and related provisions to reflect the 
availability of NHM Service and its priority vis a vis other 
transmission services; (4) revisions to Standards 4.8, 4.17, 5.4, and 
addition of a new Standard 4.2.7, to reflect recommended clarifications 
of applicable comment fields; (5) revisions to Standards 3.3, 3.6, 4.1, 
4.13, 4.15, 4.20, 4.24, 4.25, and 5.5 (by changing the word ``should'' 
to ``shall'' to reflect that these standards were made mandatory in 
Order No. 638; and (6) the addition of a new section 7, providing 16 
new business practices covering NHM Service.\5\
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    \4\ The MIC/How Groups have suggested revisions to the following 
BPS Sections, Standards, and Tables: Section 2.1; Standard 2.1; 
Standard 2.1.14; Standard 2.6.1; Standard 2.6.2; Standard 3.6; 
Standard 4.1; Standard 4.8; Standard 4.13; Notes to Table 4-2; 
Standard 4.14; Standard 4.15; Table 4-3; Standard 4.17; Standard 
4.20; Standard 4.24; Standard 4.25; Standard 4.27; Standard 5.4; 
Standard 5.5; and a new Section 7 with 16 new standards (Standards 
7.1-7.16).
    \5\ The business practices recommended in Section 7 would define 
NHM Service and list it as a voluntary service that, if provided, 
must be provided in accordance with Standards 7.1-7.16. Among other 
matters, these standards set the time limits for such transactions, 
require North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) 
electronic tags (ETAGS) for reserving and designating such service, 
and discuss procedures for reserving such service, identifying path 
segments, and curtailing such service.
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    The MIC/How Group also points out that, for clarity, Table 1-1 
should be redesignated as Table 2-1. Finally, the MIC/How Group 
suggests changes to the S&CP Document and Data Element Dictionary that 
we will address separately when we consider making further revisions to 
those documents.
    We appreciate the ongoing efforts of the MIC/How Groups to 
voluntarily address the Commission's questions and to try to reach 
consensus on these issues. Subject to our review of any comments that 
are filed in response to this Order, we propose to adopt the revisions 
to the BPS as recommended by the MIC/How Groups, with the exceptions 
discussed below. First, the MIC/How Groups' proposed Section 7.2 
states:

    Standard 7.2: A transmission provider offering NHM Service shall 
allow an eligible transmission customer to request a NHM Service 
reservation electronically using protocols compliant with NERC ETAG 
Specification 1.6 or later.

    We will revise this standard to delete the words ``or later'' from 
the end of the sentence. The Commission is reluctant to approve future 
business practices before they are developed. Although we find NERC's 
current ETAG procedures acceptable, see, e.g., Allegheny Energy Service 
Corporation, 91 FERC para. 61,044 at 61,160-61 (2000), we reserve 
judgment on any revised ETAG specifications that may be developed in 
the future.
    Second, we also will correct two typographical errors in the 
recommended BPS, Version 1.2. First, we will correct the spelling of 
``http'' in the reference to the TSIN Website in Standard 3.2. Second, 
we will remove, as redundant, the word ``set'' that follows the word 
``consider'' in the first sentence of Standard 7.5. Thus, this phrase 
would read ``[a] transmission provider offering NHM Service shall 
consider the amount . . .''
    Subject to our review of any comments filed in response to this 
order, we intend to adopt a revised BPS Document, Version 1.2.\6\
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    \6\ For clarity, the BPS Document uses redline and strikeout 
fonts to highlight differences between BPS Version 1.1 (the version 
adopted in Order No. 638) and Version 1.2 (the version proposed in 
this order). Copies of the BPS Document are available at an address 
under ADDRESSES.
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IV. Public Comment Procedure

    This order explains our intention to make certain technical 
revisions to the BPS. Prior to taking final action on this proposal, we 
are inviting comments from interested persons on the proposals 
discussed in this order. The Commission invites interested persons to 
submit written comments on the proposed revisions to the BPS described 
in this order, including any related matters or alternative proposals 
that commenters may wish to discuss.
    The original and 14 copies of such comments must be received by the 
Commission by September 11, 2000. Comments should be submitted to the 
Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street, NE., Washington DC 20426 and should refer to Docket No. 
RM95-9-013.
    In addition to filing paper copies, the Commission encourages the 
filing of comments either on computer diskette or via Internet E-Mail. 
Comments may be filed in the following formats: WordPerfect 8.0 or 
lower version, MS Word Office 97 or lower version, or ASCII format.
    For diskette filing, include the following information on the 
diskette label: Docket No. RM95-9-013; the name of the filing entity; 
the software and version used to create the file; and the name and 
telephone number of a contact person.
    For Internet E-Mail submittal, comments should be submitted to 
``[email protected]'' in the following format. On the subject 
line, specify Docket No. RM95-9-013. In the body of the E-Mail message, 
include the name of the filing entity; the software and version used to 
create the file, and the name and telephone number of the contact 
person. Attach the comment to the E-Mail in one of the formats 
specified above. The Commission will send an automatic acknowledgment 
to the sender's E-Mail address upon receipt. Questions on electronic 
filing should be directed to Brooks Carter by

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telephone at 202-501-8145 or by E-Mail (to [email protected]).
    Commenters should take note that, until the Commission amends its 
rules and regulations, the paper copy of the filing remains the 
official copy of the document submitted. Therefore, any discrepancies 
between the paper filing and the electronic filing or the diskette will 
be resolved by reference to the paper filing.

The Commission Orders

    Interested persons may file comments on the proposed revisions to 
the ``Business Practice Standards for OASIS Transactions'' (BPS) within 
thirty (30) days of the date of publication of this order in the 
Federal Register, as discussed in the body of this order.

    By the Commission.
David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-19975 Filed 8-9-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P