[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 13, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11325-11327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-6036]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Southeastern Power Administration


Georgia-Alabama-South Carolina System of Projects

AGENCY: Southeastern Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rate adjustment.

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SUMMARY: Southeastern Power Administration (Southeastern) proposes to 
revise existing schedules of rates and charges applicable to the sale 
of power from the Georgia-Alabama-South Carolina System of Projects 
effective for a 5-year period, October 1, 2002, through September 30, 
2007. Additionally, opportunities will be available for interested 
persons to review the present rates, the proposed rates and supporting 
studies, to participate in a forum and to submit written comments. 
Southeastern will evaluate all comments received in this process.

DATES: Written comments are due on or before June 11, 2002. A public 
information and comment forum will be held at the Westin Atlanta 
Airport, in Atlanta, Georgia, at 10 a.m., on April 18, 2002. Persons 
desiring to speak at the forum should notify Southeastern at least 3 
days before the forum is scheduled, so that a list of forum 
participants can be prepared. Others may speak if time permits.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Administrator, 
Southeastern Power Administration, Department of Energy, 1166 Athens 
Tech Road, Elberton, Georgia 30635-6711. The public information and 
comment forums for the Georgia-Alabama-South Carolina System of 
Projects will be at the Westin Atlanta Airport, 4736 Best Road, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30337, (404-762-7676).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leon Jourolmon, Assistant 
Administrator, Finance & Marketing, Southeastern Power Administration, 
Department of Energy, 1166 Athens Tech Road, Elberton, Georgia 30635, 
(706) 213-3800.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(the Commission) by order issued February 26, 1999, in Docket No. EF98-
3011-000, (86 FERC 61,195) confirmed and approved Wholesale Power Rate 
Schedules SOCO-1, SOCO-2, SOCO-3, SOCO-4, ALA-1-I, MISS-1-I, Duke-1, 
Duke-2, Duke-3, Duke-4, Santee-1, Santee-2, Santee-3, Santee-4, and 
Pump-1 applicable to Georgia-Alabama-South Carolina System of Projects' 
power for a period ending September 30, 2003. On April 23, 1999, in 
Docket No. EF98-3011-001, the Commission issued an order granting 
rehearing for further consideration. On July 31, 2001, the Commission 
issued an order denying rehearing. Rate schedule Regulation-1 was 
approved by the Administrator, Southeastern Power Administration, on 
May 2, 2001.
    Discussion: Existing rate schedules are predicated upon a July 1998 
repayment study and other supporting data contained in FERC Docket No. 
EF98-3011-000. The current repayment study prepared in February 2002 
shows that existing rates are not adequate to recover all costs 
required by present repayment criteria. Southeastern is proposing to 
establish rates that will recoup these unrecovered costs.
    Existing rates for the Georgia-Alabama-South Carolina System have 
been in effect since October 1, 1998. This region has experienced a 
severe drought since that time. This has impacted repayment in two 
ways. First, revenues have been reduced because Southeastern has had 
less energy available for sale. Second, expenses have increased because 
it has been necessary for Southeastern to purchase replacement energy 
to meet its contractual obligations.
    Southeastern is proposing four rate alternatives for public 
comment. Southeastern is proposing two rate alternatives that would 
continue the current rate design where purchases of replacement energy 
are included in the capacity and energy charges from Southeastern. 
These are designated ``Scenario 1A'' and ``Scenario 1B.'' In addition, 
Southeastern is proposing two rate alternatives that include a direct 
pass through of replacement energy costs. These are designated 
``Scenario 2A'' and ``Scenario 2B.'' Under these alternatives, 
replacement energy costs are excluded from the capacity and energy 
charges.

Proposed Unit Rates

    Southeastern is proposing the following rate schedules to be 
effective for the period from October 1, 2002 through September 30, 
2007.

Rate Schedule SOCO-1-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in Georgia, Alabama, 
Mississippi, and Florida to whom power may be wheeled and scheduled 
pursuant to contracts between the Government and Southern Company 
Services, Incorporated.

Rate Schedule SOCO-2-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in Georgia, Alabama, 
Mississippi, and Florida to whom power may be wheeled pursuant to 
contracts between the Government and Southern Company Services, 
Incorporated. The customer is responsible for providing a scheduling 
arrangement with the Government.

Rate Schedule SOCO-3-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in Georgia, Alabama, 
Mississippi, and Florida to whom power may be scheduled pursuant to 
contracts between the Government and Southern Company Services, 
Incorporated. The customer is responsible for providing a transmission 
arrangement.

Rate Schedule SOCO-4-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in Georgia, Alabama, 
Mississippi, and Florida. The customer is responsible for providing a 
scheduling arrangement with the Government and for providing a 
transmission arrangement.

Rate Schedule ALA-1-J

    Available to the Alabama Electric Cooperative, Incorporated.

[[Page 11326]]

Rate Schedule MISS-1-J

    Available to the South Mississippi Electric Power Association to 
whom power may be wheeled pursuant to contract between the Government 
and Alabama Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Rate Schedule Duke-1-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in North Carolina and 
South Carolina to whom power may be wheeled and scheduled pursuant to 
contracts between the Government and Duke Power Company.

Rate Schedule Duke-2-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in North Carolina and 
South Carolina to whom power may be wheeled pursuant to contracts 
between the Government and Duke Power Company. The customer is 
responsible for providing a scheduling arrangement with the Government.

Rate Schedule Duke-3-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in North Carolina and 
South Carolina to whom power may be scheduled pursuant to contracts 
between the Government and Duke Power Company. The customer is 
responsible for providing a transmission arrangement.

Rate Schedule Duke-4-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in North Carolina and 
South Carolina served through the transmission facilities of Duke Power 
Company. The customer is responsible for providing a scheduling 
arrangement with the Government and for providing a transmission 
arrangement.

Rate Schedule Santee-1-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in South Carolina to 
whom power may be wheeled and scheduled pursuant to contracts between 
the Government and South Carolina Public Service Authority.

Rate Schedule Santee-2-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in South Carolina to 
whom power may be wheeled pursuant to contracts between the Government 
and South Carolina Public Service Authority. The customer is 
responsible for providing a scheduling arrangement with the Government.

Rate Schedule Santee-3-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in South Carolina to 
whom power may be scheduled pursuant to contracts between the 
Government and South Carolina Public Service Authority. The customer is 
responsible for providing a transmission arrangement.

Rate Schedule Santee-4-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in South Carolina 
served through the transmission facilities of South Carolina Public 
Service Authority. The customer is responsible for providing a 
scheduling arrangement with the Government and for providing a 
transmission arrangement.

Rate Schedule SCE&G-1-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in South Carolina to 
whom power may be wheeled and scheduled pursuant to contracts between 
the Government and South Carolina Electric & Gas Company.

Rate Schedule SCE&G-2-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in South Carolina to 
whom power may be wheeled pursuant to contracts between the Government 
and South Carolina Electric & Gas Company. The customer is responsible 
for providing a scheduling arrangement with the Government.

Rate Schedule SCE&G-3-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in South Carolina to 
whom power may be scheduled pursuant to contracts between the 
Government and South Carolina Electric & Gas Company. The customer is 
responsible for providing a transmission arrangement.

Rate Schedule SCE&G-4-A

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in South Carolina 
served through the transmission facilities of South Carolina Electric & 
Gas Company. The customer is responsible for providing a scheduling 
arrangement with the Government and for providing a transmission 
arrangement.

Rate Schedule Pump-1

    Available to all customers of the Georgia-Alabama-South Carolina 
System and applicable to energy from pumping operations at the Carters 
and Richard B. Russell projects.

Rate Schedule Regulation-1

    Available to public bodies and cooperatives in Georgia, Alabama, 
Mississippi, Florida, South Carolina, or North Carolina to whom 
regulation service is provided pursuant to contracts between the 
Government and the customer.

Rate Schedule Replacement-1

    Available to all customers in the Georgia-Alabama-South Carolina 
System and applicable to replacement energy.
    Under Scenario 1A, the proposed rates for capacity, energy, and 
generation services are as follows:
    Capacity: $2.98 per kw per month.
    Energy: 7.91 mills per kwh.
    Generation Services: $0.13 per kw per month.
    Under this scenario, 70 per cent of generation revenues are 
recovered from capacity sales and 30 per cent are recovered from energy 
sales. These rates include a reserve for contingencies. These rates are 
expected to produce an average revenue increase of $10.0 million in FY 
2003 and all future years.
    Under Scenario 1B, the proposed rates for capacity, energy, and 
generation services are as follows:
    Capacity: $3.60 per kw per month.
    Energy: 3.94 mills per kwh.
    Generation Services: $0.13 per kw per month.
    Under this scenario, 85 per cent of generation revenues are 
recovered from capacity sales and 15 per cent are recovered from energy 
sales. These rates include no reserve for contingencies. These rates 
are expected to produce an average revenue increase of $9.5 million in 
FY 2003 and all future years.
    Under Scenario 2A, the proposed rates for capacity, energy, and 
generation services are as follows:
    Capacity: $2.89 per kw per month.
    Energy: 7.67 mills per kwh.
    Generation Services: $0.13 per kw per month.
    Under Scenario 2A, 70 percent of generation revenues are recovered 
from capacity sales and 30 per cent are recovered from energy sales. 
These rates include a reserve for contingencies. These rates are 
expected to produce an average revenue increase of $7.0 million in FY 
2003 and all future years.
    Under Scenario 2B, the proposed rates for capacity, energy, and 
generation services are as follows:
    Capacity: $3.49 per kw per month.
    Energy: 3.82 mills per kwh.
    Generation Services: $0.13 per kw per month.
    Under Scenario 2B, 85 percent of generation revenues are recovered 
from capacity sales and 15 per cent are recovered from energy sales. 
These rates include no reserve for contingencies. These rates are 
expected to produce an average revenue increase of $6.5 million in FY 
2003 and all future years.
    The rates for transmission, scheduling, reactive supply, and 
regulation and frequency response apply to all four scenarios and are 
illustrated in Table 1.

[[Page 11327]]



 Southeastern Power Administration Proposed Rates for Transmission Scheduling, Reactive, and Regulation Charges
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                                                   Transmission     Scheduling       Reactive       Regulation
                  Rate schedule                    charge, $/KW/   charge, $/KW/   charge, $/KW/   charge, $/KW/
                                                       month           month           month           month
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SOCO-1-A........................................            1.51          0.0806            0.11          0.0483
SOCO-2-A........................................            1.51             N/A            0.11             N/A
SOCO-3-A........................................             N/A          0.0806             N/A          0.0483
SOCO-4-A........................................             N/A             N/A             N/A             N/A
ALA-1-J.........................................             N/A             N/A             N/A             N/A
MISS-1-J........................................           1.854             N/A             N/A             N/A
Duke-1-A........................................            0.93             N/A             N/A             N/A
Duke-2-A........................................            0.93             N/A             N/A             N/A
Duke-3-A........................................             N/A             N/A             N/A             N/A
Duke-4-A........................................             N/A             N/A             N/A             N/A
Santee-1-A......................................            1.59             N/A             N/A             N/A
Santee-2-A......................................            1.59             N/A             N/A             N/A
Santee-3-A......................................             N/A             N/A             N/A             N/A
Santee-4-A......................................             N/A             N/A             N/A             N/A
SCE&G-1-A.......................................            1.13             N/A             N/A             N/A
SCE&G-2-A.......................................            1.13             N/A             N/A             N/A
SCE&G-3-A.......................................             N/A             N/A             N/A             N/A
SCE&G-4-A.......................................             N/A             N/A             N/A             N/A
Pump-1..........................................             N/A             N/A             N/A             N/A
Regulation-1....................................             N/A             N/A             N/A             N/A
Replacement-1...................................             N/A             N/A             N/A             N/A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The referenced repayment studies are available for examination at 
1166 Athens Tech Road, Elberton, Georgia 30635-6711. Proposed Rate 
Schedules SOCO-1-A, SOCO-2-A, SOCO-3-A, SOCO-4-A, ALA-1-J, MISS-1-J, 
Duke-1-A, Duke-2-A, Duke-3-A, Duke-4-A, Santee-1-A, Santee-2-A, Santee-
3-A, Santee-4-A, SCE&G-1-A, SCE&G-2-A, SCE&G-3-A, SCE&G-4-A, Pump-1, 
Regulation-1, and Replacement-1 are also available.

    Dated: February 26, 2002.
Charles A. Borchardt,
Administration.
[FR Doc. 02-6036 Filed 3-12-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P