[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 87 (Monday, May 5, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24592-24594]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9816]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Western Area Power Administration


2015 Resource Pool

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed 2015 Resource Pool Size and Revised 
Eligibility Criteria.

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SUMMARY: The Western Area Power Administration (Western), a Federal 
power marketing administration of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), 
published its 2004 Power Marketing Plan (Marketing Plan) for Western's 
Sierra Nevada Customer Service Region (SNR) in the Federal Register on 
June 25, 1999 (64 FR 34417). The Marketing Plan specifies the terms and 
conditions under which Western will market power from the Central 
Valley Project (CVP) and the Washoe Project beginning January 1, 2005, 
and continuing through December 31, 2024. The Marketing Plan provides 
for a 2015 Resource Pool of up to 2 percent of SNR's marketable power 
resources. The 2015 Resource Pool will be available for power 
allocations to preference entities that meet the Eligibility Criteria. 
This notice begins the public process to establish the resources 
available and to revise the Eligibility Criteria provided in the 
Marketing Plan for the 2015 Resource Pool. Once Western establishes the 
final amount of power to be made available under the 2015 Resource Pool 
and the associated Eligibility Criteria, preference entities who wish 
to apply for an allocation of power from SNR must submit formal 
applications in response to Western's Call for 2015 Resource Pool 
Applications to be published under a separate notice.

DATES: Entities interested in submitting comments on Western's Proposed 
2015 Resource Pool size and revised Eligibility Criteria must submit 
comments to the SNR office at the address below. To ensure 
consideration, comments must be received by the end of the comment 
period which closes at 4 p.m. PST on July 7, 2008. The public comment 
forum date is: May 21, 2008, 1 p.m. PST, Folsom, CA. Please refer to 
Western's Web page http://www.wapa.gov/sn/marketing/2015ResourcePool.asp for additional information including updates to 
the date, time, and location of the forum.

ADDRESSES: Western will hold the public comment forum at the Lake 
Natoma Inn, 702 Gold Lake Drive, Folsom, CA. Written comments can be 
mailed to Ms. Sonja A. Anderson, Power Marketing Manager, Sierra Nevada 
Region, Western Area Power Administration, 114 Parkshore Drive, Folsom, 
CA 95630-4710, e-mail [email protected]. Oral comments must be 
presented at the public comment forum which will be held on May 21, 
2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jeanne Haas, Power Contracts and 
Energy Services Manager, Sierra Nevada Customer Service Region, Western 
Area Power Administration, 114 Parkshore Drive, Folsom, CA 95630-4710, 
telephone (916) 353-4438, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Marketing Plan provides that, effective January 1, 2015, 
Western will reduce all Customers' allocations by up to 2 percent to 
establish a 2015 Resource Pool. In addition, the Marketing Plan 
explains that as a result of a settlement, the Sacramento Municipal 
Utility District (SMUD) did not contribute to the 2005 Resource Pool. 
Beginning in 2015, SMUD's percentage will be adjusted pursuant to the 
Marketing Plan to be consistent with all other Existing Customers, and 
the percentage it did not provide to the 2005 Resource Pool will be 
included in the 2015 Resource Pool. Western is starting the public 
process for the allocation of the 2015 Resource Pool now to ensure that 
Customers have adequate time to secure power and delivery arrangements 
to start on January 1, 2015.
    CVP power facilities include 11 powerplants with a maximum 
operating capability of about 2,044 megawatts (MW) and an estimated 
average annual generation of 4.6 million megawatthours (MWh). Western 
markets and transmits the power available from the CVP.
    The Washoe Project's Stampede Powerplant has a maximum operating 
capability of 3.65 MW with an estimated annual generation of 10,000 
MWh. The Sierra Pacific Power Company owns and operates the only 
transmission system available for access to the Stampede Powerplant.
    Western owns the 94 circuit-mile Malin-Round Mountain, 500-kilovolt 
(kV) Transmission Line (an integral section of the Pacific Northwest-
Pacific Southwest Alternating Current Intertie), 803 circuit miles of 
230-kV transmission line, 7 circuit miles of 115-kV transmission line, 
and 44 circuit miles of 69-kV and below transmission line. Western also 
has part ownership in the 342-mile California-Oregon Transmission 
Project and owns the 84-mile Path 15 Upgrade Project. Many of Western's 
Customers have no direct

[[Page 24593]]

access to Western's transmission lines and receive service over 
transmission lines owned by other utilities.
    The Marketing Plan describes how SNR will market its power 
resources beginning January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2024. The 
Marketing Plan requires Western to establish a Resource Pool and to 
reallocate an amount of power for the period of January 1, 2015, 
through December 31, 2024. This public process will determine the exact 
amount of power Western will reallocate and revises the Eligibility 
Criteria the entities must meet to qualify for an allocation of power 
from Western during this period. After or simultaneous to publishing 
its final decision on the 2015 Resource Pool size and revised 
Eligibility Criteria, Western will publish a Call for 2015 Resource 
Pool Applications in this Federal Register notice which will begin the 
formal allocation process. The Marketing Plan will continue in full 
force and effect and will govern the formal allocation process. 
However, Western will apply the revised Eligibility Criteria developed 
through this process for the 2015 Resource Pool. Entities interested in 
an allocation of power from SNR must apply pursuant to the Call for 
2015 Resource Pool Applications.

Acronyms and Definitions

    CRD: Contract Rate of Delivery: The maximum amount of capacity made 
available to a Customer for a period specified under a contract.
    Customer: A preference customer who has a contract to purchase 
power under the Marketing Plan.
    Eligibility Criteria: Conditions that must be met to qualify for an 
allocation.
    Existing Customer: A preference customer who had a contract to 
purchase firm power offered under a previous allocation process or 
Marketing Plan that extended through December 31, 2004. Note: the 
definition includes those entities who succeeded in interest to an 
Existing Customer; e.g., if Western approved the assignment of an 
Existing Customer's Federal power allocation to another preference 
customer, the assigned Federal power falls within the definition.
    Extension CRD: An Existing Customer's CRD exclusive of diversity 
and curtailable power and peaking/excess capacity, as it may be 
adjusted in accordance with the Marketing Plan.

2015 Resource Pool Size

    As described in the Marketing Plan, effective January 1, 2015, 
Western will recalculate the percentages of all Customers. For the 
period of January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2024, Western will 
derive each Customer's new percentage in the manner described below.
    Pursuant to the procedures established in the Marketing Plan, 
Western will determine the amount of Federal resources available for 
the 2015 Resource Pool in the following steps:
    1. Western will adjust SMUD's allocation to be consistent with the 
other Existing Customers. In other words, the Marketing Plan requires 
Western to adjust SMUD's Base Resource percentages to equal what SMUD 
would have been required to contribute to the 2005 Resource Pool. 
Western will then adjust the ratio of each Existing Customer's 
Extension CRD to the total of all Existing Customers' Extension CRD. 
This step reflects what each Existing Customer's allocation percentage 
would have been beginning January 1, 2005, if not for the Settlement 
Agreement with SMUD. Beginning January 1, 2015, SMUD will be treated 
as, and included with, all of the Existing Customers.
    2. Once the Existing Customers' allocation percentages have been 
adjusted as indicated in paragraph 1 above, Western will then reduce 
each Existing Customer's right to purchase the Base Resource by 4 
percent. This step reflects the amount that the Existing Customers 
would have been required to contribute to the 2005 Resource Pool if not 
for the Settlement Agreement with SMUD.
    3. Finally, Western proposes to reduce all Customers' right to 
purchase the Base Resource by an additional 2 percent to create the 
2015 Resource Pool. To clarify, this 2 percent reduction applies to all 
Customers, including those that received an allocation under the 
Marketing Plan through the 2005 Resource Pool.
    The Marketing Plan provides for Western to reduce all Customers' 
allocations by up to 2 percent. Western is proposing to reduce all 
Customers' Base Resource percentage by 2 percent to provide for a 2015 
Resource Pool sufficient to promote wide-spread use of Federal power. 
Through this Federal Register notice, Western is seeking comments on 
the proposed 2 percent reduction in its Customers' allocations.

Revised Eligibility Criteria

    The Marketing Plan established Eligibility Criteria to apply to all 
applicants seeking a resource pool allocation, including the following:

    Existing Customers may apply for a resource pool allocation if 
their Extension CRD, set forth in Appendix A [of the Marketing Plan 
Federal Register 64 FR 34417], is not more than 15 percent of their 
peak load in the calendar year prior to the Call for Applications, 
and not more than 10 MW.

    Western is proposing to delete the paragraph above from its 
Eligibility Criteria. Western believes that this criterion may be too 
restrictive to ensure full subscription of its resources. Further, the 
2015 Resource Pool is based on a percentage of the Base Resource. The 
2005 Resource Pool was determined from an Extension CRD which is no 
longer applicable. Western seeks comments on the change it is proposing 
to the Eligibility Criteria applicable under the Marketing Plan for 
applicants seeking an allocation of the 2015 Resource Pool.

Proposed 2015 Resource Pool Size and Revised Eligibility Criteria

    The proposed 2015 Resource Pool size and revised Eligibility 
Criteria are preliminary and may be changed based on comments received. 
This Federal Register notice formally requests comments related to 
Western's proposals. Western will respond to comments received on the 
2015 Resource Pool size and revised Eligibility Criteria and publish 
its final decision on the 2015 Resource Pool size and revised 
Eligibility Criteria after the end of the public comment period. After, 
or simultaneous to, publishing its final decision on the 2015 Resource 
Pool size and revised Eligibility Criteria, Western will publish a Call 
for Application in the Federal Register which will begin the formal 
allocation process. The Marketing Plan will continue in full force and 
effect and will govern the formal allocation process. However, Western 
will apply the revised Eligibility Criteria developed through this 
process for the 2015 Resource Pool.

Authorities

    The Marketing Plan for marketing power by SNR after 2004, published 
in the Federal Register (64 FR 34417) on June 25, 1999, was established 
pursuant to the Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7101-
7352); the Reclamation Act of June 17, 1902 (ch. 1093, 32 Stat. 388), 
as amended and supplemented by subsequent enactments, particularly 
section 9(c) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 485(c)); 
and other acts specifically applicable to the projects involved. This 
action falls within the Marketing Plan and, thus, is covered by the 
same authority.

[[Page 24594]]

Regulatory Procedure Requirements

Environmental Compliance

    In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.); the Council on Environmental Quality 
Regulations for implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508); and DOE 
NEPA implementing regulations (10 CFR part 1021), Western completed an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) on its Energy Planning and 
Management Program. The Record of Decision was published in the Federal 
Register (60 FR 53181, October 12, 1995). Western also completed the 
2004 Power Marketing Program EIS (2004 EIS), and the Record of Decision 
was published in the Federal Register (62 FR 22934, April 28, 1997). 
The Marketing Plan falls within the range of alternatives considered in 
the 2004 EIS. This NEPA review identified and analyzed environmental 
effects related to the Marketing Plan. This action falls within the 
Marketing Plan and, thus, is covered by the 2004 EIS.

Determination Under Executive Order 12866

    Western has an exemption from centralized regulatory review under 
Executive Order 12866; accordingly, no clearance of this notice by the 
Office of Management and Budget is required.

    Dated: April 22, 2008.
Timothy J. Meeks,
Administrator.
 [FR Doc. E8-9816 Filed 5-2-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P