[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 22, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62981-62987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-25155]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Western Area Power Administration


Post-2009 Resource Pool--Loveland Area Projects--Allocation 
Procedures and Call for Applications

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of allocation procedures and call for applications.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Western Area Power Administration (Western), a Federal power 
marketing agency of the Department of Energy (DOE), is publishing this 
notice of allocation procedures and call for applications from 
preference entities interested in an allocation of Federal electric 
power. Subpart C of the Energy Planning and Management Program 
(Program), which was developed in part to implement section 114 of the 
Energy Policy Act of 1992, provides for establishing project-specific 
resource pools and allocating power from these pools to new preference 
customers and for other appropriate purposes as determined by Western. 
These allocation procedures and call for applications, in conjunction 
with the Loveland Area Projects (LAP) Final Post-1989 Marketing Plan 
(Post-1989 Marketing Plan), establish the framework for allocating 
power from the LAP resource pool.

DATES: An entity interested in applying for an allocation of electric 
power from Western must submit a written application (see Applicant 
Profile Data (APD) in Section V. A.) to Western's Rocky Mountain 
Customer Service Region at the address below. Western must receive the 
application by 4 p.m., MST, on Friday, December 19, 2008. Western 
reserves the right to not consider an application that is received 
after the prescribed date and time.
    A single public information forum on the procedures and call for 
applications will be held on Thursday, November 13, 2008 MST; see 
address below.

ADDRESSES: Submit applications for an allocation of electric power from 
Western to James D. Keselburg, Regional Manager, Rocky Mountain 
Customer Service Region, Western Area Power Administration, 5555 East 
Crossroads Boulevard, Loveland, CO 80538-8986. Applications may be 
delivered by certified mail, commercial mail, e-mail, or fax 970-461-
7204. If submitting the application by e-mail, send it to 
[email protected] with an electronic signature. If an electronic 
signature is not available, fax the signature page to 970-461-7204, or 
mail it to the address above.
    Information about the Post-2009 Resource Pool Allocation 
Procedures, including comments, letters, and other supporting documents 
made or kept by Western pertaining to these allocation procedures and 
call for applications, is available for public inspection and copying 
at the Rocky Mountain Customer Service Region office, Western Area 
Power Administration, 5555 East Crossroads Boulevard, Loveland, CO 
80538-8986.
    A single public information forum (not to exceed 3 hours) on the 
allocation procedures and APD will be held on Thursday, November 13, 
2008, at 9 a.m., MST, at the Ramada Plaza and Conference Center, 10 
East 120th Avenue, Northglenn, CO 80233; telephone number 303-452-4100.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Steshyn, Public Utilities 
Specialist, 970-461-7237, or Melanie Reed, Contracts and Energy 
Services Manager, 970-461-7229. Written requests for information should 
be sent to Rocky Mountain Customer Service Region, Western Area Power 
Administration, Attn: J6200, P.O. Box 3700, Loveland, CO 80539-3003.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Western published the Final Rule for the 
Program, 60 FR 54151, on October 20, 1995. The rule became effective on 
November 20, 1995. Subpart C-Power Marketing Initiative of the Program, 
Final Rule, 10 CFR part 905, provides for project-specific power 
resource pools and power allocations from these pools to eligible new 
preference customers and/or for other appropriate purposes as 
determined by Western. On June 25, 2007, Western published a Notice of 
Request for Letters of Interest in the Federal Register (72 FR 34679) 
regarding the resource pool. The comments, Western's responses, and the 
decision to allocate the Post-2009 resource pool to new preference 
customers, were published in the Federal Register (73 FR 38447) on July 
7, 2008. Up to 1 percent of existing customers' allocations will be 
placed in a resource pool from which power allocations to new customers 
will be made. The Post-2009 Resource Pool Allocation Procedures for 
making these allocations address: (1) Amount of pool resources; (2) 
general eligibility criteria; (3) general allocation criteria, i.e., 
how Western plans to allocate pool resources to new customers as 
provided for in the Program; (4) general contract principles under 
which Western will sell the allocated power, and; (5) Applicant Profile 
Data, i.e., application information required from each applicant.

[[Page 62982]]

I. Amount of Pool Resources

    Western will allocate up to 1 percent of the LAP long-term firm 
hydroelectric resource available as of October 1, 2009, as firm power. 
``Firm power'' means firm capacity and associated energy allocated by 
Western that is subject to the terms and conditions specified in 
Western's long-term firm power electric service contract. The amount of 
resource that will become available October 1, 2009, is approximately 
6.9 MW for the summer season and 6.1 MW for the winter season.

II. General Eligibility Criteria

    Western will apply the following general eligibility criteria to 
applicants seeking an allocation of firm power under the Post-2009 
Resource Pool Allocation Procedures:
    A. Qualified applicants must be preference entities as defined by 
section 9c of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939, 43 U.S.C. 485h(c), 
as amended and supplemented.
    B. Qualified applicants must be located within the currently 
established LAP marketing area. (See Section III.C. below for a 
description of the LAP marketing area.)
    C. Qualified applicants must not have a current firm electric 
service contract nor be a member of a parent entity that has a firm 
electric service contract with Western.
    D. Qualified utility and nonutility applicants must be able to use 
the firm power directly or be able to sell it directly to retail 
customers.
    E. Qualified utility applicants that are municipalities, 
cooperatives, public utility districts, or public power districts must 
have attained utility status by October 1, 2006. ``Utility status'' 
means that the entity has responsibility to meet load growth, has a 
distribution system, and is ready, willing, and able to purchase 
Federal power from Western on a wholesale basis.
    F. A qualified Native American applicant must be an ``Indian 
Tribe,'' as defined in the Indian Self Determination Act of 1975, 25 
U.S.C. 450b, as amended and supplemented.

III. General Allocation Criteria

    Western will apply the following general allocation criteria to 
applicants seeking an allocation of firm power under the Post-2009 
Resource Pool Allocation Procedures:
    A. Allocations of firm power will be made in amounts as determined 
solely by Western in exercising its discretion under Reclamation Law.
    B. An allottee will have the right to purchase firm power only 
after executing an electric service contract with Western, and 
satisfying all conditions for firm electric service delivery in the 
contract.
    C. Firm power allocated under these procedures will be available 
only to new qualified applicants in LAP's existing marketing area. This 
marketing area includes parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and 
Wyoming. LAP's marketing area is specifically defined as the portion of 
Colorado east of the Continental Divide, Mountain Parks Rural Electric 
Association's service territory in Colorado west of the Continental 
Divide, the portion of Kansas located in the Missouri River Basin, the 
portion of Kansas west of the eastern borders of the counties 
intersected by the 100th Meridian, the portion of Nebraska west of the 
101st Meridian, and Wyoming east of the Continental Divide.
    D. An allocation made to an Indian Tribe will be based on actual 
load, or estimated load as developed by the Tribe. Western will 
evaluate and may adjust inconsistent estimates during the allocation 
process. Western is willing to assist tribes in developing load 
estimating methods.
    E. Allocations made to eligible utility and nonutility applicants 
will be based on 2007 summer season and 2007-2008 winter season loads. 
Western will apply the Post-1989 Marketing Plan, Program criteria, and 
the Post-2004 Resource Pool criteria to these loads, except as modified 
herein.
    F. Firm capacity and energy will be based upon each applicant's 
seasonal system load factor.
    G. Any long-term firm electric service contract offered by Western 
to an applicant shall be executed by the applicant no later than June 
1, 2009, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by Western.
    H. The resource pool will be dissolved subsequent to the closing 
date for executing firm power contracts. Firm power not under contract 
will be used as Western determines.
    I. The minimum allocation shall be 100 kilowatts (kW).
    J. The maximum allocation shall be 5,000 kW. Qualified Native 
American applicants are not subject to this limitation.
    K. Contract rates of delivery shall be subject to adjustment in the 
future as provided for in the Program.
    L. If Western encounters unanticipated obstacles to delivering firm 
electric service to an Indian Tribe, it retains the right to provide 
the economic benefit of the resource directly to the tribe.

IV. General Contract Principles

    Western will apply the following general contract principles to all 
allottees receiving an allocation of firm power under the Post-2009 
Resource Pool Allocation Procedures:
    A. Western, at its discretion and sole determination, reserves the 
right to adjust the contract rate of delivery on 5 years' notice in 
response to changes in hydrology and river operations. Any such 
adjustments shall only take place after a public process.
    B. Each allottee is ultimately responsible for making its own 
third-party delivery arrangements. Western may assist allottees in 
making third-party transmission arrangements for delivery of firm 
power.
    C. Contracts entered into under the Post-2009 Resource Pool 
Allocation Procedures shall provide for Western to furnish firm 
electric service effective October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2024.
    D. Contracts entered into as a result of these procedures shall 
incorporate Western's standard provisions for power sales contracts, to 
include integrated resource planning and general power contract 
provisions.
    E. Contracts entered into will include provisions for a reduction 
of up to 1 percent of the current contracted rate of delivery effective 
October 1, 2014, in accordance with the Program.

V. Applications for Firm Power

    This notice formally requests applications from qualified entities 
that desire to purchase firm power from the Rocky Mountain Customer 
Service Region. Applications for an allocation of firm power under 
these procedures must be submitted in writing to the Regional Manager, 
Rocky Mountain Customer Service Region. APD must be received at 
Western's Rocky Mountain Customer Service Region in accordance with the 
requirements listed herein. Western reserves the right to not consider 
applications submitted before publication of this notice or after the 
deadlines specified in the Dates section above. Applications are 
available upon request or may be accessed at http://www.wapa.gov/rm/PMcontractRM/Post2009.html.

A. Applicant Profile Data (APD)

    APD content and format are outlined below. To be considered, each 
applicant must submit its APD to Western's Rocky Mountain Customer 
Service Region no later than 4 p.m., MST, on Friday, December 19, 2008. 
See the Dates and Addresses sections above for specific information on 
submission and deadline

[[Page 62983]]

requirements. Applicants are encouraged to use the application form 
provided at the above referenced Web site, or the requested information 
should be submitted in the sequence listed. The applicant must provide 
all requested information or the most reasonable available estimate. 
The applicant should note any requested information that does not 
apply. Western is not responsible for errors in data, missing data, or 
missing pages. All APD should be answered as if prepared by the entity 
seeking an allocation of Federal power. The APD content and format 
follows:
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN22OC08.002


[[Page 62984]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN22OC08.003


[[Page 62985]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN22OC08.004


[[Page 62986]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN22OC08.005


[[Page 62987]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN22OC08.006

BILLING CODE 6450-01-C
    Recordkeeping Requirements: If Western accepts an application and 
the applicant receives an allocation of Federal power, the applicant 
must keep all APD for a period of 3 years after signing a contract for 
Federal power. There is no record keeping requirement for unsuccessful 
applicants.

B. Western's Consideration of Applications

    1. Upon receipt, Western will review APD and verify that each 
applicant meets the general eligibility criteria set forth in Section 
II.
    a. Western will request, in writing, additional information from 
any applicant whose APD is deficient. The applicant shall have 15 
calendar days from the date on Western's letter of request to provide, 
in writing, the needed information.
    b. If Western determines that an applicant does not meet the 
general eligibility criteria, Western will send a letter explaining why 
the applicant did not qualify.
    c. If an applicant meets the general eligibility criteria, Western 
will determine the amount of firm power to be allocated pursuant to the 
general allocation criteria set forth in Section III. Western will send 
a draft contract to an applicant for review, which identifies the terms 
and conditions of the offer and the amount of firm power allocated to 
the applicant.
    2. Western reserves the right to determine the amount of firm power 
to allocate to an applicant, as justified by an applicant's APD.

VI. Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
3501-3520, Western has received approval from the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) to collect the APD under control number 1910-5136.

VII. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act

    Western completed an environmental impact statement on the Program, 
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The 
Record of Decision was published in the Federal Register, 60 FR 53181, 
October 12, 1995. Western will comply with any additional NEPA 
requirements for this resource pool.

    Dated: October 15, 2008.
Timothy J. Meeks,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. E8-25155 Filed 10-21-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P