[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 16, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69990-69991]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-28811]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. PP-371]


Application for Presidential Permit; Northern Pass Transmission 
LLC

AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of application.

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SUMMARY: Northern Pass Transmission LLC (Northern Pass) has applied for 
a Presidential permit to construct, operate, maintain, and connect an 
electric transmission line across the United States border with Canada.

DATES: Comments, protests, or requests to intervene must be submitted 
on or before December 16, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Comments, protests, or requests to intervene should be 
addressed as follows: Brian Mills, Office of Electricity Delivery and 
Energy Reliability (OE-20), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Mills (Program Office) at 202-
586-8267 or via electronic mail at [email protected], or Michael 
T. Skinker (Program Attorney) at 202-586-2793.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The construction, operation, maintenance, 
and connection 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 October 14, 2010, Northern Pass filed an application with the 
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability of the Department 
of Energy (DOE) for a Presidential permit. Northern Pass is jointly 
owned by NU Transmission Ventures, Inc. (75% owner), a wholly-owned 
subsidiary of Northeast Utilities, a publicly held public utility 
holding company, and NSTAR Transmission Ventures, Inc. (25% owner), a 
wholly-owned subsidiary of NSTAR, a publicly held public utility 
holding company.
    The proposed international transmission line would originate at a 
high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter terminal to be constructed 
at the Des Canton Substation in Quebec, Canada, from which a single 
circuit  300 kilovolt (kV) HVDC overhead electric 
transmission line would extend southward in Province of Quebec for 
approximately 45 miles where it would cross the Canada-U.S. border into 
Coos County, New Hampshire. In New Hampshire the proposed HVDC 
transmission line would continue southward for approximately 140 miles 
to a proposed converter terminal to be constructed in Franklin, New 
Hampshire. At the Franklin converter terminal the electric energy would 
be converted from direct current to 345-kV alternating current (AC). 
The single circuit overhead 345-kV AC line would continue another 40 
miles to Public Service Company of New Hampshire's existing Deerfield 
Substation, located in Deerfield, New Hampshire. Facilities to be 
constructed in Canada would be owned and operated by Hydro-Quebec 
TransEnergie, a division of Hydro-Quebec. The 180 miles of transmission 
inside the United States and the Franklin converter terminal would be 
owned and operated by Northern Pass. The proposed international 
transmission facilities would enable the bidirectional transmission of 
1,200 megawatts (MW) of power between Quebec, Canada, and New England.
    Since the restructuring of the electric power industry began, 
resulting in the introduction of different types of competitive 
entities into the marketplace, DOE has consistently expressed its 
policy that cross-border trade in electric energy should be subject to 
the same principles of comparable open access and non-discrimination 
that apply to transmission in interstate commerce. DOE has stated that 
policy in export authorizations granted to entities requesting 
authority to export over international transmission facilities. 
Specifically, DOE expects transmitting utilities owning border 
facilities to provide access across the border in accordance with the 
principles of comparable open access and non-discrimination contained 
in the Federal Power Act and articulated in Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (FERC) Order No. 888 (Promoting Wholesale Competition 
Through Open Access Non-Discriminatory Transmission Services by Public 
Utilities; FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,036 (1996)), as amended. In 
furtherance of this policy, DOE invites comments on whether it would be 
appropriate to condition any Presidential permit issued in this 
proceeding on compliance with these open access principles.
    Procedural Matters: Any person desiring to become a party to this 
proceeding or to be heard by filing comments on, or protests to, this 
application should file a petition to intervene, comment, or protest at 
the address provided above in accordance with Sec. Sec.  385.211 or 
385.214 of FERC's Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 385.211, 
385.214). Fifteen copies of each petition and protest should be filed 
with DOE on or before the date listed above.
    Additional copies of such petitions to intervene, comments, or 
protests should also be filed directly with: Anne Bartosewicz, 
Northeast Utilities, 107 Selden Street, Berlin, CT 06037 AND Mary Anne 
Sullivan, Hogan Lovells, LLP, 555 13th St., NW., Washington, DC 20004.
    Before a Presidential permit may be issued or amended, DOE must 
determine that the proposed action is in the public interest. In making 
that determination, DOE considers the environmental impacts of the 
proposed project pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, determines the project's impact on electric reliability by 
ascertaining whether the proposed project would adversely affect the 
operation of the U.S. electric power supply system under normal and 
contingency conditions, and any other factors that DOE may also 
consider relevant to the public interest. Also, DOE 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, by 
accessing the program Web site at http://www.oe.energy.gov/permits_pending.htm, or by e-mailing Odessa Hopkins at 
[email protected].


[[Page 69991]]


    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 9, 2010.
Anthony J. Como,
Director, Permitting and Siting, Office of Electricity Delivery and 
Energy Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2010-28811 Filed 11-15-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P