[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43198-43200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17290]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. AD13-5-000]


Flexible and Local Resources Needed for Reliability in the 
California Wholesale Electric Market; Notice of Staff Technical 
Conference

    This notice establishes the agenda and topics for discussion at the 
technical conference directed by the Commission in an Order on 
California Independent System Operator Corporation's (CAISO) proposal 
to implement an interim flexible capacity and local reliability 
resource retention mechanism (FLRR).\1\ The technical conference will 
be held on July 31, 2013 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Pacific Time) in 
the Byron Sher Auditorium at the California Environmental Protection 
Agency Headquarters Building, 1001 I Street, Sacramento, California, 
95812. Please note the changed venue for the conference and the 
truncation of the conference to a single day. The technical conference 
will be led by FERC staff, with presentations from panelists. 
Commissioners may attend and participate in the conference.
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    \1\ Cal. Indep. Sys. Operator Corp., 142 FERC ] 61,248 (2013).
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    The agenda and questions to be discussed during this conference are 
attached. The technical conference is intended to facilitate a 
structured dialogue on the reliability and risk-of-retirement concerns 
raised in the FLRR proceeding, including, how those concerns relate to 
the joint CAISO/CPUC Multi-Year Reliability Framework proposal.
    The technical conference will not be transcribed. However, there 
will be a free audiocast of the conference. The audiocast will allow 
persons to listen to the conference, but not participate. Anyone with 
Internet access who wants to listen can do so by navigating to the 
Calendar of Events at www.ferc.gov and locating the technical 
conference in the Calendar. The FERC Web site's link to the technical 
conference will contain a link to the audiocast. The Capitol Connection 
provides technical support for the audiocast. If you have questions, 
visit www.CapitolConnection.org or call 703-992-3100.
    FERC conferences are accessible under section 508 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For accessibility accommodations please 
send an email to [email protected] or call toll free 1-866-208-
3372 (voice) or 202-208-8659 (TTY), or send a fax to 202-208-2106 with 
the required accommodations.
    For more information on this conference, please contact Colleen 
Farrell at [email protected] or (202) 502-6751; or Katheryn Hoke 
at [email protected] or (202) 502-8404.

    Dated: July 11, 2013.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.

Agenda for the Technical Conference on Flexible and Local Resources 
Needed for Reliability in the California Wholesale Electric Market July 
31, 2013

    The technical conference is intended to facilitate a structured 
dialogue on the reliability and risk-of-retirement concerns raised in 
the FLRR proceeding, including discussion of the possible development 
of a durable, market-based mechanism to provide incentives to insure 
reliability needs are met.
    The CAISO and CPUC staff recently announced a joint Multi-Year 
Reliability Framework proposal (joint proposal) for revising the CPUC's 
resource adequacy program and CAISO's capacity procurement mechanism 
tariff provisions, that is related to this subject.\2\ Thus, this 
technical conference will also examine whether and how the joint 
proposal addresses the reliability needs raised in the FLRR proceeding.
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    \2\ See http://www.caiso.com/Documents/NewStakeholderInitiativeMulti-YearReliabilityFramework_ISO-CPUCJointWorkshopJul17_2013.htm.
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    Following a presentation by CAISO and CPUC staff, the conference 
will be divided into two panels. The first panel will examine the 
reliability issues raised in the FLRR proceeding and will also consider 
implications of the joint proposal for a Multi-Year Reliability 
Framework. The second panel will review possible solutions to the

[[Page 43199]]

concerns that were raised in the FLRR proceeding as they pertain to 
flexible and local resources and whether the joint Multi-Year 
Reliability Framework offers a potential solution. This notice provides 
focus areas around which speakers should concentrate their comments. 
Each panelist should limit his presentation to 8 minutes. The panels 
will be followed by questions from Commissioners and CPUC and FERC 
staff, with an opportunity for audience members to participate.

Technical Conference Schedule

9:00 a.m.-9:15 a.m. Opening Remarks
    Greeting and Opening Remarks
9:15 a.m.-10:15 a.m. Joint CAISO/CPUC presentation
    The presentation is expected to last 30 minutes and will be 
followed by Q&A
10:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m. Panel discussion on the risk-of-retirement 
problem and its contribution to reliability
    Each panelist should limit his presentation to 8 minutes. The panel 
will be followed by questions from Commissioners and CPUC and FERC 
staff.
    Panel one will be comprised of:

--Todd Strauss representing Pacific Gas & Electric Company;
--Pedro Pizarro representing Edison Mission Energy;
--Gary Ackerman representing Western Power Trading Forum;
--Kevin Woodruff representing The Utility Reform Network;
--Carl Zichella representing the National Resources Defense Council; 
and
--Kevin Carden representing Astrape Consulting.
    Questions for Panel One: With respect to the reliability concerns 
raised in the FLRR proceeding, staff requests that panelists include in 
the presentations discussion of some of the questions below.
    [rtarr8] In the FLRR proceeding, CAISO identified reliability 
concerns resulting from the retirement of resources needed for reliable 
operations. Are the resources necessary to ensure reliability over a 
forward looking period entering the market? If not, why not? For 
instance, how do the current CAISO market and bilateral capacity market 
structures influence resources' decisions to enter the market or 
retire? Are additional compensation structures required to ensure that 
resources needed for reliability are available over a forward period? 
What factors, besides compensation, may be influencing retirement and 
entry decisions in CAISO?
    [rtarr8] What sort of operational and reliability conditions, 
including those that could lead to NERC/WECC reliability standard 
violations, will CAISO face based on assessments of a forward-looking 
period including projections of resources that enter the market, 
resources that will retire, load projections, demand response, etc.?
    [rtarr8] What are the appropriate planning and operating 
assumptions to use in determining the forward-looking system needs for 
flexible resources that are needed to ensure overall system 
reliability? How much flexible capacity will be needed to ensure that 
the resource mix in CAISO is able to ensure reliable operations?
    [rtarr8] How would a resource qualify as a flexible resource and 
what is an appropriate range of performance characteristics? Should 
there be an ongoing certification process for flexible resources? What 
other resource characteristics are important to ensure reliability in 
CAISO?
    [rtarr8] Are there barriers to extracting flexible capability out 
of the existing fleet of resources?
    [rtarr8] What are the causes of a resource being at risk-of-
retirement? How is the market informed that a resource is at risk-of-
retirement?
    [rtarr8] How should local capacity needs and potential reliability 
issues associated with deliverability be addressed? Does the need to 
retain resources for local reliability require a mechanism that is 
unique from a market-based option for flexible capacity retention?
    [rtarr8] What are the appropriate procurement targets for system, 
flexible and local capacity in the two- and three-year forward periods? 
How should the technical assessment be updated from year-to-year to 
account for changing market conditions, changing system configuration 
and changes in demand over the forward period?
    [rtarr8] Would the provision in the joint proposal to limit load 
serving entities' participation in the residual capacity auction impact 
the effectiveness of forward procurement for reliability purposes? Why 
or why not?
11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Open Discussion Time
12:15 p.m.-1:15 p.m. Lunch
1:15 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Panel discussion exploring whether a multi-year 
resource adequacy framework with a CAISO backstop is a solution to risk 
of retirement
    Each panelist should limit his presentation to 8 minutes. The 
panels will be followed by questions from Commissioners, CPUC and FERC 
staff.
    Panel two will be comprised of:

    - Marc Ulrich representing Southern California Edison Company;
--Mark Smith or Matthew Barmack representing Calpine;
--Tony Braun representing California Municipal Utilities Association;
--Joe Como representing the CPUC Division of Ratepayer Advocates;
--Steven Kelly representing the Independent Energy Producers 
Association;
--Mike Evans representing Shell Energy; and
--Michael Milligan representing National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
    Questions for Panel Two: With respect to the concerns raised in the 
FLRR proceeding regarding a market-based means of addressing forward-
looking system, local and flexible needs, including when resources are 
at risk of retirement but needed in future years for reliability, staff 
requests that panelists include in the presentations discussion of some 
of the questions below.
    [rtarr8] What are the preferred market-based solutions that could 
be used to address the forward flexible and local reliability concerns 
raised in the FLRR proceeding?
    [rtarr8] How would a forward procurement requirement, along with 
specific procurement targets for flexible and local resources, affect 
bilateral contract prices?
    [rtarr8] Would the joint proposal's combination of multi-year ahead 
flexible capacity obligations procured through bi-lateral contracts, or 
via CAISO backstop procurement, provide sufficient revenues to 
resources?
    [rtarr8] Will the joint proposal's limited forward procurement of 
flexible and local capacity pursuant to a three-year forward resource 
adequacy obligation backed by a market-based CAISO backstop procurement 
mechanism provide sufficient procurement tools and sufficient 
additional revenue to mitigate the risk of retirement and retain needed 
flexible and local resources?
    [rtarr8] Will the joint proposal's voluntary backstop capacity 
market, along with market power mitigation measures, provide sufficient 
replacement for the capacity procurement mechanism when it sunsets in 
2015? If a mechanism like the joint proposal were implemented, would 
CAISO still need an interim risk-of-retirement backstop mechanism and 
what would any such backstop mechanism look like?
    [rtarr8] Is there a mechanism needed prior to the potential 
implementation of the joint proposal? For instance, is an interim 
mechanism necessary to procure resources at risk of retirement that are

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needed for flexibility? If so, what kind of mechanism?
    [rtarr8] With respect to the goal of retaining flexible and local 
resources for reliability purposes that may be at risk of retirement, 
what alternatives to the joint proposal should be considered?

2:30 p.m.-2:45 p.m. Break
2:45 p.m.-4:15 p.m. Open Discussion Time
    This time will be reserved for follow-up discussion on any issues 
raised during the panel discussions, or to address miscellaneous 
concerns related to the Multi-Year Reliability Framework, including 
questions or comments from members of the audience.
4:15 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Closing Remarks

[FR Doc. 2013-17290 Filed 7-18-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P