[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27155-27157]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-11405]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. EL13-88-000]


Northern Indiana Public Service Company v. Midcontinent 
Independent System Operator, Inc. PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.; Notice 
of Technical Conference

    On September 11, 2013, Northern Indiana Public Service Company 
(NIPSCO) filed a complaint against Midcontinent Independent System 
Operator, Inc. (MISO) and PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM). NIPSCO 
requested that the Commission order MISO and PJM to reform the 
interregional transmission planning process of the Joint Operating 
Agreement between MISO and PJM (MISO-PJM JOA).\1\ On December 18, 2014, 
the Commission issued an order directing Commission staff to convene a 
technical conference to explore issues raised in the NIPSCO Complaint 
related to the MISO-PJM JOA and the MISO-PJM seam.\2\ Take notice that 
such conference will be held on June 15, 2015, at the Commission's 
headquarters at 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, between 
9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) in the Commission Meeting Room. 
The technical conference will be led by Commission staff and may be 
attended by one or more Commissioners.
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    \1\ NIPSCO Complaint, Docket No. EL13-88-000 (filed Sept. 11, 
2013).
    \2\ Northern Indiana Public Service Co. v. Midcontinent Indep. 
Sys. Operator, Inc. and PJM Interconnection, L.L.C., 149 FERC ] 
61,248, at P 35 (2014).
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    The technical conference will not be transcribed. However, there 
will be a free webcast of the conference. The webcast will allow 
persons to listen to the technical conference, but not participate. 
Anyone with Internet access who wants to listen to the conference can 
do so by navigating to the Calendar of Events at www.ferc.gov and 
locating the technical conference in the Calendar. The technical 
conference will contain a link to its webcast. The Capitol Connection 
provides technical support for the webcast and offers the option of 
listening to the meeting via phone-bridge for a fee. If you have any 
questions, visit www.CapitolConnection.org or call 703-993-3100.\3\
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    \3\ The webcast will continue to be available on the Calendar of 
Events on the Commission's Web site www.ferc.gov for three months 
after the conference.
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    Advance registration is required for all attendees. Attendees may 
register in advance at the following Web page: https://www.ferc.gov/whats-new/registration/06-15-15-form.asp. Attendees should allow time 
to pass

[[Page 27156]]

through building security procedures before the 9:00 a.m. (Eastern 
Time) start time of the technical conference. In addition, information 
on this event will be posted on the Calendar of Events on the 
Commission's Web site, www.ferc.gov, prior to the event.
    Those wishing to be panelists in the program for this event should 
nominate themselves through the on-line registration form no later than 
close of business May 18, 2015 at the following Web page, https://www.ferc.gov/whats-new/registration/06-15-15-speaker-form.asp. At this 
Web page, please identify the name(s) of the person(s) wishing to be a 
panelist and which issue(s) below you wish to discuss. Panelists will 
be selected to ensure relevant topics and to accommodate time 
constraints. Other attendees may ask questions or make comments as time 
permits.
    Commission 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 202-502 -8659 (TTY); or send a fax to 202-208-2106 with 
the required accommodations.
    The technical conference will consist of five sessions and focus on 
the issues raised by NIPSCO in the Complaint, as detailed below. The 
times given below are approximate and may change, as needed. As time 
permits, at the end of each session staff will open the floor for 
questions and comments from attendees.

Conference Introduction: Commission Staff (9:00 a.m.-9:15 a.m.)
Session 1: Transmission Planning Cycles (9:15 a.m.-10:15 a.m.)

    Panelists should be prepared to discuss the issue of whether the 
Commission should require the MISO-PJM cross-border transmission 
planning process to run concurrently with the MISO and PJM regional 
transmission planning cycles, rather than after those regional 
transmission planning cycles, and to answer questions including, but 
not limited to, the following: How could MISO and PJM modify their 
regional transmission planning cycles to better align with the MISO-PJM 
cross-border transmission planning process? What impact would this have 
on other regional and interregional transmission planning cycles (i.e., 
neighboring regions)? Should MISO and PJM use the same planning 
deadlines to achieve regional benefits from coordination of the cross-
border transmission planning process? Discussion of these issues should 
focus on the MISO-PJM seam in general, and NIPSCO's location on the 
seam in particular.

Session 2: Modeling and Criteria (10:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m.)

    Panelists should be prepared to describe the existing joint 
interregional transmission planning model used to evaluate cross-border 
transmission projects and to answer questions including, but not 
limited to, the following: Are changes needed to this existing model or 
the assumptions used to enable coordinated study of proposed cross-
border transmission projects? Should the Commission require MISO and 
PJM to use a single common set of criteria to evaluate cross-border 
transmission projects as proposed by NIPSCO in the Complaint? In 
addition to the benefit metric, what other metrics do PJM and MISO 
consider in the evaluation of cross-border transmission projects? 
Should the Commission require that there be consistency between PJM's 
and MISO's regional transmission planning analyses such that both 
entities are consistent in their application of reliability criteria 
and modeling assumptions as proposed by NIPSCO in the Complaint? 
Discussion of these issues should focus on the MISO-PJM seam in 
general, and NIPSCO's location on the seam in particular.

Lunch Break: (11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.)
Session 3: Market-to-Market Payments (12:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m.)

    Panelists should be prepared to answer questions including, but not 
limited to, the following: Should the Commission require MISO and PJM 
to amend the criteria to evaluate cross-border market efficiency 
transmission projects to address all known benefits, including 
avoidance of future market-to-market payments made to reallocate short-
term transmission capacity in the real-time operation of the system as 
proposed by NIPSCO in the Complaint? Have MISO, PJM, and the market 
monitors identified trends in market-to-market payments that may be 
relevant to NIPSCO's position along the PJM-MISO seam? Is there a 
relationship between the cross-border transmission planning process 
(and evaluation of potential interregional transmission projects) and 
persistent market-to-market payments being made between the RTOs? Are 
persistent market-to-market payments an indicator of the need for new 
transmission? Please provide examples of transmission projects that 
have been considered under the existing cross-border transmission 
planning process for the purpose of mitigating congestion and/or 
constraints that lead to persistent market-to-market payments but that 
have not been developed, and the reasons the transmission project was 
not developed.

Break: (1:30 p.m.-1:45 p.m.)
Session 4: Lower Voltage Transmission Projects (1:45 p.m.-2:45 p.m.)

    Panelists should be prepared to discuss the issue of whether the 
Commission should require MISO and PJM to have a process for joint 
transmission planning and cost allocation of lower voltage and lower 
cost cross-border upgrades, as proposed by NIPSCO in the Complaint, and 
to answer questions including, but not limited to, the following: How 
would a lower voltage criteria align with current regional cost 
allocation methods? Are lower voltage transmission projects expected to 
provide region-wide or local benefits? Discussion of these issues 
should focus on the MISO-PJM seam in general, and NIPSCO's location on 
the seam in particular.

Session 5: Generator Interconnections and Retirements (2:45 p.m.-3:45 
p.m.)

    Panelists should be prepared to discuss the issue of whether the 
Commission should require MISO and PJM to improve the processes within 
the MISO-PJM JOA with respect to new generator interconnections and 
generation retirements, as proposed by NIPSCO in the Complaint, and to 
answer questions including, but not limited to, the following: What 
impact does the interconnection or retirement of external generation 
have on a neighboring region? How do MISO and PJM model new generation, 
or the retirement of existing generation, on a neighboring system? At 
what stage of the interconnection process do MISO and PJM share 
information or coordinate studies? How does the current process of 
studying external generation impact congestion? How do MISO and PJM 
share information about generator interconnections and retirements? 
What are the differences in timing between the two RTOs for sharing 
information about generator interconnections and retirements? 
Discussion of these issues should focus on the MISO-PJM seam in 
general, and NIPSCO's location on the seam in particular.

Conference Conclusion: Next Steps (3:45 p.m.--4:00 p.m.)

    Following the technical conference, the Commission will consider 
post-technical conference comments submitted on or before July 15, 
2015. Reply comments are due on or before August 5, 2015. The written 
comments will be included in the formal record of

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the proceeding, which, together with the record developed to date, will 
form the basis for further Commission action.
    For more information about this technical conference, please 
contact Lina Naik, 202-502-8882, [email protected], regarding legal 
issues; or Jason Strong, 202-502-6124, [email protected], and Ben 
Foster, 202-502-6149, [email protected], regarding technical issues; 
or Sarah McKinley, 202-502-8368, [email protected], regarding 
logistical issues.

    Dated: May 5, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-11405 Filed 5-11-15; 8:45 a.m.]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P