[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 241 (Wednesday, December 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 78208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31622]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. PP-82-4]


Application To Amend Presidential Permit; Vermont Electric Power 
Company, Inc., as Agent for the Joint Owners of the Highgate Project

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

ACTION: Notice of Application.

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SUMMARY: Vermont Electric Power Company, Inc. (``VELCO''), as 
operating-and-management agent for the Joint Owners of the Highgate 
Transmission Interconnection (the ``Highgate Joint Owners'') filed an 
application to amend PP-82, issued on May 14, 1985 and amended on March 
1, 1994, on September 3, 2003, and again on February 7, 2005. The 
application requested that DOE remove certain operating conditions in 
the Permit that are no longer necessary.

DATES: Comments or motions to intervene must be submitted on or before 
February 16, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Comments or motions to intervene should be addressed as 
follows: 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: Christopher Lawrence (Program Office) 
at 202-586-5260, or by email to [email protected], or 
Katherine Konieczny (Program Attorney) at 202-586-0503.

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 November 4, 2015, VELCO filed an application with DOE requesting 
DOE amend PP-82-3 by removing the last sentence of Article 3's preamble 
and paragraphs a through d of that article which establish operating 
conditions and limitations that are no longer necessary for two 
reasons. First, VELCO asserts that it has made transmission 
reinforcements to the Highgate Transmission Interconnection (the 
``Highgate Facilities'') and other transmission facilities in northern 
Vermont since 1994. Second, ISO New England Inc. (``ISO-NE''), as the 
Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) for the six-state New England 
region, manages real-time operation of these facilities through its 
operating procedures.
    The international transmission facilities authorized by 
Presidential Permit No. PP-82, as amended, include a back-to-back 
converter station in Highgate, VT and a 345 kilovolt (kV) transmission 
line extending approximately 7.5 miles from the converter station to 
the U.S.-Canada border in Franklin, VT. VELCO does not propose to make 
any physical changes to the Highgate Facilities but rather asks the 
Department to amend the permit to reflect the transmission-network 
reinforcements made since 1994 and the role of ISO-NE., as the Regional 
Transmission Organization, in managing the real-time operation of the 
transmission system through its operating procedures. VELCO is also 
requesting several amendments to the Permit including changes to the 
ownership of the Highgate Facilities and a language change to Article 3 
to better reflect the way energy is scheduled and flows over the 
Highgate Facilities.\1\
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    \1\ The amendment would replace the words ``maximum 
instantaneous rate of transmission'' with ``scheduled rate of 
transmission.''
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    Procedural Matters: Any person may comment on this application by 
filing such comment at the address provided above. Any person seeking 
to become a party to this proceeding must file a motion to intervene at 
the address provided above in accordance with Rule 214 of FERC's Rules 
of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214). Two copies of each comment 
or motion to intervene should be filed with DOE on or before the date 
listed above.
    Additional copies of such motions to intervene also should be filed 
directly with: Mr. Christopher Root, Chief Operating Officer, Vermont 
Electric Power Company, Inc., 366 Pinnacle Ridge Road, Rutland, VT 
05701, [email protected] AND John H. Marshall, Esq., Downs Rachlin 
Martin PLLC, 90 Prospect Street, P. O. Box 99, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819-
0099, [email protected].
    Before a Presidential permit may be granted or amended, DOE must 
determine that the proposed action will not adversely impact on the 
reliability of the U.S. electric power supply system. In addition, DOE 
must consider the environmental impacts of the proposed action (i.e., 
granting the Presidential permit or amendment, with any conditions and 
limitations, or denying the permit) pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969. DOE also 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. In 
addition, the application may be reviewed or downloaded electronically 
at http://energy.gov/oe/services/electricity-policy-coordination-and-implementation/international-electricity-regulatio-2. Upon reaching the 
home page, select ``Pending Applications.''

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 10, 2015.
Christopher A. Lawrence,
Electricity Policy Analyst, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy 
Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2015-31622 Filed 12-15-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P