[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 167 (Monday, August 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59212-59214]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20620]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Southeastern Power Administration


Notice of Interim Approval

AGENCY: Southeastern Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of Rate Order.

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SUMMARY: The Southeastern Power Administration (SEPA) establishes Rate 
Schedules JW-1-K and JW-2-F. The Deputy Secretary of the Department of 
Energy confirmed and approved the rates on an interim basis through 
September 30, 2021, and the rate schedules are subject to confirmation 
and approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) 
on a final basis.

DATES: The rate schedules are effective, on an interim basis, starting 
on October 1, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Virgil G. Hobbs III, Assistant 
Administrator, Finance and Marketing, Southeastern Power 
Administration, Department of Energy, 1166 Athens Tech Road, Elberton, 
Georgia 30635-6711, (706) 213-3800. Relevant documents and transcripts 
are available for inspection.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission, by Order issued December 22, 
2011, in Docket No. EF11-12-000, confirmed and approved Wholesale Power 
Rate Schedules JW-1-J and JW-2-F through September 19, 2016 (137 FERC ] 
62,248).
    By order published March 31, 2016, (81 FR 18607) the rate schedules 
were extended to September 30, 2016. Rate schedule JW-1-K replaces rate 
schedule JW-1-J and rate schedule JW-2-F is extended through September 
30, 2021.

    Dated: August 22, 2016.
Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall,
Deputy Secretary.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

DEPUTY SECRETARY

    In the Matter of: Southeastern Power Administration, Jim Woodruff 
Project Power Rates
Rate Order No. SEPA-61

ORDER CONFIRMING AND APPROVING POWER RATES ON AN INTERIM BASIS

    Pursuant to Sections 302(a) of the Department of Energy 
Organization Act, Public Law 95-91, the functions of the Secretary of 
the Interior and the Federal Power Commission under Section 5 of the 
Flood Control Act of 1944, 16 U.S.C. 825s, relating to the Southeastern 
Power Administration (``Southeastern'' or ``SEPA'') were transferred to 
and vested in the Secretary of Energy. By Delegation Order No. 00-
037.00A, effective October 25, 2013, the Secretary of Energy delegated 
to Southeastern's Administrator the authority to develop power and 
transmission rates, delegated to the Deputy Secretary of Energy the 
authority to confirm, approve, and place in effect such rates on an 
interim basis, and delegated to the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (``Commission'') the authority to confirm, approve, and 
place into effect on a final basis or to disapprove rates developed by 
the Administrator under the delegation. This rate order is issued by 
the Deputy Secretary pursuant to this delegation order.

BACKGROUND

    Power from the Jim Woodruff Project is presently sold under 
Wholesale Power Rate Schedules JW-1-J and JW-2-F. These rate schedules 
were approved by the Commission on December 22, 2011, for a period 
ending September 19, 2016 (171 FERC ]62,248). By order dated March 31, 
2016, (81 FR 18607) these rate schedules were extended to September 30, 
2016.

Public Notice and Comment

    Southeastern prepared a Power Repayment Study, dated July 2016, 
showing revenues at current rates were adequate to meet repayment 
criteria and generate an estimated cumulative surplus of over $159 
million by fiscal year 2066. The rate reduction is due to reduced 
United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Operation and Maintenance 
expense estimates. Southeastern is proposing a rate reduction of about 
24 percent to reduce this surplus. On March 31, 2016, by Federal 
Register notice (81 FR 18624), Southeastern proposed a rate adjustment. 
The notice also announced a Public Information and Comment Forum to be 
held May 5, 2016, in Chattahoochee, Florida. Two parties asked 
questions at the forum. Responses to the questions are part of the 
written record of the forum, and a transcript of the forum is available 
at Southeastern

[[Page 59213]]

Power Administration (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section). The 
transcript of the forum is part of the record to be filed with the 
Commission and will be available on the Commission's Web site at 
www.ferc.gov. Written comments were accepted on or before June 29, 
2016. Written comments were received from one source, the Southeastern 
Federal Power Customers. All comments received are summarized and 
responded to in the following section.

Staff Review of Comments

    Notice of proposed rate schedules for the Jim Woodruff System was 
published in the Federal Register March 31, 2016 (81 FR 18624). The 
notice advised interested parties that a public information and comment 
forum would be held in Chattahoochee, Florida, on May 5, 2016. The end 
of the comment period was June 29, 2016. Written comments were received 
from one source, the Southeastern Federal Power Customers.
    Written comments received from the Southeastern Federal Power 
Customers and the comments received at the public forum are summarized 
below. Southeastern's response follows each comment.
    Comment 1: Overall, the SeFPC supports the rate proposed by SEPA.
    Response 1: Southeastern has requested the Deputy Secretary to 
approve the proposed rate schedules on an interim basis. The Deputy 
Secretary has approved the proposed rate schedules and Southeastern 
will request the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approve 
the proposed rate schedules on a final basis.
    Comment 2: In our review of the executive summary of the repayment 
study, we noted that SEPA had modeled roughly $2 million in incremental 
investment over the course of the repayment study. The customers desire 
to know the priority of the modeled investment for the Corps.
    Response 2: Southeastern is required to provide for estimated 
replacements in its rate studies. The incremental investment in the 
comment includes governor replacements for generators 1, 2, and 3 which 
the Corps plans to place in service in fiscal year 2018. The Corps has 
provided estimates of future capital investments to Southeastern, which 
include the governor replacements noted. There is no certainty of 
appropriated funding, and Southeastern does not currently have the 
option of customer funding in the Jim Woodruff System.
    Southeastern will continue to work with the customers and the Corps 
to assure appropriate funding of capital investment to ensure reliable, 
cost effective service.

DISCUSSION

System Repayment

    An examination of Southeastern's revised system power repayment 
study, prepared in July 2016, for the Jim Woodruff Project, shows the 
rates will pay all system power costs within the 50-year repayment 
period required by existing law and DOE Order RA 6120.2. The 
Administrator of Southeastern has certified the rates are consistent 
with applicable law and are the lowest possible rates to preference 
customers consistent with sound business principles.

Environmental Impact

    Southeastern has reviewed the possible environmental impacts of the 
rate adjustment under consideration and has concluded the adjusted 
rates would not significantly affect the quality of the human 
environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969. The proposed action is not a major Federal action for which 
preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is required.

Availability of Information

    Information regarding these rates, including studies, and other 
supporting materials, is available for public review in the offices of 
Southeastern Power Administration, 1166 Athens Tech Road, Elberton, 
Georgia 30635-6711.

Submission to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

    The rates hereinafter confirmed and approved on an interim basis, 
together with supporting documents, will be submitted promptly to the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for confirmation and approval on a 
final basis for a period beginning October 1, 2016, and ending no later 
than September 30, 2021.

ORDER

    In view of the foregoing and pursuant to the authority delegated to 
me by the Secretary of Energy, I hereby confirm and approve on an 
interim basis, effective October 1, 2016, attached Wholesale Power Rate 
Schedules JW-1-K and JW-2-F. The rate schedules shall remain in effect 
on an interim basis through September 30, 2021, unless such period is 
extended or until the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission confirms and 
approves them or substitute rate schedules on a final basis.

Dated: August 22, 2016
Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall
Deputy Secretary

Wholesale Power Rate Schedule JW-1-K

Availability:

    This rate schedule shall be available to public bodies and 
cooperatives served by the Duke Energy Florida and having points of 
delivery within 150 miles of the Jim Woodruff Project (hereinafter 
called the Project).

Applicability:

    This rate schedule shall be applicable to firm power and 
accompanying energy made available by the Government from the Project 
and sold in wholesale quantities.

Character of Service:

    The electric capacity and energy supplied hereunder will be three-
phase alternating current at a nominal frequency of 60 cycles per 
second delivered at the delivery points of the customer.

Monthly Rate:

    The monthly rate for capacity and energy made available or 
delivered under this rate schedule shall be:

Demand Charge:

    $7.74 per kilowatt of monthly contract demand

Energy Charge:

    20.44 mills per kilowatt-hour

Purchased Power Pass-Through:

    In addition to the capacity and energy charges, each preference 
customer will be charged for power purchased by Southeastern on behalf 
of the preference customer. This pass-through will be computed as 
follows:
    Each month, Duke Energy Florida provides Southeastern with the 
meter readings for preference customers' delivery points that have an 
allocation of capacity from Southeastern. Subsequently, Duke Energy 
Florida provides Southeastern with reports of purchased power and 
support capacity requirements around the 10th of the succeeding month. 
Southeastern computes its purchased power obligation for each delivery 
point monthly.
    Southeastern computes any revenue from sales to Duke Energy Florida 
for each delivery point monthly. Southeastern sums the purchased power 
obligation and any revenue from sales to Duke Energy Florida for each 
preference customer monthly. The purchased power obligation minus any 
revenue from sales to Duke Energy Florida for

[[Page 59214]]

each customer is called the Net Purchased Power Cost. Southeastern 
charges each customer its respective monthly Net Purchased Power Cost 
in equal portions over the next eleven billing months.

Billing Demand:

    The monthly billing demand for any billing month shall be the lower 
of (a) the Customer's contract demand or (b) the sum of the maximum 30-
minute integrated demands for the month at each of the Customer's 
points of delivery; provided, that, if an allocation of contract demand 
to delivery points has become effective, the 30-minute maximum 
integrated demand for any point of delivery shall not be considered to 
be greater than the portion of the Customer's contract demand allocated 
to that point of delivery.

Contract Demand:

    The contract demand is the amount of capacity in kilowatts stated 
in the contract which the Government is obligated to supply and the 
Customer is entitled to receive.

Energy Made Available:

    During any billing month in which the Government supplies all the 
Customer's capacity requirements for a particular delivery point, the 
Government will make available the total energy requirement of said 
point. When both the Government and the Duke Energy Florida are 
supplying capacity to a delivery point, each kilowatt of capacity 
supplied to such point during such month will be considered to be 
accompanied by an equal quantity of energy.

Billing Month:

    The billing month for power sold under this schedule shall end at 
12:00 midnight on the last day of each calendar month.

Conditions of Service:

    The customer shall, at its own expense, provide, install, and 
maintain on its side of each delivery point the equipment necessary to 
protect and control its own system. In so doing, the installation, 
adjustment, and setting of all such control and protective equipment at 
or near the point of delivery shall be coordinated with that which is 
installed by and at the expense of the Duke Energy Florida on its side 
of the delivery point.

Service Interruption:

    When energy delivered to the Customer's system for the account of 
the Government is reduced or interrupted for one hour or longer, and 
such reduction or interruption is not due to conditions on the 
Customer's system or has not been planned and agreed to in advance, the 
demand charge for the month shall be appropriately reduced.
October 1, 2016

Wholesale Power Rate Schedule JW-2-F

Availability:

    This rate schedule shall be available to the Duke Energy Florida 
(formerly known as Florida Power Corporation, and hereinafter called 
the Company).

Applicability:

    This rate schedule shall be applicable to electric energy generated 
at the Jim Woodruff Project (hereinafter called the Project) and sold 
to the Company in wholesale quantities.

Points of Delivery:

    Power sold to the Company by the Government will be delivered at 
the connection of the Company's transmission system with the Project 
bus.

Character of Service:

    Electric power delivered to the Company will be three-phase 
alternating current at a nominal frequency of 60 cycles per second.

Monthly Rate:

    The monthly rate for energy sold under this schedule shall be equal 
to 100 percent of the calculated saving in the cost of fuel per kWh to 
the Company determined as follows:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN29AU16.019

[Computed to the nearest $0.00001 (1/100mill) per kWh]

Where:

Fm = Company fuel cost in the current period as defined in Federal 
Power Commission Order 517 issued November 13, 1974, Docket No. R-
479.

Sm = Company sales in the current period reflecting only losses 
associated with wholesale sales for resale. Sale shall be equated to 
the sum of (a) generation, (b) purchases, (c) interchange-in, less 
(d) inter-system sales, less estimated wholesale losses (based on 
average transmission loss percentage for preceding calendar year).

Determination of Energy Sold:

    Energy will be furnished by the Company to supply any excess of 
Project use over Project generation. Energy so supplied by the Company 
will be deducted from the actual deliveries to the Company's system to 
determine the net deliveries for energy accounting and billing 
purposes. Energy for Project use shall consist of energy used for 
station service, lock operation, Project yard, village lighting, and 
similar uses.
    The on-peak hours shall be the hours between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 
p.m., Monday through Sunday, inclusive. Off-peak hours shall be all 
other hours.
    All energy made available to the Company shall, to the extent 
required, be classified as energy transmitted to the Government's 
preference customers served from the Company's system. All energy made 
available to the Company from the Project shall be separated on the 
basis of the metered deliveries to it at the Project during on-peak and 
off-peak hours, respectively. Deliveries to preference customers of the 
Government shall be divided on the basis (with allowance for losses) of 
77 percent being considered as on-peak energy and 23 percent being off-
peak energy. Such percentages may by mutual consent be changed from 
time to time as further studies show to be appropriate. In the event 
that in classifying energy there is more than enough on-peak energy 
available to supply on-peak requirements of the Government's preference 
customers but less than enough off-peak energy available to supply such 
customers off-peak requirements, such excess on-peak energy may be 
applied to the extent necessary to meet off-peak requirements of such 
customers in lieu of purchasing deficiency energy to meet such off-peak 
requirements.

Billing Month:

    The billing month under this schedule shall end at 12:00 midnight 
on the last day of each calendar month.

Power Factor:

    The purchaser and seller under this rate schedule agree that they 
will both so operate their respective systems that neither party will 
impose an undue reactive burden on the other.
October 1, 2016
[FR Doc. 2016-20620 Filed 8-26-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P