[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19678-19680]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07121]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Western Area Power Administration


Washoe Project, Stampede Division--Rate Order No. WAPA-201

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of proposed non-firm power formula rate.

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SUMMARY: The Sierra Nevada Region of the Western Area Power 
Administration (WAPA) proposes a minor rate adjustment for the non-firm 
power formula rate for the Washoe Project, Stampede Division. The 
proposed rate will go into effect on October 1, 2022, and will remain 
in effect through September 30, 2027. The proposed rate is unchanged 
from the existing Washoe Project formula rate in Rate Schedule SNF-7, 
which expires on September 30, 2022.

DATES: A consultation and comment period will begin April 5, 2022 and 
end June 6, 2022. Sierra Nevada Region will present a detailed 
explanation of the proposed non-firm power formula rate and other 
modifications at a public information forum on the following date and 
time:
    1. Friday, April 22, 2022, from 9 a.m. PDT to no later than 12 p.m. 
PDT.
    Sierra Nevada Region will accept oral and written comments at a 
public comment forum on the following date and time:
    1. Friday, April 22, 2022, starting at 1 p.m. PDT, to remain open 
until all comments are acknowledged, or no later than 4 p.m. PDT.
    Sierra Nevada Region will conduct both the public information forum 
and public comment forum via WebEx. Instructions for participating in 
the forums via WebEx will be posted on Sierra Nevada Region's website 
at least 14 days before the public information and comment forums at 
https://www.wapa.gov/regions/SN/rates/Pages/Rate-Case-2022-WAPA-201.aspx.
    The Sierra Nevada Region will accept written comments at any time 
during the consultation and comment period.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to be informed of Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) actions concerning the proposed 
non-firm power formula rate submitted by WAPA to FERC for approval 
should be sent to: Ms. Sonja Anderson, Regional Manager, Sierra Nevada 
Region, Western Area Power Administration, 114 Parkshore Drive, Folsom, 
California 95630, or email: [email protected]. WAPA will post 
information about the proposed non-firm power formula rate and written 
comments received to its website at: https://www.wapa.gov/regions/SN/rates/Pages/Rate-Case-2022-WAPA-201.aspx.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Autumn Wolfe, Rates Manager, 
Sierra Nevada Region, Western Area Power Administration, (916) 353-4686 
or email: [email protected].

[[Page 19679]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 16, 2009, FERC approved and 
confirmed the Sierra Nevada Region Washoe Project, Stampede Division's 
non-firm power formula rate, Rate Schedule SNF-7, under Rate Order No. 
WAPA-136, on a final basis through July 31, 2013.\1\ FERC subsequently 
approved two consecutive 5-year rate extensions in Docket Nos. EF13-5-
000 and EF17-1-000, extending the rate through September 30, 2022.\2\
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    \1\ U.S. Dep't of Energy--W. Area Power Admin. (Washoe Project, 
Stampede Division), 127 FERC ] 62,043 (2009). Rate Order No. WAPA-
136, issued June 14, 2008, had placed the rate into effect on an 
interim basis effective August 1, 2008.
    \2\ 144 FERC ] 62,213 (2013) and 159 FERC ] 62,047 (2017).
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    The existing non-firm power formula rate provides sufficient 
revenue to recover annual costs within the cost recovery criteria set 
forth in Department of Energy (DOE) Order RA 6120.2. The proposed rate 
is unchanged from the existing Washoe Project formula rate in Rate 
Schedule SNF-7, which expires on September 30, 2022. WAPA intends the 
proposed non-firm power formula rate to go into effect on October 1, 
2022. The proposed non-firm power formula rate would remain in effect 
until September 30, 2027, or until WAPA changes the non-firm power 
formula rate through another public rate process pursuant to 10 CFR 
part 903, whichever occurs first.
    The Stampede Powerplant has two units with a maximum hourly 
operating capability of 3,650 kilowatts (kW) and an estimated annual 
generation of 11 million kilowatt-hours (kWh). Since the Stampede 
Powerplant has an installed capacity of less than 20,000 kW and 
generates less than 100 million kWh annually for sale, the proposed 
rate constitutes a minor rate adjustment under the applicable 
regulations.\3\
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    \3\ See 10 CFR 903.2(e).
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History of the Washoe Project, Stampede Division

    Stampede Dam and Reservoir are located on the Little Truckee River 
in Sierra County, California, about 11 miles northeast of the town of 
Truckee. The Washoe Project was designed to improve the regulation of 
runoff from the Truckee and Carson River system and to provide 
supplemental irrigation water and drainage, as well as water for 
municipal, industrial, fishery use, flood protection, fish and wildlife 
benefits and recreation. The power generation is used principally to 
provide energy for two Federal fish hatcheries: Lahontan National Fish 
Hatchery and Marble Bluff Fish Hatchery.
    When the Stampede Dam and Reservoir project was first authorized, 
under Public Law 84-858, on August 1, 1956, hydroelectric power 
development was included. During the period 1966-1970, when Stampede 
Dam was built, power facilities were not constructed because the power 
function was not economically justified. Provisions were made to 
facilitate the addition of power facilities at a later date.
    In July 1976, a preliminary reevaluation of a powerplant at 
Stampede was conducted and published in a special U.S. Department of 
Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) report, Adding 
Powerplants at Existing Federal Dams in California. In the report, 
Reclamation recommended construction of a Stampede Powerplant. As a 
result, definitive plan studies were initiated in Fiscal Year 1977, and 
construction of the powerplant was completed in 1987. A one-half-mile, 
60-kilovolt transmission line, owned by Sierra Pacific Power company, 
interconnects the Stampede power facilities with WAPA's transmission 
system.
    Under section 205(c) of the Fallon Paiute Shoshone Indian Tribes 
Water Rights Settlement Act of 1990, Congress declared all Washoe 
Project costs non-reimbursable except the Stampede Powerplant.\4\ This 
was necessary because a 1982 court order requires that Stampede be 
operated for the benefit of endangered or threatened fish at Pyramid 
Lake.\5\ The energy generated by the powerplant has a priority 
reservation for designated Washoe Project loads. All remaining energy 
generation is sold on a non-firm basis under the conditions outlined in 
Sierra Nevada Region's contract with a third-party contractor. Energy 
generated at Stampede Powerplant is dependent on the run of the river 
and is therefore considered non-firm.
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    \4\ See Public Law 101-618, 104 Stat. 3289, 3307 (1990).
    \5\ See Carson-Truckee Water Conservancy Dist. v. Watt, 549 F. 
Supp. 704, 710 (D. Nev. 1982), aff'd in part and vacated in part sub 
nom. Carson-Truckee Water Conservancy Dist. v. Clark, 741 F.2d 257, 
260 (9th Cir. 1984).
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    Since the Washoe Project has no Federally owned transmission lines, 
Sierra Nevada Region contracted with Truckee Donner Public Utility 
District and the City of Fallon (TDF) to accept Stampede generation and 
serve project use loads. Energy in excess of project use loads is 
integrated with the Central Valley Project (CVP) and marketed under the 
2004 and 2025 Power Marketing Plans. Under the proposed Rate Schedule 
WSH-1, each year any remaining reimbursable expenses that exceed the 
revenue collected under the TDF contract are transferred to CVP and 
incorporated into the CVP power revenue requirement (PRR). CVP 
customers that participate in the Renewable Energy Credit (REC) program 
receive a share of the Stampede RECs annually based on the annual 
percentage of revenue share they transfer to the Washoe Project.

Stampede Non-Firm Power Formula Rate

    There are no changes from the existing formula rate to the proposed 
formula rate. The proposed formula rate for Stampede's non-firm power 
is designed to recover an annual revenue requirement that includes 
investment repayment, interest, purchase power, reimbursable operation 
and maintenance expenses, and other expenses. The proposed formula rate 
for Stampede power is:

Stampede Annual Transferred PRR = Stampede Annual PRR-Stampede Revenue

Where:
Stampede Annual Transferred PRR = Stampede Annual PRR as identified 
as a cost transferred to the CVP.
Stampede Annual PRR = the total PRR for Stampede required to repay 
all annual costs, including interest, and the investment within the 
allowable period.
Stampede Revenue = Revenue from applying the Stampede Energy 
Exchange Account (SEEA) rate to project generation.

    The SEEA is an annual energy exchange account for Stampede energy. 
Under the contract, TDF accepts delivery of all energy generated from 
Stampede and integrates this generation into its resource portfolio. 
The monthly calculation of revenue from Stampede energy received by TDF 
is credited into the SEEA at the SEEA rate. WAPA can use the SEEA to 
benefit project use facilities and market energy from Stampede to CVP 
preference entities.
    In the SEEA, the revenues from sales (generation revenues) made at 
the SEEA rate are reduced by the project use, station service power 
costs, and SEEA administrative costs. WAPA applies the ratio of project 
use cost to the generation revenue recorded in the SEEA to determine a 
non-reimbursable percentage. One hundred percent minus the non-
reimbursable percentage establishes a reimbursable percentage. This 
reimbursable percentage is then applied to the appropriate power-
related costs to determine the reimbursable costs for repayment. The 
reimbursable costs are then netted against generation revenues made at 
the SEEA rate.

Legal Authority

    Existing DOE procedures for public participation in power and 
transmission

[[Page 19680]]

rate adjustments (10 CFR part 903) were published on September 18, 
1985, and February 21, 2019.\6\ The proposed action constitutes a minor 
rate adjustment, as defined by 10 CFR 903.2(e)(2). In accordance with 
10 CFR 903.15(a) and 10 CFR 903.16(a), Sierra Nevada Region will hold a 
public information and public comment forum for this minor rate 
adjustment. Sierra Nevada Region will review and consider all timely 
public comments at the conclusion of the consultation and comment 
period and make amendments or adjustments to the proposal as 
appropriate. Proposed rates will then be approved on an interim basis.
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    \6\ 50 FR 37835 (Sept. 18, 1985) and 84 FR 5347 (Feb. 21, 2019).
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    WAPA is establishing the non-firm power formula rate for Washoe 
Project, Stampede Division in accordance with section 302 of the DOE 
Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7152).\7\
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    \7\ This Act transferred to, and vested in, the Secretary of 
Energy the power marketing functions of the Secretary of the 
Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation 
(Reclamation) under the Reclamation Act of 1902 (Ch. 1093, 32 Stat. 
388), as amended and supplemented by subsequent laws, particularly 
section 9(c) of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (43 U.S.C. 
485h(c)); and other acts that specifically apply to the project 
involved.
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    By Delegation Order No. 00-037.00B, effective November 19, 2016, 
the Secretary of Energy delegated: (1) The authority to develop power 
and transmission rates to the WAPA Administrator; (2) the authority to 
confirm, approve, and place such rates into effect on an interim basis 
to the Deputy Secretary of Energy; and (3) the authority to confirm, 
approve, and place into effect on a final basis, or to remand or 
disapprove such rates, to FERC. By Delegation Order No. S1-DEL-S4-2021, 
effective February 25, 2021, the Acting Secretary of Energy also 
delegated the authority to confirm, approve, and place such rates into 
effect on an interim basis to the Under Secretary for Science (and 
Energy). By Redelegation Order No. S4-DEL-OE1-2021-2, also effective 
December 8, 2021, the Under Secretary for Science (and Energy) 
redelegated the authority to confirm, approve, and place such rates 
into effect on an interim basis to the Assistant Secretary for 
Electricity. By Redelegation Order No. 00-002.10-05, effective July 8, 
2020, the Assistant Secretary for Electricity further redelegated the 
authority to confirm, approve, and place such rates into effect on an 
interim basis to WAPA's Administrator. This redelegation order, despite 
predating the December 2021 delegations, remains valid.

Availability of Information

    All brochures, studies, comments, letters, memorandums, or other 
documents that Sierra Nevada Region initiates or uses to develop the 
proposed non-firm power formula rate are available for inspection and 
copying at the Sierra Nevada Region, Western Area Power Administration, 
114 Parkshore Drive, Folsom, California 95630. Many of these documents 
and supporting information are also available on WAPA's website at 
https://www.wapa.gov/regions/SN/rates/Pages/Rate-Case-2022-WAPA-201.aspx.

Ratemaking Procedure Requirements

Environmental Compliance

    WAPA is in the process of determining whether an environmental 
assessment or an environmental impact statement should be prepared or 
if this action can be categorically excluded from those 
requirements.\8\
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    \8\ In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347; the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing NEPA (40 CFR 
parts 1500-1508); and DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures and 
Guidelines (10 CFR part 1021).
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Determination Under Executive Order 12866

    WAPA has an exemption from centralized regulatory review under 
Executive Order 12866; accordingly, no clearance of this notice by the 
Office of Management and Budget is required.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on March 22, 
2022, by Tracey A. LeBeau, Administrator, Western Area Power 
Administration, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of 
Energy. That document, with the original signature and date, is 
maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance 
with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the 
undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to 
sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as 
an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative 
process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon 
publication in the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on March 31, 2022.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2022-07121 Filed 4-4-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P