[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 106 (Friday, June 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36306-36308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11765]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. AD22-9-000]


New England Winter Gas-Electric Forum; Supplemental Notice of 
Second New England Winter Gas-Electric Forum

    As announced in the Notice of Forum and the Supplemental Notice of 
Forum issued in this proceeding on February 16, 2023, and April 13, 
2023, respectively, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(Commission) will convene a Commissioner-led forum on Tuesday, June 20, 
2023, from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, to 
discuss possible solutions to the electricity and natural gas 
challenges facing the New England Region. The final agenda for this 
forum is attached, which identifies the forum panelists. Attached to 
this notice are questions for the panelists; we request panelists file 
position statements addressing these questions in this docket no later 
than June 9, 2023. Written responses to these questions are voluntary 
and will be used to supplement the record for discussion at the forum.
    The forum will be open to the public and be held at the DoubleTree 
by Hilton Portland, 363 Maine Mall Rd, Portland, ME, 04106. 
Registration for in-person attendance is required, and there is no fee 
for attendance. A link to attendee registration is available on the New 
England Winter Gas-Electric Forum event page on the Commission's 
website. Due to space constraints, seating for this event will be 
limited and registrants that get a confirmed space will be contacted 
via email. Only confirmed registrants will be admitted to the forum 
given the maximum occupancy limit at the venue (as required by fire and 
building safety code). Therefore, the Commission encourages members of 
the public who wish to attend this event in person to register at their 
earliest convenience. Online registration will be open until June 19, 
the day before the forum, or as long as attendance capacity is 
available. Once registration has reached capacity, registration will be 
closed. However, those interested in attending after capacity has been 
reached can join a waiting list (using the same registration link) and 
be notified if space becomes available. Those who are unable to attend 
in person may watch the free webcast.
    The webcast will allow persons to listen and observe the forum 
remotely but not participate. Information on this forum, including a 
link to the webcast, will be posted prior to the event on this forum's 
event page on the Commission's website. A recording of the webcast will 
be made available after the forum in the same location on the Calendar 
of Events. The forum will be transcribed. Transcripts of the forum will 
be available for a fee from Ace-Federal Reporters, Inc. (202-347-3700).
    Commission conferences are accessible under section 508 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For accessibility accommodations, please 
send an email to [email protected], call toll-free (866) 208-3372 
(voice) or (202) 208-8659 (TTY), or send a fax to (202) 208-2106 with 
the required accommodations.
    For more information about this forum, please contact 
[email protected] or [email protected] for technical or 
logistical questions.

    Dated: May 26, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.

Second New England Winter Gas-Electric Forum

Docket No. AD22-9-000

June 20, 2023

Agenda

9:00 a.m.-9:15 a.m.: Welcome and Opening Remarks from the Chairman and 
Commissioners
9:15 a.m.-9:45 a.m.: Opening Presentations: Winters 2023/2024 and 2024/
2025 in New England and the Role of Everett

    The forum will commence with a presentation by ISO New England Inc. 
(ISO-NE) that discusses the upcoming winters of 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 
with consideration for the Everett Marine Terminal's (Everett) 
availability and its impact on the ISO-NE electric grid. Following ISO-
NE's presentation on upcoming winters, a second presentation by Richard 
Levitan will explain Everett's physical capabilities and its impact on 
the electric and natural gas systems in New England.

Panelists

 Stephen George, Director, Operational Performance, Training 
and Integration, ISO New England
 Richard Levitan, President, Levitan & Associates
9:45 a.m.-10:45 a.m.: Panel 1: Should Everett be Retained and, if so, 
how?

    Panel 1 will allow panelists to provide their views on the need for 
Everett on the electric and natural gas systems in New England. This 
panel may also discuss fuel procurement needs and challenges, including 
the fuel procurement and LNG capabilities available to New England from 
facilities other than Everett. Finally, this panel will discuss the 
constraints surrounding the planned retirement of Everett and the 
future winter expected impacts on the New England electric and natural 
gas systems.

Panelists

 Carrie H. Allen, Constellation Energy Generation, SVP and DGC, 
Regulatory Policy
 Vamsi Chadalavada, Executive Vice President and Chief 
Operating Officer, ISO New England
 Charles Dickerson, President and CEO, Northeast Power 
Coordinating Council (NPCC)
 Dan Dolan, President, New England Power Generators Association 
(NEPGA)
 James Holodak, Jr., Vice President, Energy Supply, National 
Grid
 Richard Levitan, President, Levitan & Associates
 Robert Neustaedter, Directory of Regulatory Affairs, Repsol
 Ernesto Ochoa, Vice President of Commercial, Kinder Morgan

Panelist Questions

    Please comment on whether Everett is needed for the reliable 
operation of the electric and/or natural gas systems in New England 
during the upcoming winters and beyond. As part of these comments, 
please address the following:
    a. Is there sufficient information available to make this 
assessment? If not, what additional information would be most useful to 
determine whether there is a need to retain Everett (e.g., information 
about the uses of, beneficiaries of, and costs to maintain the Everett 
facility)?
    b. Is LNG from other sources (e.g., Repsol and/or Excelerate) a 
full substitute for the LNG from Everett? If not, under what 
circumstances is it not a full substitute and are there conditions 
under which electric system and/or gas system operators would be unable 
to meet electric and/or gas demand or maintain reliable service if 
Everett retires?
    c. To the extent there is a need for Everett's continued operation, 
does that need change over a longer time horizon? If so, what 
circumstances drive its need?
    d. What are potential next steps on these issues in both the short-
term (winters 2023/2024 and 2024/2025) and beyond (beginning winter 
2025/2026)?

10:45 a.m.-11:15 a.m.: Third Presentation: Extreme Weather Risks

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to ISO-NE, Presentation of the EPRI Study by ISO-NE and EPRI

    The third presentation, by ISO-NE and the Electric Power Research 
Institute (EPRI), will detail the development of the EPRI model, the 
assumptions used, parameters considered, and the study results for the 
target year of 2027.\1\ ISO-NE and EPRI will also explain the study's 
key conclusions and offer thoughts on how those conclusions should be 
considered in the context of developing solutions to the region's 
electricity and natural gas challenges.
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    \1\ Each year as part of its Annual Work Plan, ISO-NE develops 
``Anchor Projects,'' which for 2023 includes ISO-NE's work with EPRI 
to develop an ``innovative framework for conducting a probabilistic 
energy-security study that assesses the operational impact of future 
extreme weather events.'' See ISO-NE, ISO New England's 2023 Annual 
Work Plan, (October 2022) at 7, https://www.iso-ne.com/static-assets/documents/2022/10/2023_awp_final_10_12_22.pdf. The 
preliminary study results for Winter 2027 can be found on the ISO-NE 
website. See ISO-NE, Operational Impacts of Extreme Weather Events, 
Preliminary Results of Energy Adequacy Studies for Winter 2027, (May 
16, 2023), https://www.iso-ne.com/static-assets/documents/2023/05/a10_operational_impact_of_extreme_weather_events.pdf.
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Panelists

 Vamsi Chadalavada, Executive Vice President and Chief 
Operating Officer, ISO New England
 Stephen George, Director, Operational Performance, Training 
and Integration, ISO New England
11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Panel 2: Reactions to the EPRI Study

    This panel will give panelists an opportunity to provide their 
reactions to the EPRI study's assumptions, inputs, and results. This 
panel will discuss what actionable steps should be taken, if any, as a 
result of the study's findings, and whether additional study or 
analysis is needed.

Panelists

 Phil Bartlett, Chair, Maine Public Utilities Commission
 Vamsi Chadalavada, Executive Vice President and Chief 
Operating Officer, ISO New England
 James Daly, Vice President Energy Supply, Eversource Energy
 Ronald T. Gerwatowski, Chairman, Rhode Island Public Utilities 
Commission
 Stephen George, Director, Operational Performance, Training 
and Integration, ISO New England
 Ben Griffiths, Senior Director of New England Regulatory 
Policy, LS Power
 Mark Lauby, Senior Vice President and Chief Engineer, North 
American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)
 Rob Perkins, Vice President of Pipeline Management, Kinder 
Morgan

Panelist Questions

    Please comment on the assumptions and conclusions of the EPRI study 
and what next steps should be taken given the study's results. As part 
of these comments, please address the following:
    a. Do these findings provide the information needed to make 
decisions about winter energy risks in New England? If not, what 
additional information is needed?
    b. Are additional or continuous studies needed to assess New 
England electric and gas winter issues? If so, what analyses are needed 
and how often should this be conducted?

12:15 p.m.-1:45 p.m.: Lunch Break
1:45 p.m.-3:00 p.m.: Panel 3: Path to Sustainable Solutions--
Infrastructure

    Based on the findings and issues identified in the previous panels 
and presentations, Panel 3 will shift toward discussing potential 
infrastructure solutions beyond winter 2023/2024. While retention of 
Everett has been raised as one possible solution, this panel will 
discuss the merits of other, longer-term solutions available to the 
region and the timelines for implementing them. Potential topics for 
discussion include: (1) new electric transmission interconnections with 
other regions; (2) the timing and impact of new offshore wind, onshore 
wind, and solar resource development; (3) transmission planning to 
enable efficient development of expected offshore wind additions; (4) 
increased natural gas pipeline infrastructure/capacity; and (5) 
increased oil and natural gas storage capability.

Panelists

 David Cavanaugh, Senior Vice President Regulatory & Market 
Affairs, Energy New England
 Patricia DiOrio, Head of Americas Project Development, Orsted 
North America
 Vandan Divatia, Vice President, Transmission Policy, 
Compliance, and Interconnections, Eversource Energy
 Katie Dykes, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Energy 
and Environmental Protection
 Bob Ethier, Vice President, System Planning, ISO New England
 Richard Paglia, Vice President, Marketing & Business 
Development, Enbridge
 Rebecca Tepper, Secretary, Massachusetts Executive Office of 
Energy and Environmental Affairs

Panelist Questions

    Please comment on what infrastructure is necessary to support 
reliable electric and gas system operations in New England. As part of 
these comments, please address the following:
    a. Are those infrastructure projects currently being pursued? If 
not, why not?
    b. What obstacles need to be addressed to allow new infrastructure 
to be placed timely into operation, and how are those obstacles 
currently being addressed?
    c. What steps, if any, should the Commission, ISO-NE, the New 
England states, and/or others take to address obstacles under their 
jurisdiction?

3:00 p.m.-3:15 p.m.: Break
3:15 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: Panel 4: Path to Sustainable Solutions--Market 
Design

    In Panel 4, Commissioners and panelists will discuss potential 
market solutions to New England's winter reliability challenges. 
Specifically, this panel will discuss any potential merits and benefits 
of market design changes to ISO-NE markets to enhance resource 
performance incentives, including incentives for resources to make 
advanced fuel procurements and/or maintain fuel inventories in the 
winter months; and align capacity market structure and rules with 
observed reliability risks--e.g., by reforming resource capacity 
accreditation and/or conducting prompt and/or seasonal capacity 
auctions.

Panelists

 Riley Allen, Commissioner, Vermont Public Utility Commission
 Michelle Gardner, Executive Director Regulatory Affairs--
Northeast, NextEra Energy Resources
 Mark Karl, Vice President, Market Development and Settlements, 
ISO New England
 Donald Kreis, Consumer Advocate, New Hampshire Office of the 
Consumer Advocate
 Pallas LeeVanSchaick, Vice President, Potomac Economics
 Aleks Mitreski, Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs, 
Brookfield Renewables
 Christie Prescott, Director, Energy Supply, United 
Illuminating
 Andrew Weinstein, Vice President, FERC Market Policy, Vistra

Panelist Questions

    Please comment on what market reforms are necessary to support 
reliable electric and gas system operations in New England. As part of 
these comments, please address the following:

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    a. What proposals currently under consideration in the stakeholder 
process and in the ISO-NE work plan would be most helpful to address 
New England's winter electric and gas system challenges?
    i. Are these proposals appropriately prioritized? If not, what 
should be done and how can necessary market changes be expedited?
    ii. At a high level, are there any major concerns with the current 
proposals under discussion that should be addressed?
    b. Are there additional reforms that are not currently under 
consideration in the stakeholder process that are necessary for energy 
resources to enhance fuel procurement strategies? If so, what other 
reforms should be considered? How should these market changes should be 
prioritized?

4:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.: Closing Roundtable

    In the Closing Roundtable, Commissioners and panelists will discuss 
what was learned through the presentations and panels and consider next 
steps. Topics will include what solutions stakeholders agree on 
pursuing and the timeline for implementing them as well as discussion 
of if, how, and when longer term solutions can be implemented sooner 
than currently expected.

Panelists

 Jim Robb, President and CEO, North American Electric 
Reliability Corporation (NERC)
 Gordon van Welie, President and CEO, ISO New England

State Representatives

 Phil Bartlett, Chair, Maine Public Utilities Commission
 Katie Dykes, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Energy 
and Environmental Protection
 Ronald T. Gerwatowski, Chairman, Rhode Island Public Utilities 
Commission
 Carleton Simpson, Commissioner, New Hampshire Public Utilities 
Commission
 Rebecca Tepper, Secretary, Massachusetts Executive Office of 
Energy and Environmental Affairs
 June Tierney, Commissioner, Vermont Department of Public 
Service

[FR Doc. 2023-11765 Filed 6-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P