[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 126 (Monday, July 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54449-54450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14419]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[GDO Docket No. PP-48-4]


Application To Amend Presidential Permit; El Paso Electric 
Company

AGENCY: Grid Deployment Office, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of application.

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SUMMARY: El Paso Electric Company (EPE or Applicant) has applied to 
amend Presidential Permit No. PP-48 to reflect a change in 
counterparty. Concurrent with this request, the Department of Energy 
(DOE or Department) intends to amend the permit to incorporate 
reference to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and 
Western Systems Coordinating Council, as applicable, pursuant to the 
Federal Power Act.

DATES: Comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be submitted on 
or before July 31, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Comments, protests, motions to intervene, or requests for 
more information should be addressed by electronic mail to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brett Thompson, (202) 288-2028, 
[email protected].

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 by the Secretary of Energy pursuant to 
Executive Order (E.O.) 10485, as amended by E.O. 12038. On April 10, 
2023, the authority to issue such permits was delegated to the DOE's 
Grid Deployment Office by Delegation Order

[[Page 54450]]

No. S1-DEL-S3-2023 and Redelegation Order No. S3-DEL-GD1-2023.
    On May 21, 1946, Presidential Permit No. PP-48 (formally, FPC 
Docket IT-5762) was granted to EPE authorizing construction, operation, 
maintenance, and connection, of a 69-kilovolt (kV) transmission line at 
the international border between the U.S. and Mexico. Presidential 
Permit No. PP-48 was amended on March 15, 1949 (Docket No. PP-48-1), 
November 26, 1958 (Docket No. PP-48-2), and December 13, 1990 (Docket 
No. PP-48-3). On May 1, 2024, EPE filed an application with DOE 
(Application or App.) requesting to amend Presidential Permit No. PP-48 
to reflect a change in counterparty from Comisi[oacute]n Federal de 
Electricidad (CFE) to the Centro Nacional de Control de Energ[iacute]a 
(CENACE). App. at 2.
    According to the Application, EPE and CFE entered into an 
Interchange Agreement (Enabling Contract) to ``govern the exchange of 
power between the two countries.'' Id. EPE states that ``reforms in 
Mexico have resulted in CFE no longer being responsible for energy 
transactions with EPE pursuant to the Enabling Contract. Rather, 
[CENACE] now operates [Mexico's] the wholesale electricity market, has 
operational control of the national electric system, and establishes 
energy imports and exports for reliability and emergency situations.'' 
Id. EPE states that the Enabling Contract was assigned from CFE to 
CENACE effective April 16, 2024. Id. EPE requests that DOE amend 
Presidential Permit No. PP-48 to reflect CENACE as the counterparty 
rather than CFE and confirm that the permit will remain applicable to 
the Enabling Contract now that it has been assigned to CENACE. Id.
    Additionally, Article 3 of Presidential Permit No. PP-48-3 also 
provides that ``[t]he facilities . . . will be designed and operated in 
accordance with the applicable criteria established by the Inland Power 
Pool, and consistent with the Western Systems Coordinating Council.'' 
PP-48-3 at 6. Issuance of the permit preceded the enactment of the 
Energy Policy Act of 2005, which added section 215 to the Federal Power 
Act and allowed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to certify an 
Electric Reliability Organization to develop enforceable reliability 
standards for the Nation's bulk-power system. The certified 
organization, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation 
(NERC), oversees several Regional Entities, one of which is the Western 
Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC). Therefore, concurrent with 
reviewing EPE's request to modify Presidential Permit No. PP-48 to 
reflect the substitution of CENACE for CFE, the Department intends to 
revise Article 3 to substitute the full names of NERC and WECC, as 
applicable.
    Procedural Matters: Any person desiring to be heard in this 
proceeding should file a comment or protest to the Application at 
[email protected]. Protests should be filed in accordance 
with Rule 211 of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC's) Rules 
of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211). Any person desiring to 
become a party to this proceeding should file a motion to intervene at 
[email protected] in accordance with FERC Rule 214 (18 CFR 
385.214).
    Comments and other filings concerning El Paso Electric Company's 
Application should be clearly marked with GDO Docket No. PP-48-4. 
Additional copies are to be provided directly to Abe Gonzalez, El Paso 
Electric, P.O. Box 982, El Paso, Texas 79960, 
[email protected].
    Before a Presidential permit may be issued, DOE must determine 
whether the proposed action is in the public interest. In making that 
determination, DOE will consider the environmental impacts of the 
proposed action (i.e., granting the Presidential permit, with any 
conditions and limitations, or denying the permit) pursuant to DOE's 
National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures (10 CFR part 
1021); determine the Applicant's proposed project's impact on electric 
reliability by ascertaining whether the proposed project would 
adversely affect the operation of the U.S. electric power supply system 
under normal and contingency conditions; and weigh any other factors 
that DOE may also consider relevant to the public interest. DOE also 
must obtain the favorable recommendation of the Secretary of State and 
the Secretary of Defense before taking final action on a Presidential 
permit application.
    EPE's Application may be reviewed or downloaded electronically at 
www.energy.gov/gdo/pending-applications-0 or by emailing 
[email protected]. Copies of this Application will be made 
available, upon request, by accessing the program website at https://www.energy.gov/gdo/pending-applications-0 or by emailing 
[email protected].
    Signing Authority: This document of the Department of Energy was 
signed on June 24, 2024, by Maria Robinson, Director, Grid Deployment 
Office, 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 June 26, 2024.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2024-14419 Filed 6-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P