TEPPC Value Proposition - wecc.org · TEPPC Value Proposition 4 W ES T ER N E L E C T R IC I T Y C O O R D I N A T I NG C O U N C I L Work Product User Description of Uses • Uses

TEPPC Value Proposition

October 2, 2015

WESTERN ELECTRICITY COORDINATING COUNCIL 155 North 400 West, Suite 200

Salt Lake City, Utah 84103-1114

Background

The WECC Board of Directors created TEPPC to oversee transmission planning and policy for the Western Interconnection. TEPPC has created a variety of planning reports for many years. Particularly since 2010, TEPPC has expanded the breadth and depth of its planning activities, adding many data sets, tools and reports to its portfolio, culminating in the comprehensive 2013 WECC Interconnection-wide Transmission Plan.

In February, 2015, TEPPC approved a “hybrid” approach to reporting on its work products. To assist in prioritizing its future work, TEP staff solicited input from some of TEPPC’s stakeholders on how they value and apply TEPPC’s work products. The following report is based on the feedback received from stakeholders and focuses on ways that they are currently using the data, tools and reports that TEPPC produces.

TEPPC Value Proposition 2

W E S T E R N E L E C T R I C I T Y C O O R D I N A T I N G C O U N C I L

Work Product User Description of Uses

1. Data Bases

General Comments The data and models created to facilitate interconnection-wide transmission planning are perhaps the most utilized and broadly valued products. Like other data and models created by WECC, this information serves as the foundation for many other planning activities. This inherently creates a common foundation of information so that results from multiple efforts are more easily compared. From a broad public policy perspective, the consistency and quality of the data and models assures that WECC and other planning entities use the best available information from across the Interconnection.

• Technology performance, variable operating costs (including fuel), capital cost, and environmental data.

• Internally consistent data and assumptions across the entire Interconnection.

• Industry-leading data and models for renewable energy and distributed resources provided by WECC’s partnership with National Laboratories and universities.

• Consensus–based descriptions and quantification of impacts of legislation and proposed state and federal public policy goals (e.g., Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction, Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPSs), Demand Side Management (DSM), Distributed Generation (DG)).

• Assumptions consistent with state- and provincial-approved forecasts.




1.1. Common Case Bonneville Power Administration • Uses as a primary source for grid information. A central repository in which data may be found that is not otherwise made available in a non-proprietary format, nor so well organized. As important as the data are the Release Notes that explain the origins of the data and the processes and assumptions involved in their development. The only deficiencies are the relative absence of continuous and broad review and contribution by those with access to data; and the unfilled need for data alternatives, such as alternative historical hourly datasets and data for years other than the tenth.

California Energy Commission (CEC) • Performs production simulation studies—congestion mitigation studies and specific transmission line upgrades (in GridView).

• Performs production simulation studies—renewable integration (in PLEXOS).

• Conducts preliminary analysis of whether AB 32 would meet EPA’s power plant GHG reduction targets.

• Analyzes gas burn from generators for natural gas assessment in Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR).

California ISO • Performs Transmission Planning Process (TPP) economic analyses for regions outside of BA.

• Performs operating flexibility analysis to support the CPUC Long-Term Procurement Plan (LTPP).




• Uses as starting point for modeling enhancements and building multi-year cases.

• Uses in transmission planning (TP) studies that feature a detailed nodal model with a focus on studying grid congestion and economic assessment of transmission upgrades. The nodal model is also used in transmission studies for policy-driven upgrades for renewable integration.

• Uses in resource adequacy (RA) studies that use a zonal or nodal model to study operational behaviors of the resource fleet. The RA studies focus on analysis of renewable integration, system flexibility needs, storage dispatch, thermal generation cycling, GHG emissions, etc. Also, in a near-term zonal model, a study runs stochastic simulations to analyze supply and demand balance to make sure that the system has adequate resources in the coming year’s operations.

• Uses in Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) studies that assess potential economic benefits of real-time joint-dispatch over a wider footprint across multiple BAs. Based on economic justifications of the EIM studies, the ISO implemented the PacifiCorp-ISO EIM in November 2014; and in November 2015, NV Energy will another entity participating in the EIM. The EIM studies were performed on hourly models. In recent studies, the ISO advanced the database to a sub-hourly model with sequential dispatch of Day Ahead, Hour Ahead and Real-Time.




California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) stakeholders

• Completes studies of flexibility requirements (using results of PLEXOS studies completed by CEC).

Energy + Environmental Economics (E3)

• Uses Common Case data in Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) study for CAISO, PacfiCorp and other transmission developers.

• Uses Common Case as a starting point to support other planning studies such as WIEB’s gas-electric integration study cases and EIM studies.

• Uses the Common Case (along with other entities, such as SCE, the CAISO, and the CPUC) as a starting point for resource planning studies

• Uses renewable resource shapes from the Common Case for a variety of regulatory processes in California (e.g., energy efficiency avoided cost calculator).

Northern Tier Transmission Group (NTTG)

• Uses data from Common Case to perform economic studies required by FERC Order 1000.

PacifiCorp • Uses data from Common Case to perform economic studies required by FERC Orders 890 and 1000.

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. The Common Case is the implicit starting point for all of SDG&E’s production cost study work where the effects of (i) load and generation not connected to SDG&E-owned transmission and distribution facilities, and/or (ii) non-SDG&E-owned transmission, could have a material impact on the study results. SDG&E typically uses a CAISO version of the Common Case as the CAISO usually makes important refinements to the




Common Case. SDG&E’s study work includes:

• Analysis of various RPS portfolios and associated inter-regional transmission expansion options

• Assessment of cost impacts from congestion in the local San Diego area

• Estimating loss and congestion-related costs associated with offers received in response to SDG&E’s Request for Offers (RFOs)

• Projecting annual imports into the San Diego area for purposes of establishing compliance with tax-exempt Local Furnishing Bond (LFB) requirements

• Estimating the value of Congestion Revenue Rights (CRRs) on CAISO-controlled transmission.

Southern California Edison • Uses for SCE's long-term production cost modeling enhancements such as generation and transmission updates in projects such as the Long Term Procurement Plan (LTPP), Distribution Resource Plan (DRP), and related proceedings.

• (Load data) targets are used to build load forecasts external to the CAISO region in the WECC

U.S. Department of Interior • Used the Common Case Transmission Assumptions (then known as the Foundational Projects List (FPL)) in 2010 to guide development of priorities for the Rapid Response Team for Transmission (RRTT). Three of the projects selected for prioritization were taken from the FPL.




WestConnect • Uses the TEPPC Common Case as a starting point to develop the regional production cost model used for Order 1000 regional planning.

1.2. Reference Case

1.3. Wind and Solar Profiles

BC Hydro • Reviews data as part of its Resource Options Database updates, which is used to develop its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).

Bonneville Power Administration • The hourly wind and solar data, based on interpolated historical data, are immensely useful for their geographical and temporal detail, and the aggregation of terabytes of data into useful time series for modeling is very important. It would be helpful if more historical years were processed and made available, to allow additional sensitivities.

Duke Energy • Identified as critical to understanding the future production performance of the WI.

PacifiCorp and NTTG • Uses wind and solar shapes in FERC Order 1000 modeling.

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. • Uses wind and solar shapes in assessments of capacity value for renewable resource options in different areas of the WECC

WestConnect • WestConnect uses these as they exist in the Common Case, and would be interested in drawing up them for




developing scenario studies.

1.4. Resource and Transmission Capital Costs

BC Hydro • Reviews data as part of its Resource Options Database updates, which is used to develop its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).


• Uses TEPPC’s capital costs for estimating resource and transmission costs.

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. • Uses TEPPC-adopted capital cost assumptions for purposes of estimating the capital costs of various RPS portfolios and associated transmission throughout the WECC

WestConnect • The WestConnect Regional Planning Process requires estimates for transmission costs. The TEPPC capital cost calculators are valuable sets of public data for both transmission and resources capital cost estimates.

1.5. Preferred Environmental Data

California Public Utilities Commission

• Preferred environmental data identified as part of WECC’s environmental methodology in “Energy Division’s Staff Paper on Incorporating Land Use and Environmental Information into the RPS Calculator and Developing and Selecting RPS Calculator Portfolios.”

Northern Tier Transmission Group • Uses environmental data and the data viewer to develop transmission project profiles.

WestConnect • The WestConnect Regional Planning Process considers the environmental risk posed by a project in its




evaluation of project submittals.

1.6. Recommended Enhancements

Bonneville Power Administration • Already in nascent form, a database of scenario elements (mod files or change files) that are well documented and easily accessible and usable in power flow and production cost models is very desirable.

California ISO • Adds a zonal and a sub-hourly model on top of the nodal model as the three models shares the same data.

2. Tools

General Comments Like data, the tools and models created to facilitate interconnection-wide transmission planning are broadly utilized and valued. The models themselves, as well as the advancement of modeling methods TEPPC facilitates, assures that WECC and other planning entities have access to high-quality information from across the Interconnection.

• Consistent, vetted, and updated Interconnection-wide production cost, power flow, capital cost, and environmental risk models.

• Development and maintenance of modeling tools and techniques customized for the Western Interconnection.

2.1. Power Flow Base Case and PCM Data Reconciliation

General Comments TEPPC uses power flow data and analytical results to support other analytical activities, for example, using the results of a power flow case as the starting point for Production Cost Modeling (PCM). In addition, TEPPC is working to reconcile differences between data used in power flow and PCM models




to facilitate WECC’s and stakeholders’ analytical efforts that use different modeling tools.

Bonneville Power Administration • This capability is not yet adequately developed, but it is anticipated that the next biennial cycle will provide matched datasets that finally provide an active link between economic and reliability analysis. Currently beta testing.

California ISO (CAISO) • Uses as starting point for all ISO transmission studies.

• Uses to determine local capability requirements for CPUC resource adequacy program.


• Starting with the 10-year Common Case, NTTG exports stressed hours, using GridView “Round Trip” to build power flow cases that are used to perform economic and reliability studies under FERC Order 1000.

WestConnect • The WestConnect regional process is interested in the capabilities that this type of functionality might provide.

2.2. Production Cost Modeling

Bonneville Power Administration • The production cost modeling of the WECC staff is important to providing studies in an open forum for the benefit of stakeholders without the means to perform their own studies. It also provides a structured framework for exercising and improving the datasets

Duke Energy • Considers this the best available West wide model of production ten years in the future.

• The recent enhancement providing seven day look-ahead




capability will create an even better model with the ability to study the impacts of major storage facilities.

PacifiCorp • Uses GridView when running NTTG analysis.

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. • Uses GridView for its production cost modeling where the effects of (i) load and generation not connected to SDG&E-owned transmission and distribution facilities, and/or (ii) non-SDG&E-owned transmission, could have a material impact on modeling results

WestConnect • WestConnect uses the PCM to perform the assessment of regional economic needs and solutions to meet those needs.

2.3. Capital Expansion Model (LTPT)

U.S. Department of Energy • In 2013-14, WECC applied the LTPT to re-evaluate previously established energy corridors in the West.

• Identified potential energy corridors and potential preferred locations of future infrastructure (e.g., pipelines, electricity transmission lines, and associated infrastructure) by leveraging WECC’s GIS based environmental datasets and geospatial optimization tools.

2.4. Environmental Data Viewer

California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)

• Environmental Data Viewer identified as a “notable tool” that “…includes information on land outside of California, which could be useful for representing the land-use implications of out-of state renewable resources” in “Energy Division’s Staff Paper on Incorporating Land Use and Environmental Information into the RPS Calculator




and Developing and Selecting RPS Calculator Portfolios.”

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. (SDG&E)

• Uses WECC Environmental Data viewer to evaluate potential routes for a new transmission lines with which they may be involved.


• Uses WECC Environmental Data viewer to develop transmission project profiles.

Black & Veatch • Assessing solar potential in Oregon for PGE's 2016 Integrated Resource Plan

2.5. Environmental Risk Classification System

California Public Utilities Commission

• WECC environmental comparison methodology identified as option in “Energy Division’s Staff Paper on Incorporating Land Use and Environmental Information into the RPS Calculator and Developing and Selecting RPS Calculator Portfolios.”

Colorado Public Utilities Commission

• Adopted in concept a planning process that considers environmental and cultural risks. Colorado PUC Rule 3627 requires statewide comprehensive transmission planning that is coordinated among electric utilities in Colorado. The Colorado PUC found that incorporating environmental concerns into transmission planning is important in providing planners with critical information for evaluating the feasibility and routing of a particular transmission proposal.

• Further directed that if the EDTF products are available in time to inform the statewide 2014 Transmission Plan, the utilities are expected to use these resources in




appropriate places throughout the Plan and explain how they were used in developing the Plan.

• The Colorado Coordinated Planning Group (CCPG) is responsible for developing these coordinated plans. Environmental and cultural data are required as part of a review for sensitive areas when evaluating the proposed transmission projects.


• Uses the risk classification system to develop transmission project profiles.

WestConnect • WestConnect uses environmental risk information to help evaluate projects submitted into the regional planning process.

2.6. Project Information Portal

Bonneville Power Administration • The portal allows review of projects defined in other areas, with sufficient detail to understand their objectives and basic designs. More detailed (EPC-type) datasets will be valuable.


• Uses assumptions from the WECC Project Information Portal in transmission modeling under FERC Order 1000.

PacifiCorp • Uses assumptions from the WECC Project Information Portal in transmission modeling under FERC Order 1000.

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. • Uses this source for obtaining transmission project technical data, and as a basis for confirming data available from other sources




WestConnect • The Project Portal provides useful information regarding transmission being developed in neighboring regions.

2.7. Resource and Transmission Capital Cost Calculator

Duke Energy • Considers calculator a valuable tool that can be used to evaluate alternate generation and transmission alternatives on a level playing field.


• Uses TEPPC’s capital costs for estimating resource and transmission capital costs

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. • Uses the tool to develop the approximate annual fixed costs of specific generation resource options and transmission expansion options assuming, for example, different levels of tax credits are enacted

WestConnect • The WestConnect Regional Planning Process requires estimates for transmission costs. The TEPPC capital cost calculators are valuable sets of public data for both transmission and resources capital cost estimates.

3. Reports

General Comments The 10- and 20-Year planning studies serve to understand the interconnection-wide impacts of local, state, and subregional decisions, as well as economic, operations, and federal environmental, energy, and tax policy implications. In complying with FERC Order 890, some Regional Planning Groups point to WECC’s economic study processes as a way to meet a portion of their requirements for economic studies.




Through the study request process and stakeholder input, the analysis identifies how the expected future Interconnection performs under a variety of uncertainties and identified risks, and allows planners and stakeholders to better understand and model a variety of policy implications affecting the Western Interconnection. It is this holistic evaluation that identifies potential reliability issues and economic opportunities, and the drivers for them.

• Consideration of a wide range of studies that reflect the potential future generation and transmission options nominated through a study request window process.

• Scenarios and studies developed by the Scenario Planning Steering Group (SPSG) and other studies as TEPPC may determine are of value to stakeholders. Evaluation of the Interconnection-wide impacts of Regional plans.

• Consensus-based scenarios for understanding 20-year possible futures.

TEPPC has also delved into environmental analysis with respect to transmission planning. The transmission alternative comparison methodology provides a consistent method for evaluating environmental and cultural risks from transmission planning and includes a process for engaging stakeholders at multiple levels. Preferred environmental and cultural datasets are used as inputs in a long-term planning tool (20-year horizon) and are analyzed using a land classification system that identifies high- and low-risk areas, providing the opportunity to avoid or mitigate environmental and/or cultural




risks at the planning level.

The study results and resulting transmission plans provide the industry with key messages about the future of the Interconnection that have been broadly vetted and accepted. The objective of this work is to understand the connection between reliability, costs, environmental impacts, and infrastructure decisions. The plans shine a light on potential reliability issues and suggest where actions by others should be focused.

• Analysis results that show the Interconnection-wide impacts of decisions that are made in more local processes.

• 10-Year transmission planning assessments that reflect current infrastructure investment trends and energy policies that identify economic opportunities and potential reliability issues.

• 20-Year Plans that tell the story of how various policy, technology, and cost drivers might impact infrastructure decisions.

3.1. Common Case Transmission Assumptions (CCTA)

Bonneville Power Administration • A broadly-defined consensus set of transmission projects affords a ‘target’ grid expansion which planners may work from in assessing their own systems

Duke Energy • Believes that the CCTA provides the only West-wide view of the most likely or most probable 10-year regional and interregional transmission development plan.




First Solar • Uses the CCTA to guide efforts to find sites with favorable transmission conditions for new solar generation projects.

PacifiCorp • Uses as part of the Common Case package.

WestConnect • This report helps WestConnect understand what future planned transmission is being assumed as a starting point in the WECC-TEPPC studies.

3.2. Annual TEPPC Study Program

Bonneville Power Administration • Having an annual Study Program supports for the dataset development, as noted above, and also allows stakeholders to have input regarding what they see as important to understanding the future grid.

Duke Energy • Provides stakeholders with the only opportunity to have ideas, concepts or game changing projects/concepts studied in an open and independent forum.

PacifiCorp • Participates consistently in developing the annual Study Program

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. • Participates consistently in developing the annual Study Program.

3.3. Issue-Based Reports Duke Energy • Provides an opportunity to report on major issues or questions in a timely manner.

First Solar • Uses issue-based reports to guide efforts to find sites with favorable transmission conditions for new solar




generation projects.

PacifiCorp • Supports studying all types of issue-based reports shown in TEPPC Study Program in an open, transparent and all-inclusive public process.

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. • Supports studying issues of interest to TEPPC stakeholders (and preparing associated reports) where such studies are included in the TEPPC Study Program through an open, transparent and all-inclusive public process. Examples include the energy-water nexus study that is currently being scoped by the SPSG to examine the potential effects of climate-change on the Western Interconnection.

WestConnect • WestConnect may see a benefit in leveraging scenario analysis performed by WECC as input into the regional planning process. In addition, WestConnect may have data/information to contribute towards these studies from a regional level.

3.4. 10-Year Study Case Reports

Bonneville Power Administration • Other than to aid stakeholders in interpreting study cases, or to provide summaries of model outputs, the study cases need not be developed into formal reports.

Duke Energy • These reports provide a hot-off-the-press summary of study case results for stakeholder vetting, model validation and learning.

First Solar • Uses the 10-year study case reports to guide efforts to find sites with favorable transmission conditions for new




solar generation projects.

WestConnect • WestConnect will review these reports to determine if reliability or congestion issues were identified in the WestConnect footprint. If such issues are identified, WestConnect will determine if they should be investigated further in the regional planning process.

3.5. 20-Year Study Case Reports

Natural Resources Defense Council • The 20 year transmission plan and studies have great value to all the planning entities in the West (Columbia Grid, NTTYG, WestConnect and CAISO) as well as other state agencies and emissions trading groups working to track and value carbon and compliance creditors by providing insight into the resources needed, cost and trajectory of development needed to meet long-term climate and renewable energy goals.

• Policy outcomes require long term analysis. With the advent of regional markets in the West, the implantation cycles for Order 1000 planning and the crafting of state implementation plans under the EPOA's Clean Power Plan, a host of entities planning both resource procurement and transmission modernization to comply with state and federal policy mandates will find these WECC products extremely helpful, if not critical to their missions. These changes in grid development and operation make these products more valuable than ever.

• Trajectory analysis/ New users of the data and results: Finally, WECC has moved to understand how the 10- and 20 year plans intersect. Does a 10 year study result track on 20




year goals? This is a crucial analytical exercise linking shorter and longer term planning and it is essential to identifying the possible types of futures various development trajectories will result in and aid decision makers charged with selecting options for development that match longer term societal and climate goals. These include not only electricity reliability stakeholders, but additionally state environmental quality agencies charged with implementing programs under the EPA Clean Power Plan.

WestConnect • WestConnect may see a benefit in leveraging scenario analysis performed by WECC as input into the regional planning process. In addition, WestConnect may have data/information to contribute towards these studies from a regional level.

3.6. Interconnection-Wide Transmission Reporting

General Comments In 2011, WECC produced a 10-Year Interconnection-wide transmission plan, and in 2013, it produced a WECC Interconnection-wide transmission plan covering planning in both the 10-year and 20-year planning horizons. TEPPC is developing the appropriate structure and content for a transmission report in 2015 and, in 2016, plans to revise its planning protocol, including its approach for reporting on planning activities. In 2016 and beyond, summary reporting may be annual, biennial, triennial or some other frequency.

Bonneville Power Administration • It is important that these studies are coordinated with the four regional planning organizations as these four organizations are responsible under Order 1000 to perform certain studies. I would recommend that these studies be




done at the regional organization level and roll up to WECC for putting together the interconnection wide plan.

California ISO • Uses the biennial plan to guide transmission planning efforts.

PacifiCorp • The annual TEPPC Study Program contains pieces of what might be included in a plan.

3.7. General Bonneville Power Administration • As important as the database described in 1.1 and the modeling in 2.2, making the hourly outputs from the Common Case and select Study Cases available for web access is very useful. For example, Excel workbooks with a column of hourly flows for each interface, or one with hourly generation aggregated by resource type for each region may be very informative.

The Brattle Group • Uses, or at least examines, all the data and reports listed in the work products matrix, typically while performing a market analysis for a WECC market participant.

• TEPPC’s work product is the most comprehensive for the Western Interconnection. The various scenarios that you run are of interest to our clients and also give us insight into what other western utilities are worried about. This is really valuable in understanding how future power exchanges might change.

4. Stakeholder Process

General Comments The learning model that TEPPC follows assures that data and




models are the best available. In the process, stakeholders learn from each other and, through debate, create common understandings about topics central to planning the Interconnection. Stakeholders participating in TEPPC activities come with their own subject matter expertise. Through discussions, the stakeholders are able to come away with a broader knowledge about the interests and issues facing transmission expansion planning and the future of the Western Interconnection. Over time, this educational benefit reduces controversy over future infrastructure decisions.

• Forum for discussing and creating a common basis of knowledge for energy planning issues.

• Broad stakeholder governance and involvement to assure diverse concerns of planning stakeholders are incorporated.

Bonneville Power Administration

• Participation by those able to provide and analyze the data is critical to this undertaking, and no less important is participation by those who consume the information and make decisions that are informed by the study program. The Stakeholder Process provides valuable forums for these activities. Bottom line it is important that sharing of data, work, products, and involvement in decision making, consensus and direction be continued with active stakeholder participation.

5. Research

BC Hydro • Uses information provided via TEPPC on various research topics and planning tool developments. In




particular, Planning for Uncertainty modelling research undertaken by Johns Hopkins University and water-energy nexus modelling research undertaken by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Documents

TEPPC Value Proposition - wecc.org · TEPPC Value Proposition 4 W ES T ER N E L E C T R IC I T Y C O O R D I N A T I NG C O U N C I L Work Product User Description of Uses • Uses