Reliable Power
Interconnection Queue
Business Practices
Reliable Markets
Stakeholder Consultation
October 19, 2007
Reliable People
Laura Letourneau
Director; Market Services
Welcome & Background
• Interconnection Process and Queue Management has
developed/evolved over past several years. Although interconnection
process is generic it has been impacted by wind integration challenges.
– Interconnection Process developed through consultation in 2005
– Interim practices established to accommodate customers during transition
from 2003 to 2005/6 tariff
– April 2006 – start temporary 900 MW reliability threshold on wind
– May & June 2006 - stakeholder consultations; response posted September
2006
– Fall ’06- Sept ’07 – develop/consult/finalize Market & Operational
Framework (MOF)
– September 2007 – Threshold replaced by MOF/ Queue Discussion Paper
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Today: Agenda & Expectations
• Interconnection Queue Business Practices (Shaun Andrews)
– Review/clarify the published discussion paper
– Full consultation on proposal (paper/presentation) therefore
publish comments and response matrix
– Expectation
• refinements rather than major overhaul
• Finalized business practices by December ‘07
• Plan for Workload Management (Jana Mosley)
– Inform Stakeholders of the AESO Plan to manage work volume
– Not part of formal Interconnection Queue Consultation therefore
comments/suggestions welcome but informal process
Unless clarifying understanding, please hold questions/comments to end
All questions/comments and responses will be documented and published
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Reliable Power
Interconnection Queue
Business Practices
Stakeholder Consultation
Reliable Markets
Reliable People
October 19, 2007
Shaun Andrews
Customer Interconnections
Purpose of the Meeting
• Review background and need for proposed modifications to
the interconnection process business practices
• Present and explain key elements of the proposed changes
• Review some of the alternatives that were considered
• Discuss next steps
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Background
• Interconnection Process and Queue designed to facilitate
open, non-discriminatory system access
• In May 2006, the AESO conducted a stakeholder session
proposing project milestones
• Consulted with industry over the last year
• Developed a generation queue to address transparency,
workload, and threshold issues
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Current Environment
• Currently:
– “Current Cash Committed” projects (those that provided their Customer
Contribution in the form of cash under a Construction Commitment
Agreement (“CCA”), are positioned according to the date of customer
commitment
– “Uncommitted” projects are positioned according to the date of the
customer’s Preliminary Assessment Application
– Higher queue position assigned to “committed” projects
– Lack of project progress milestones
 Unintended Consequences:
– Inconsistent with efficient and non-discriminatory interconnection process
– Increased uncertainty for generation development
– Lack of progress on projects
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Proposed Modifications
• Proposed modifications designed to ensure that projects are
progressing, capacity is allocated effectively and customers
are dealt with fairly and consistently
– Project sequence will be established at the time the customer’s
Preliminary Assessment Application is submitted
– Milestones tied to interconnection process versus project
– Customers must meet milestones in order to maintain their Queue
Position
– Failure to complete Interconnection Process Milestones will result in
cancellation of the customer’s application
– Cancelled projects can be re-initiated with a submission of a new
Preliminary Assessment Application and fee
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Benefits of Modifications
• Address concerns regarding outside influences (i.e. AESO
responsiveness) impacting project Queue Position
• Eliminate ”queue jumping” (advancing Queue Position)
• Increased confidence in project progression improves efficiency of
conducting transmission planning studies
• Clear milestone triggers, obligations and consequences facilitate more
efficient progression of interconnection projects
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Consistency:
Policy, Regulation, Legislation & Tariff
In relation to assigning transmission capacity at time of a
Preliminary Assessment Application:
• Removal of other influence on queue position/priority aligns
with open access principle
• Allocation at early process stage is consistent with policy
direction regarding “proactive” transmission planning
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Consistency:
Policy, Regulation, Legislation & Tariff
In relation to project milestones and non-compliance:
•
Transmission Development Policy states generators “may not prohibit
interconnection or access … by other generators or loads.”
•
Section 16 (3) further reinforces the intent to not “block access”
•
TDP recognizes “significant milestone dates in a generation project
schedule” and envisioned that “the ISO will be required to identify
suitable generator project milestones”
•
2006 AESO Tariff contains language with regards to “critical
milestones” for projects and states that if the customer fails to meet
such milestones, the AESO may cancel and require the customer to
resubmit a Preliminary Assessment Application
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Alternatives Considered
• Right of First Refusal (if queue priority was changing)
• Project “Stalling”
• Publication of Interconnection Queue
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Milestones
Project initiated by submission of Preliminary Assessment Application (PAA)
Trigger
Milestone
1. AESO notifies customer of data
deficiency on PAA
1. Submit required data within 30
days of AESO notification
2. AESO issues Interconnection
Proposal to customer
2. Submit written acceptance of the
proposal within 60 days
3. Request technical data needed in
order to support need filing
3. Submit data within 60 days of
request
4. NIF is filed by the AESO and
approved by the EUB
4. Sign a CCA within 60 days of NIF
approval
5. Invoice the customer for system
contribution as well as customer
contribution
5. Pay the system contribution and
customer contribution within 90 days
of receipt of EUB Permit and License.
6. AESO prepares System Access
Services agreement
6. Sign agreement 42 days (6 weeks)
prior to energization
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Implementation
• Implementation of the Proposed Business Practice
modifications must address the following issues:
– Ensure fair treatment of existing projects by minimizing customer
impact
– Ensure all impacted stakeholders understand their obligations under
new business practices
– Pursue specific tariff amendments in order to more clearly and
explicitly align the terms and conditions of AESO Tariff and the
business practices
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Queue Position & Transmission Capacity
Allocation
• Current Cash Committed projects – retain existing queue
position established by payment date of the customer
contribution, provided financial and progress/milestone
obligations are maintained
• Uncommitted projects – retain queue position established by
Preliminary Assessment Application submission date,
provided progress/milestone obligations are met
• New application – establish queue position based on
Preliminary Assessment Application submission date
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Noncompliance - Project Cancellation
• All Projects:
– If the customer does not meet progress milestone obligations, the
project will be deemed cancelled, the customer application fee will
be forfeited and transmission capacity allocated to the cancelled
project will be reallocated
• Current Cash Committed Projects:
– If customer does not maintain their financial obligations, the project
will no longer be classified as “committed” and will revert to
“uncommitted” status and be repositioned in the queue as per the
date of the Preliminary Assessment Application
*AESO working on notification process
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Next Steps
• Discussion paper posted September 26, 2007
• Written comments due to the AESO
(laura.letourneau@aeso.ca) by November 2, 2007
• Review and publish stakeholders’ written feedback
• Finalize and publish:
– AESO responses to written feedback
– Final Interconnection Process Business Practices
• Pursue tariff amendments as needed to align Tariff terms
and conditions with effective business practices
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Questions
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Reliable Power
Wind Application Workload
Management
Stakeholder Consultation
October 19, 2007
Reliable Markets
Reliable People
Jana Mosley
Operations Assistant to the
VP, Transmission
Overview
• Customer (& AESO) concerns
• How will we address these concerns?
– Resourcing
– Work Plan
• High level process
• How the queue applies
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Customer (& AESO) Concerns
• Work has not started on my project
• I need to know when I can connect my project
• How will the AESO resource all of these projects in
the queue?
• What will I be getting from the AESO in return for
my Preliminary Assessment Application?
• How will the project queue apply to AESO workload
management?
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Resourcing
• Currently finalizing Interconnection Proposals (IP) for
projects that had applied prior to the 2006 Tariff
• Moving forward…..
– AESO System Planning has hired an experienced consulting
company to provide 4 full-time resources to focus on southern
Alberta system reinforcement and wind farm interconnections
– Offer customers an IP that is faster to produce with higher level cost
estimate
– Shaun Andrews will coordinate all wind interconnection projects
wanting an accelerated IP until a project manager is later assigned
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Immediate Work Plan
1. System Base Cases to be finalized (by Dec 7/07)
2. For each project, inform customers if transmission
reinforcements are required to provide
unconstrained access (by Dec 14/07)
3. Group projects into zones
4. Apply the project queue to each zone
5. Sit down one-on-one with customers - where you
are and when an IP could be ready (by Dec 21/07)
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Immediate Work Plan (cont’d)
6. Customer chooses how detailed they want the
initial IP
7. Where requested, prepare simplified IPs that
include load flows, +/-50% estimate, high level
RAS requirements on customer’s preferred
alternative (targeting ~one week per IP)
8. Upon customer acceptance of IP, assign a project
manager and proceed through rest of the process
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Simplified Beginning Process
(Optional)
Application
Process Application
Setup/Initiate Project
Identify Interconnection Alternatives
Select preferred alternative
Customer Proposal (IP with
Power Flow Only, +/- 50% Estimate, Possible Constraints/RAS)
Customer Acceptance
Assign a Project Manager & Continue with Regular Process
Complete Dynamic Analysis and Finalize NIF
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How the Queue Applies
• Queue is used to order projects in a specific zone
– Workload
– RAS
• Examples:
– Project A applies before Project B. Project B
does not require system reinforcements to
connect  Planning could begin on Project B
before Project A.
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Another Example
• Projects are ranked in the
queue in the following
order: A, B, C, D
• Projects A, C, and D
(Zone 1) would be grouped
together to ensure an
accurate and complete
planning model
• Project B (Zone 2)
• Project B could finish
ahead of Project A, or
behind Project C and D.
ZONE 1
ZONE 2
Project A
Project B
Project B
Project C
Project D
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Contact Info
• For questions relating to this work plan, you can
contact Jana Mosley
Jana.mosley@aeso.ca
Ph: (403) 539-2713
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Questions
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