M A T L
FAQ
Document No.
Version No.
N/A
1.2
Effective Date
MATL COD
Distribution Restriction:
MATL OASIS
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are the energy loss zones and line loss factor of Path 83 MATL line?
The Alberta portion of the MATL System is in the Balancing Authority Area of Alberta Electric System
Operator (AESO) and the Montana portion of the MATL System is in the Balancing Authority Area of
Northwestern Energy (NWE). The Canada/US border is the boundary between the two aforementioned
Balancing Authorities.
As depicted in Figure 1 below, losses on the Montana portion of Path 83 MATL line are assigned a fixed
percentage of 0.5% for the section from Canada/US border to Hay Lake switching station and 4.5% for the
section between Hay Lake and Great Falls substation. Line losses for monetary settlement on the Alberta
portion of the Path 83 MATL line are determined in accordance with AESO’s Rules and Tariff.
MATL 120S
AESO’s
Procedure
POR/POD: AB.MT.MATL
Canada/US Border
0.5%
POR/POD: WWA
POD: MATL.WWA
Hay Lake
RimRock
4.5%
Legend
AESO BA
NWE BA
POR/POD: MATL.NWMT
Great Falls
Figure 1: Energy loss zones and line loss factor of Path 83 MATL line
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M A T L
FAQ
Document No.
Version No.
N/A
1.2
Effective Date
MATL COD
Frequently Asked Questions
Distribution Restriction:
MATL OASIS
2. How are line losses calculated for schedules with a source of Wind Watch Balancing Authority (WWA
BA) to flow energy into Alberta?
Montana energy loss factor payment will be calculated at 0.5% of the parent e-tag energy schedule
rounded up to the nearest whole MW value; whereas energy losses over the Alberta portion of the MATL
system will be determined by the AESO for monetary settlement in accordance with the AESO’s Rules and
Tariff. This is further illustrated in Table 1 for a scenario where WWA BA schedules 150 MW of energy into
the Alberta market.
Table 1: WWA to AB.MT.MATL Scenario
Scheduled Energy
150 MW
POR
WWA
POD
AB.MT.MATL
Energy Loss - MT
1 MW
Energy Loss - AB
AESO’s Rules and Tariff
3. How are line losses calculated for schedules with a source of Wind Watch Balancing Authority (WWA
BA) to flow energy into or across NorthWestern Energy’s (NWE) system?
Montana energy loss factor payment will be calculated at 4.5% of the parent e-tag energy schedule
rounded up to the nearest whole MW value. This is further illustrated in Table 2 for a scenario where
WWA BA schedules 150 MW of energy into NWE’s system.
Table 2: WWA to MATL.NWMT Scenario
Scheduled Energy
150 MW
POR
WWA
POD
MATL.NWMT
Energy Loss - MT
7 MW
Energy Loss - AB
N/A
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M A T L
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Frequently Asked Questions
Document No.
Version No.
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MATL OASIS
A transmission customer will also be responsible for additional loss payments to NWE in accordance with
their tariff if the energy is further scheduled to flow into or across NWE’s system.
4. How are line losses calculated for schedules to flow energy northbound from NWE’s system into
Alberta by utilizing the entire Path 83 MATL line?
Montana energy loss factor payment will be calculated at 5% of the parent e-tag energy schedule
rounded up to the nearest whole MW value; whereas energy losses over the Alberta portion of the MATL
system will be determined by the AESO for monetary settlement in accordance with the AESO’s Rules and
Tariff. This is further illustrated in Table 3 for a scenario where 250 MW of energy is scheduled to flow
northbound by utilizing the entire Path 83 MATL line.
Table 3: MATL.NWMT to AB.MT.MATL Scenario
Scheduled Energy
250 MW
POR
MATL.NWMT
POD
AB.MT.MATL
Energy Loss - MT
13 MW
Energy Loss – AB
AESO’s Rules and Tariff
A transmission customer will also be responsible for additional loss payments to NWE in accordance with
their tariff if the energy is scheduled to flow across or from a source within NWE’s system.
5. How are line losses calculated for schedules to flow energy southbound from the Alberta market
across or into NWE’s system by utilizing the entire Path 83 MATL line?
Montana energy loss factor payment will be calculated at 5% of the parent e-tag energy schedule
rounded up to the nearest whole MW value; whereas energy losses over the Alberta portion of the MATL
system will be determined by the AESO for monetary settlement in accordance with the AESO’s Rules and
Tariff. This is further illustrated in Table 4 for a scenario where 250 MW of energy is scheduled to flow
southbound by utilizing the entire Path 83 MATL line.
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M A T L
FAQ
Document No.
Version No.
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1.2
Effective Date
MATL COD
Frequently Asked Questions
Distribution Restriction:
MATL OASIS
Table 4: AB.MT.MATL to MATL.NWMT Scenario
Scheduled Energy
250 MW
POR
AB.MT.MATL
POD
MATL.NWMT
Energy Loss - MT
13 MW
Energy Loss - AB
AESO’s Rules and Tariff
A transmission customer will also be responsible for additional loss payments to NWE in accordance with
their tariff if the energy is further scheduled to flow across or into NWE’s system.
6. Does MATL have a business practice for implementing 15-minute scheduling per FERC Order 764?
Hour-to-hour and intra-hour (four intervals consisting of fifteen minute schedules) schedules will be
accepted provided that the Delivering Party and Receiving Party also agree to the schedule modification.
Scheduling changes will be permitted up to twenty (20) minutes before the start of the next scheduling
interval. MATL as the Transmission Service Provider only validates a schedule based on the transmission
parameters of: 1) Valid confirmed transmission, 2) tagging party has rights to schedule the TSR, 3)
schedule POR/POD match the TSR and 4) there is sufficient transmission left for the energy schedule. All
other validations are BA validations that MATL has no control of.
7. Identify the list of MATL’s current PORs and PODs?
The valid list of PORs and PODs on the MATL Transmission System is as follows:
Provider:
Point Name:
POR:
POD:
Allowed Uses
MATL
AB.MT.MATL
Yes
Yes
Transmission service requests, tagging and scheduling
MATL
WWA
Yes
Yes
For tagging and scheduling only
MATL
MATL.WWA
No
Yes
For scheduling loss deliveries only
MATL
MATL.NWMT
Yes
Yes
Transmission service requests, tagging and scheduling
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