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Vol. 26, No.19 Week of May 09, 2021
Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry

RCA has SB 123 regulations out for public comment; close June 1

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Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has issued proposed regulations necessary to implement Senate Bill 123, enacted last year, which authorized certification and regulation of regional electric reliability organizations by the commission. SB 123 required adoption of regulations by July 1 of this year.

Comments on the proposed regulations must be filed with RCA by June 1.

In addition to authorizing RCA to certify regional electric organizations, EROs, SB 123 defined the duties of those organizations and mandated RCA’s reapproval of certain interconnected large energy facilities.

After opening a single proceeding to develop regulations the commission said April 29 in the order on the regulations, it “decided to stagger consideration of implementation issues related to SB 123, opening three separate dockets to separately consider aspects of the regulations necessary to implement SB 123.”

The separate dockets focused on:

*ERO board composition and competency issues;

*Integrated resource planning and project preapproval; and

*Issues related to tariff provisions and enforcement procedures for reliability standards, open access and transmission, transmission cost recovery and certain ERO rules and regulations.

The commission has held technical conferences to solicit input on regulations and said it has received numerous comments.

Proposed regulations

RCA said the draft regulations “propose a comprehensive regulatory scheme for the activities of regional EROs operating in Alaska,” and address establishment of EROs and provide oversight to ensure the EROs that are established meet requirements under SB 123.

Interconnected load-serving entities, LSEs, may seek a waiver from the requirement to form an ERO or petition for the formation of an ERO and the regulations address those procedures.

If an ERO is not formed the regulations also address circumstances under which RCA could be required to form an ERO.

There are requirements related to ERO operations “including provisions intended to ensure members of the board of directors for an electric reliability organization act independently of the users, owners, and operators of the interconnected network.”

There are also provisions for enforcement of reliability standards approved by the ERO and RCA and related penalties. Integrated resource plans are required and the regulations include development of those IRPs.

The regulations address preapproval parameters and requirements for large energy projects when RCA approval is required and the required content for an ERO tariff.

Under SB 123 RCA regulations must allow an ERO to recover its costs through surcharges on rates of participating LSEs and the regulations address tracking ERO operating costs and the allocation of those costs to LSE customers.

The statute requires that ERO tariffs “must include standards for nondiscriminatory open access transmission and interconnection, and for transmission system cost recovery.”

RCA said it will post a copy of comments received on its website.

- KRISTEN NELSON



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