RCA approves initial tariff for new Railbelt Reliability Council

Alan Bailey

for Petroleum News

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has approved an initial tariff for the Railbelt Reliability Council, the organization that is taking oversight management of the Alaska Railbelt high voltage electricity generation and transmission system. The organization will enable a more coordinated approach to the management of the system by maintaining and mandating reliability standards for the system; administering rules for open access to the transmission grid; and conducting Railbelt-wide integrated resource planning.

The organization will recover its costs from the five independent utilities that, together with the Alaska Energy Authority, own and operate the electrical system. The expectation is that the more coordinated management of the system will ultimately result in cost savings that will more than compensate for the RRC's operational costs. The integrated resource planning will presumably also address the implementation of more renewable power generation for the Railbelt.

Given that the establishment of the RRC is still an ongoing process, the commission has recognized that some components of the tariff, including the reliability standards and the penalties that the organization will be able to impose on the utilities, are still under development. The commission is requiring these components of the tariff to be completed within two years, with the possibility of six-month extensions should those prove necessary.

The commission is also requiring some changes to the wording of the tariff, as filed.

--ALAN BAILEY