Proceedings of the March 29, 2006 Conference for the 2006 National Electric Transmission Congestion Study - Session 3

A public technical conference on the 2006 congestion study and criteria for designating National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors was held on March 29, 2006.

Note: Not all panelists prepared presentations. Available presentations may be viewed below. Please refer to the full conference transcript for the remarks from all panelists.

Session 3: How Should Criteria Be Applied in the Identification of Constraint Areas and the Designation of National Corridors?

Overview of Comments on Criteria and Metrics: Poonum Agrawal, U.S. Department of Energy

Panelists:

• Mary Ellen Paravalos, Director of Regulatory Policy, National Grid
• David Till, Transmission Planning Department Manager, Tennessee Valley Authority
• Michael Heyeck, Vice President, Transmission, American Electric Power
• Kevin Wright, Commissioner, Illinois Commerce Commission
• Ed Tatum, Assistant Vice President, Rates & Regulations, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative
• Wayne Walker, Director of Project Development, Horizon Wind Energy
• Wayne Snowdon, Vice Chair, Canadian Electricity Association Transmission Council; Vice President, Transmission, NB Power

Facilitated by: Jody Erikson, Keystone Center

Each panelist made a 5-minute presentation responding to one or more of the following questions:

• How broadly (or narrowly) should constraint areas and corridors be defined?
• Should thresholds be established in applying criteria for constraint area and National Corridor designations? If so, what should they be for the eight draft criteria proposed by DOE?
• Should constraint area or National Corridor designations expire after some fixed period? If so, what should the period be?
• How should the designation of constraint areas and National Corridors be coordinated with the planning and siting processes used in Canada, ERCOT, and Mexico?