UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BEFORE THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION. ) Southwest Power Pool, Inc. ) Docket No.

Transcription

1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BEFORE THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION ) Southwest Power Pool, Inc. ) Docket No. ER ) COMMENTS OF SOUTHWEST POWER POOL, INC. Southwest Power Pool, Inc. ( SPP ) respectfully submits these comments in response to the Technical Conference on ISO/RTO Responsiveness held by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ( Commission ) on February 4, 2010 ( Technical Conference ). I. BACKGROUND In Order No. 719, the Commission adopted four criteria for assessing RTO responsiveness: (i) inclusiveness; (ii) fairness in balancing diverse interests; (iii) representation of minority positions; and (iv) ongoing responsiveness. 1 SPP addressed these criteria in detail in its April 28, 2009 Compliance Filing 2 and will reiterate the highlights in order to address comments raised during the Technical Conference and to respond to the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates ( NASUCA ) recommendations regarding RTO structural changes and customer representation on RTO 1 2 Wholesale Competition in Regions with Organized Electric Markets, Order No. 719, III FERC Stats. & Regs., Regs. Preambles 31,281, at PP 7, 477 (2008), as amended, 126 FERC 61,261, order on reh g, Order No. 719-A, III FERC Stats. & Regs., Regs. Preambles 31,292, order on reh g and clarification, Order No. 719-B, 129 FERC 61,252 (2009). Submission of Order No. 719 Compliance Filing Revising Tariff of Southwest Power Pool, Inc., Docket No. ER (Apr. 28, 2009) ( Compliance Filing ).

2 Boards, as detailed in its letter dated June 19, 2009 and summarized in the Commission s Technical Conference Notice. 3 II. COMMENTS A. Customer and Stakeholder Access to the Board of Directors Order No. 719 requires RTO business practices and procedures to ensure that any customer or stakeholder affected by the operation of the RTO is permitted to communicate its views to the RTO s Board of Directors. 4 As discussed in SPP s Order No. 719 Compliance Filing, 5 all SPP meetings, including Board of Directors meetings, are open to any interested party. Agendas and background materials for all meetings are posted on SPP s public website approximately one week in advance of the meetings, and virtually all meetings provide teleconference participation using a toll-free number as well as net conferencing when appropriate. Following each meeting, SPP posts meeting minutes on its public website within approximately one week. SPP also provides subscription lists, to which any stakeholder may subscribe, for the Board of Directors and each organizational group, so that all announcements and meeting materials are distributed to all interested parties. SPP meetings are held at various locations throughout the region to facilitate travel, and many groups, including the Board of Directors, announce their meeting schedules for at least the calendar year to provide ample time to plan for participation via teleconference or in person Sw. Power Pool, Inc., Notice Providing Agenda for Technical Conference on RTO/ISO Responsiveness, Docket Nos. ER , et al., at 2 (Jan. 8, 2010) ( Technical Conference Notice ). Order No. 719 at P 482. Compliance Filing at 35. 2

3 B. Balancing Diverse Stakeholder Interests and Communicating Minority Views Order No. 719 requires RTO business practices and procedures to ensure that the interests of customers and other stakeholders are equitably considered and that RTO deliberations are not dominated by any single stakeholder category, to enable the RTO to make well-informed decisions reflecting the full range of competing interests involved. 6 SPP policy is developed through an extensive stakeholder process designed to include all stakeholder interests. SPP is comprised of 56 member companies in nine states. Policy is developed through stakeholder groups made up of representatives with the technical expertise to address the issues at hand. The representatives on these groups reflect the diversity of the SPP membership, bringing various member perspectives to the deliberations. These groups are not organized to represent the interests of a particular type of stakeholder, but rather to address the many technical and policy issues facing the organization and the industry. Similarly, SPP s Bylaws require the members of the Board of Directors to possess policy-level expertise and skills necessary to run an organization. The Board is not designed to represent particular stakeholder interests, but to represent the best interests of SPP as a whole. Order No. 719 also requires RTO business practices and procedures to ensure that, in instances where stakeholders are not in total agreement on a particular issue, minority positions are communicated to the RTO Board of Directors at the same time as majority positions, to enhance customer and stakeholder confidence in the decisions that 6 Order No. 719 at PP 482,

4 result from RTO processes. 7 As stated previously, SPP s open decision-making process ensures that minority positions are communicated along with majority recommendations to the SPP Board of Directors. SPP s Board of Directors is able to gauge minority opinion as well through the Members Committee straw votes taken prior to Board votes. Additionally, the template for all organizational groups to present a recommendation to the Board of Directors includes a statement of minority opinions, and, at its meetings, the Board of Directors also regularly solicits discussion from those in the minority, if such discussion is not forthcoming on its own. C. Ongoing Responsiveness In Order No. 719, the Commission directed RTOs to adopt new business practices and procedures or ensure that their existing practices or procedures provide for stakeholder input and ensure that information exchange and communication continue over time. 8 RTOs are required to continue to consider customer and other stakeholder needs on an ongoing basis as the architecture and market environment of the RTO changes, to ensure that responsiveness continues into the future and is continually evaluated for improvement. 9 SPP is in constant communication with its members and stakeholder groups to gauge how the process is working and where SPP members believe that changes may be beneficial. Additionally, SPP distributes a stakeholder satisfaction survey annually to measure member, customer, and stakeholder satisfaction or dissatisfaction with SPP services. Survey results are reviewed by the appropriate groups Id. at PP 482, 508. Id. at P 482. Id. at P

5 and staff, including the Board of Directors, and published. SPP also holds bi-annual meetings with organizational group chairs and staff secretaries to discuss possible improvements. Stakeholders are not limited to providing this feedback when solicited, but are encouraged to do so at any time. D. NASUCA Recommendations The recommendations by NASUCA advocate adding two consumer representatives to RTO Boards, creating a standing stakeholder Committee on Customer Affairs, adding a Division of Consumer Affairs to the RTO structure, and using RTO funds to support consumer representatives attendance at RTO meetings. While SPP has a history of being member-focused as described in earlier comments and filings, SPP does not currently have retail open access in its region and thus does not have a direct relationship with its members retail customers. However, SPP has a close relationship with its state utility commissions through its Regional State Committee and state commission participation in SPP s working groups. In this capacity, state regulators have ample opportunity to evaluate any policies in development by SPP s stakeholder process to ensure that retail customers of every size are considered. Moreover, while SPP s charge is to create efficiencies in the wholesale component of the electric utility business by providing non-discriminatory access to the wholesale transmission grid, enhancing planning for future needs, and providing transparency in the marketplace, these efficiencies certainly provide benefits to retail customer as well. 5

6 III. CONCLUSION SPP would like to thank the Commission for the opportunity to highlight the standards with which it conducts its business every day and has since its inception as a member-based organization. SPP requests that the Commission consider these comments in addressing the responsiveness portions of its Order No. 719 Compliance Filing and when considering future RTO reforms. March 8, 2010 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Stacy Duckett Stacy Duckett Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary Southwest Power Pool, Inc. 415 North McKinley, Suite 140 Plaza West Little Rock, Arkansas Telephone: (501) Fax: (501) sduckett@spp.org 6

7 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that I have this day served the foregoing document upon each person designated on the official service list compiled by the Secretary in this proceeding. Dated at Washington, D.C., this 8th day of March, /s/ Matthew J. Binette Matthew J. Binette WRIGHT & TALISMAN, P.C G Street, N.W., Suite 600 Washington, DC Telephone: (202) Fax: (202) binette@wrightlaw.com Attorney for Southwest Power Pool, Inc.

8 (3/8/2010) Matthew Binette - FERC Acceptance for Filing in ER Page 1 From: To: Date: Subject: Acceptance for Filing <efiling@ferc.gov> <langley@wrightlaw.com>, <efiling@ferc.gov> 3/8/2010 3:09 PM FERC Acceptance for Filing in ER The FERC Office of the Secretary has accepted the following electronic submission for filing (Acceptance for filing does not constitute approval of any application or self-certifying notice): -Accession No.: Docket(s) No.: ER Filed By: Southwest Power Pool, Inc. -Signed By: Stacy Duckett -Filing Type: Comment on Filing -Filing Desc: Comments of Southwest Power Pool, Inc. under Docket No. ER Submission Date/Time: 3/8/2010 2:52:41 PM -Filed Date: 3/8/2010 2:52:41 PM Your submission is now part of the record for the above Docket(s) and available in FERC's elibrary system at: If you would like to receive notification when additional documents are added to the above docket(s), you can esubscribe by docket at: There may be a 10 minute delay before the document appears in elibrary. Thank you again for using the FERC Electronic Filing System. If you need to contact us for any reason: efiling@ferc.gov mailto:efiling@ferc.gov (do not send filings to this address) Voice Mail: