Planning Procedure P-103

Process and Timeline for Evaluating and Approving Transmission Projects on an Expedited Basis

Pursuant to Section 3.2.3.4 of the ISO Tariff, the ISO will consider, on a case-by-case basis, whether certain proposed transmission projects will be eligible for expedited consideration and approval from the ISO.  Transmission projects eligible for expedited consideration will include, but are not limited to, those required by equipment failure, unanticipated load growth, significant changes in congestion, and other system anomalies.

Identification of Projects

In order to be considered for expedited treatment each Participating TO must identify in its Annual Transmission Plan each proposed transmission project for which it requests expedited consideration.  When identifying proposed transmission projects for which it requests expedited treatment, a Participating TO must specify the reasons for its request (i.e., unanticipated load growth, equipment failure, etc.) and the potential impact on reliability if such project is not considered for expedited treatment.

Third-parties may also identify and request expedited treatment of transmission projects needed to maintain the reliability of the ISO Controlled Grid.  To the extent that the applicable Participating TO has not included such project in its Annual Transmission Plan or has not requested expedited treatment, a third party may request the Participating TO to include such project in its Annual Transmission Plan or to request expedited consideration of such project from the ISO if the such project is included in the applicable Participating TO’s Annual Transmission Plan.

To the extent that a Participating TO or third-party identifies a project for which it requests expedited consideration subsequent to the initiation of the applicable Participating TO’s Annual Transmission Plan, the ISO will consider such projects for expedited consideration and inclusion in the Initial Integrated Transmission Plan.

Each Participating TO will use best efforts to identify all proposed transmission projects for which it requests expedited treatment before it initiates its individual Annual Transmission Plan process.

Consideration of Requests

The ISO will consider each request for expedited consideration on a case-by-case basis.  If the ISO determines that such request and project warrant expedited consideration for the reasons set forth in Section 3.2.3.4 of the ISO Tariff, the ISO will proceed with its evaluation of the proposed project pursuant to provisions outlined below. 

The ISO will respond to specific requests for expedited consideration of individual transmission projects within fifteen (15) days.

If a Participating TO identifies and requests expedited consideration of a number of proposed transmission projects contained in its Annual Transmission Plan, the ISO will respond to such request on a project-by-project basis within thirty (30) days of the Participating TO submitting its Annual Transmission Plan to the ISO.

To the extent a third-party identified project for which a request for expedited consideration is submitted and such project is not included in the applicable Participating TO’s Annual Transmission Plan, the ISO will determine whether such project warrants expedited consideration.  The ISO will respond to such third-party requests within fifteen (15) days.  

Evaluation of Projects

The ISO will complete an analysis of each transmission project proposed under this procedure within sixty (60) days of receipt for individual projects and within ninety (90) days for multiple projects submitted as part of the Participating TOs Annual Transmission Plan.  

The ISO will conduct or cause to be conducted all necessary System Impact and Facility Studies to determine if a proposed transmission project requesting expedited consideration satisfies the Applicable Reliability Criteria.  The ISO will conduct, or direct the applicable Participating TO to conduct, pursuant to Section 3.3.2 of the ISO Tariff, all necessary System Impact and Facilities Studies consistent with the timelines outlined in the TO Tariff.  Pursuant to Section 3.3.4 of the ISO Tariff, the ISO will compensate the Participating TO for the cost of such studies not performed with respect to the development or evaluation of the applicable Participating TOs Annual Transmission Plan.

When evaluating proposed transmission projects on an expedited basis, the ISO will first determine whether the proposed project satisfies all Applicable Reliability Criteria and will then determine if the proposed project is the most cost-effective solution to address the identified problem, subject to the timing and other constraints which gave rise to the request for expedited treatment.

To the extent that the ISO determines, in consultation with the applicable Participating TO and Market Participants, that the proposed project is necessary and satisfies all Applicable Reliability Criteria, the ISO grid planning department will issue a letter to the identified Project Sponsor approving such project and will include such project in the ISO’s Final Integrated Transmission Plan.

																ATTACHMENT E
Planning Procedure P-104
Development of Participating Transmission Owner Annual Transmission Plans

The following table lists the work products and process envisioned for the properly-coordinated development of a Participating Transmission Owners annual transmission plan.  Except for Detailed Project Submittals, all these work products would be submitted to the ISO and posted on the Planning web site under the corresponding utility, for public view and comment.

Deliverable	Roles / Description	
Stakeholder Meeting Announcements, Agendas	Provide as needed, two weeks minimum notice.	
Study Plan	Draft developed by Transmission Owner, with stakeholder input and refinement of assumptions, sensitivities, and analysis to be performed.  The Study Plan should include general overviews of: the study methodology, the applied reliability criteria, and critical assumptions (load, generation, etc.).  Also, an initially-proposed Annual Schedule should be included.	
Annual Schedule	Stand-alone document (initially matching the schedule provided in the Study Plan) which lists the dates for major milestones, stakeholder meetings, and deliverables.  This should be updated from time to time throughout the year, adjusting for changes in due dates.	
5-year Power Flow Basecases	Minimum of 5 basecases, representing the TO’s expected summer peak condition for each of the next 5 years (i.e., 2000-2004 cases provided for the 1999 Planning cycle).  The power flow cases should be developed in GE format.  The cases should include network changes for all expected projects.  To the extent that problems are anticipated for winter or off-peak conditions, the TO should develop and make available additional cases, as needed.	
Contingency List	Comprehensive listing of all outages to be performed.  The contingency list should be organized by contingency class (N-1, N-2, G-1, etc.), voltage level, and geographic/regional subsystem.  The contingency list should also identify critical busses to be checked for reactive margin and bus faults. 	
Contingency Results	Results of applying the Contingency List to one mid- to final-year basecase (2001-2004).  The case studied should contain all proposed projects through that year.  Contingency results can be provided in tabular format (for example, Autocon or PflowPro output).  For simplicity, tables may only list those outages with results approaching severe conditions: thermal loadings of 95% or greater, voltage deviations >4%, residual voltages of .975 or lower, etc.  Unresolved / residual criteria violations should be flagged. 	
Study “Report” / Published Transmission Plan	Consolidated presentation of the study assumptions, analysis, and results.  The Study Report should include a discussion of the TO’s load forecasts, and a discussion of types of problems or developing trends.  A summary of the anticipated 5-year capital costs associated with the proposed transmission plan should also be included.  The Study Report should also include a project summary listing, including the project title, expected date of operation, and cost (expressed in relative terms, i.e. >$5 million).	
(General) Project Descriptions	As an attachment to the Study report, provide a brief summary of each proposed project, including Project title, expected date of operation, and cost (expressed in relative terms, i.e. >$5 million, cost estimates will not be disclosed to the public and the IOS will keep all cost information confidential), problem background (cause/need for project, including % overload or other criteria violation), description of alternatives, proposed solution description, and a sketch of the proposed project.  [Project Descriptions for projects greater than 100kV should also be provided to WICF.]	
(Detailed) Project Submittals	For projects requiring some/all capital expenditure occurring prior to the end of the first studied year (end of 2000), a detailed description must be provided for each project.  The content of these detailed project summaries should approach the level of detail described in the document, “ISO Grid Project Review Information Requirements”.  This includes (but is not limited to) all of the basic project information provided in the General Project Descriptions, plus: detailed solution description (i.e., if reconductoring, include mileage, and “before & after” conductor types and ampacities), cost estimates, and “before & after” powerflow plots.  These write-ups can either be submitted “en masse” as expanded project descriptions attached to the Study Report, or as separate stand-alone project write-ups submitted progressively throughout the year (i.e., as the project goes up independently for TO management approval).  [Note: Such detailed project Submittals will be kept internally within the ISO, and not posted for public comment.]