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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-051 Agmt - BPA No 05EO-40061 Department of Energy Bonneville Power Administration P.O. Box 3621 Portland, Oregon 97208-3621 POWER BUSINESS LINE April 14, 2005 In reply refer to: PSW-6 Mr. Dick Wanderscheid Director of Electric & Telecommunications City of Ashland 90 North Mountain A venue Ashland, OR 97520 Dear Dick: In December 2004, the Bonneville Power Administration (BP A) offered its transfer 5.ervice customers the Agreement Regarding Transfer Service (Agreement) that provides assurance for adequate transmission service for the next 20 years. Almost eighty customers have signed and on April 6, 2005, the BPA Administrator countersigned the Agreement. Enclosed for your file is a fully executed original of Contract No. 05EO-40061 between the City of Ashland (Ashland) and BP A. This Agreement establishes obligations and responsibilities with respect to the delivery of federal power over non-federal transmission systems, commonly referred to as transfer service. As specified in the Agreement, several transfer service issues have been identified as. needing further discussion (see Exhibits A and B). BP A plans to engage with customers to address these issues, with the intent of finding acceptable solutions. We expect to announce a process and forum for addressing these issues within the next several months. A copy of the signed Record of Decision related to this Agreement is available on BPA's external web page at: <http://www.bpa.gov/corporate/pubs/rods/2004/Corp/GT A04.pdf>. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at (503) 230-3555. Sincerely, ~'--~ Tina Ko Account Executive Enclosure Contract No. 05EO-40061 AGREEMENT REGARDING TRANSFER SERVICE executed by the BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION and THE CITY OF ASHLAND, OREGON Table of Contents Section 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Page Term and Termination ................................................................................ 2 Definitions ..................................................................................................... 2 Arrangements for Transfer Service .......................................................... 4 Proposed Treatment of Transmission Component Costs .................... 4 Du tie s of Ashland ......................................................................................... 5 Strande d Costs ............................. ................................................................. 5 Trea tme n t of Other Issue s .......................................................................... 5 Principles for Treatment of Other Cost Categories .............................. 6 Losse s .............................................................................................................. 7 Standard Provisions .................................................................................... 7 Sign at u res .... .. ........................ .... ..... ........... .. ..................... ... ............... ........... 8 Exhibit A Exhibit B Other Issues as They Relate to Transfer Service Other Issues as They Relate to Power Delivery This AGREEMENT REGARDING TRANSFER SERVICE (Agreement) :is executed by the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Department of Energy, acting by and through the BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION (BP A) and THE CITY OF ASHLA.ND, OREGON (Ashland), a municipal corporation duly organized and operating under the laws of the State of Oregon. BP A and Ashland hereinafter sometimes are referred to individ ually as "Party" and collectively as "Parties". RECITALS WHEREAS, BP A sells electric power to public body and cooperative utihties in the Pacific Northwest Region; WHEREAS, BP A and Ashland have entered into Contract No. OOPB-12008 (Power Sales Agreement), as such agreement may be amended or replaced providing electric power for Ashland; WHEREAS, BP A is authorized to build, operate and maintain electric transmission and substation facilities when the Administrator determines such facilities are necessary and appropriate; WHEREAS, BP A did not construct transmission facilities to interconnect certain public body and cooperative utilities to the Federal Columbia River Transmission System when, among other reasons, it was demonstrated to be less expensive for BPA to acquire transmission service over existing transmission facilities owned by other entities to deliver Firm Power sold by BP A to such public body or cooperative utility; WHEREAS, Firm Power purchased from BP A under the Power Sales Agreement is delivered to Ashland through Transfer Service; WHEREAS, Since January 2002, representatives of BPA and various public power utilities and associations have engaged in lengthy discussions and negotiations regarding issues pertaining to future arrangements for wholesale federal power deliveries over transmission systems owned and operated by other utilities; and WHEREAS, BP A customers receiving deliveries via Transfer Service have expressed their desire for delivery of wholesale power to load at rates and on terms and conditions of service equivalent to the rates and terms and conditions of service available to public power utilities Directly Connected to BPA's main grid; NOW, THEREFORE, the Parties agree as follows: 1. TERM AND TERMINATION This Agreement shall become effective upon execution by BP A and Ashland (Effective Date), and shall continue in effect until the earliest of: (a) 2400 hours on September 30, 2024; or, (b) the date on which Ashland allows its Power Sales Agreement to expire, or on which Ashland's Power Sales Agreement terminates, without a replacement BPA firm power purchase. BPA's obligations pursuant to this Agreement shall continue notwithstanding the termination of similar obligations in Ashland's Power Sales Agreement, section 8(f). 2. DEFINITIONS The following terms, when used in this Agreement with initial capitalization, whether singular or plural, shall have the meanings specified. (a) "Directly Connected" means a utility customer whose delivery of Firm Power is not dependent upon Transfer Service. (b) "Firm Power" means electric power (capacity and energy) that BP A makes available on a continuous basis to meet the firm power requirements of Ashland's load as defined in section 5(b)(1) of the Northwest Power Act. Firm Power does not include power sold as surplus power, including, but not limited to, surplus power under the Block and Slice Power Sales Agreements. - --~----- 05EO-40061, Ashland 2 (c) "Initial Rate Proposal" means BP A's proposal, as published in the Federal Register from time to time, to initiate a hearing to establish or revise wholesale power or transmission rates pursuant to section 7(i) of the Northwest Power Act. (d) "Integrated Network Segment" means those facilities of the Federal Columbia River Transmission System that are required for the delivery of bulk power supplies, the costs for which are recovered through generally applicable transmission rates, and that are identified as Integrated Network Segment, or its successor, in the BP A segmentation study for the applicable transmission rate period as determined in a hearing establishing or revising BP A's transmission rates pursuant to section 7(i) of the Northwest Power Act. (e) "Northwest Power Act" means the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980, Public Law 96-501. (f) "Rolled In" (1) For BP A power rates, Rolled In means that the Transfer Service costs included in BPA's power revenue requirement are not directly assigned or allocated to a subgroup of firm power load of preference customers under section 5(b)(1) of the Northwest Power Act; or, (2) For BP A transmission rates, Rolled In means the Transfer Service costs are included in the Integrated Network Segment, are spread over all Integrated Network Segment load, and are not directly assigned or allocated to any subgroup of Integrated Network Segment load. (g) "Third Party Transmission Provider" means a transmission provider other than BP A or a regional transmission organization that delivers Firm Power to Ashland. (h) "Transfer Service" means the service provided by a Third Party Transmission Provider to deliver Firm Power sold by BP A pursuant to a Power Sales Agreement, to Ashland. Transfer Service does not include service to loads in territory annexed by Ashland except as provided for in such Power Sales Agreement. (i) "Transmission Component Costs" means the costs of Transfer Service to deliver Firm Power to Ashland over non-federally owned facilities that have characteristics comparable to the characteristics used to define BPA's Integrated Network Segment. Transmission Component Costs do not include losses, which are treated in section 9 of this Agreement. Transmission Component Costs do not include Ancillary Services, except as may be agreed upon by the Parties pursuant to section 7 of this Agreement. 05EO-40061, Ashland 3 3. ARRANGEMENTS FOR TRANSFER SERVICE BP A shall arrange for Transfer Service to Ashland for the duration of this Agreement; provided, however, that BP A and Ashland may agree to make other arrangements for Transfer Service. 4. PROPOSED TREATMENT OF TRANSMISSION COMPONENT COSTS (a) BP A shall be financially responsible for payment of Transmission Component Costs. (b) Except as provided in sections 4(d) and 4(e) below, BPA shall have a continuing obligation to propose Rolled In treatment of Transmission Component Costs into either the wholesale power or the transmission service Initial Rate Proposal, or partly into one and the rest into the other proposal, for rates that are effective during the term of this Agreement. BP A shall include testimony supporting Rolled In treatment of Transmission Component Costs in its Initial Rate Proposal, and, in its judgment, make good faith, best efforts to defend its proposal. (c) Nothing in this Agreement shall limit the Administrator's discretion and authority or predetermine the Administrator's final decision in establishing or revising rates. (d) (1) If the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) does not approve and confirm Rolled In treatment of Transmission Component Costs included in BPA's final rate proposal for its wholesale power rates, or if FERC approves and confirms BPA's final rate proposal which includes Rolled In treatment of Transmission Component Costs for wholesale power rates and such Rolled In treatment is subsequently overturned by a court with jurisdiction, then BP A shall have no obligation to propose Rolled In treatment of Transmission Component Costs in any subsequent Initial Rate Proposal for setting such wholesale power rates, and BPA shall propose Rolled In treatment of Transmission Component Costs in transmission rates. (2) If FERC does not approve and confirm Rolled In treatment of Transmission Component Costs included in BP A's final rate proposal for its transmission rates, or if FERC approves and confirms BP A's final rate proposal which includes Rolled In treatment of Transmission Component Costs for transmission rates and such Rolled In treatment is subsequently overturned by a court with jurisdiction, then BP A shall have no obligation to propose Rolled In treatment of Transmission Component Costs in any subsequent Initial Rate Proposal for setting transmission rates, and BP A shall propose Rolled In treatment of Transmission Component Costs in wholesale power rates. 05EO-40061, Ashland 4 (e) If BPA has proposed Rolled In treatment of Transmission Component Costs in both wholesale power rates and transmission rates and FERC does not approve and confirm the Rolled In treatment, or FERC does approve and confirm Rolled In treatment and such Rolled In treatment is subsequently overturned by a court with jurisdiction, then BP A will no longer be obligated to propose Rolled In treatment for Transmission Component Costs. 5. DUTIES OF ASHLAND Ashland shall: (a) Cooperate with BPA in assessing actions that may be undertaken to minimize costs incurred by BP A in meeting its obligations pursuant to this Agreement, consistent with the Power Sales Agreement; (b) Provide, or cause to be provided, timely planning information to BPA, including, but not limited to information pertaining to Ashland's long-term annual peak and energy load forecasts and system expansion and upgrade; (c) Provide, or cause to be provided, timely notice to BP A of events, including, but not limited to, load loss or load addition on its system that may have a material impact on Transmission Component Costs; and, (d) Provide, or cause to be provided, support for the Rolled In treatInent of Transmission Component costs in BPA's Initial Rate Proposal described in section 4(b) of this Agreement. 6. STRANDED COSTS (a) If Ashland takes action to reduce the amount of Transfer Service it requires, and BPA continues to be liable for Transmission Component Costs of such unused Transfer Service, then BP A may require Ashland to reimburse BP A for such costs which BPA incurred in reliance on Ashland's continued use of Transfer Service. (b) BPA shall give notice to Ashland and the parties shall consult before BPA executes any new contract for Transfer Service or incurs additional obligations under existing contracts which may expose Ashland to stranded costs as used in this section 6; provided, however, BP A shall retain the right to decide whether to incur such costs, after considering such consultation. 7. TREATMENT OF OTHER ISSUES (a) In separate discussions, unless prohibited by ex parte rules, the Parties shall endeavor to find acceptable solutions or approaches for solving other issues related to Transfer Service that are not included in this Agreement. Such solutions or approaches or their implementation may require separate public processes. Such other issues are described in Exhibit A. Exclud~mg treatment of these issues under this Agreernent is not intended to prejudice the outcome of 05EO-40061, Ashland 5 the discussion of such issues in the separate process(es). In undertaking the obligations of this section 7(a) for the issues described in Exhibit A, unless otherwise stated, it is BPA's intent to provide Ashland with transmission service and Ancillary Services that are comparable to the service that BP A provides to its customers that are Directly Connected to the Federal Columbia River Transmission System. (b) In separate discussions, unless prohibited by ex parte rules, the Parties shall endeavor to find acceptable solutions or approaches for solving other issues related to power deliveries. Such other issues are described in Exhibit B. The issues listed for discussion in Exhibit B may be addressed in more than one public process. (c) BP A shall initially identify the process or processes that will address the issues referenced in section 7(a) and (b), above, no later than 180 days after the effective date of this Agreement. (d) Nothing in this section 7 shall limit the Administrator's discretion and authority or predetermine the Administrator's final decision in establishing or revising policies or proposals regarding the issues to be discussed pursuant to this section 7. 8. PRINCIPLES FOR TREATMENT OF OTHER COST CATEGORIES (a) To the extent that BPA undertakes responsibility for costs related to Transfer Service that are not addressed pursuant to section 7(a) of this Agreement, or agrees to be responsible for costs that are required to provide Transfer Service to Ashland but that are not identified or incurred by BP A as of the effective date of this Agreement, including but not limited to congestion costs, it is BPA's intent to propose to allocate such costs to Ashland in a manner comparable to the allocation BP A applies to recover similar costs from its customers that are Directly Connected to the Federal Columbia River Transmission System. (b) To the extent that BP A incurs costs associated with facilities expansions and upgrades to provide Transfer Service to Ashland, it is BPA's intent to allocate such costs in a manner that is comparable to the allocation BPA proposes for similar costs for customers Directly Connected to the Federal Columbia River Transmission System. (c) Nothing in this section 8 shall limit the Administrator's discretion and authority or predetermine the Administrator's final decision in establishing or revising rates. -------- 05EO-4006L Ashland 6 9. LOSSES BPA shall propose to treat real power losses and their costs that are incurred through use of a Third-Party Transmission Provider's transmission system to provide Transfer Service pursuant to this Agreement in a manner comparable to BPA's treatment of losses and costs for a similarly situated customer that is Directly Connected to BPA's transmission system. For purposes of determining comparability, BP A shall view the facilities used to provide Transfer Service pursuant to this Agreement as if they were part of BPA's transmission system. 10. STANDARD PROVISIONS (a) Amendments No amendment, rescission, waiver, modification or other change of this Agreement shall be of any force or effect unless set forth in a written instrument signed by authorized representatives of each Party. (b) No Third-Party Beneficiaries This Agreement is made and entered into for the sole protection and legal benefit of the Parties, and no other person shall be a direct or indirect legal beneficiary of, or have any direct or indirect cause of action or claim in connection with this Agreement. (c) Waivers Any waiver at any time by either Party to this Agreement of its rights with respect to any default or any other matter arising in connection with this Agreement shall not be considered a waiver with respect to any subsequent default or matter. (d) Expression of Intent No expression of intent herein shall be legally binding against a Party, except if and to the extent such expression of intent has been incorporated hereafter into an enforceable agreement between the parties that has been lawfully executed and delivered. (e) Incorporation of Exhibits Exhibits A and B are hereby incorporated and made part of this Agreement. ---------- 05EO-40061, Ashland 7 11. SIGNATURES Each Party represents that it has the authority to execute this Agreement and that it has been duly authorized to enter into this Agreement. THE CITY OF ASHLAND, OREGON By Name GR.I ",,-~M,: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Department of Energy Bonneville Power Administration By ~/~ Stephen J. "'Tright (Print/Type) Name Title Cc{, 4fM./U.tf{.AA.~il Date I (;;.c-jdf Title Administrator Date APR 0 7 200~i 05EO-40061, Ashland 8 Exhibit A OTHER ISSUES AS THEY RELATE TO TRANSFER SERVICE 1. Development of Direct Assignment Guidelines for Transfer Service customers, including: (a) Treatment of costs and allocation of responsibilities associated with facilities not included in the definition of Transmission Component Costs (e.g., low voltage service). (b) Treatment of costs and allocation of responsibilities associated with upgrades on facilities not included in the definition of Transmission Component Costs: (1) Expansion of facilities and upgrades to existing facilities. (2) New facilities (e.g., new substations). 2. Quality of service. 3. Respective roles of customers and BP A in management of General Transfer Agreements (GTA), including whether to do periodic evaluations of the eosts or benefits of replacing GTA with Open Access Transmission Tariff service. 4. Treatment of costs of, and allocation of responsibility for, ancillary services. 05EO-40061, Ashland 1 of 1 Exhibit B OTHER ISSUES AS THEY RELATE TO POWER DELIVERY 1. Non-Federal Power Deliveries The treatment of costs associated with transmission service provided by Third Party Transmission Providers, other than BP A or a regional transmission organization, for delivery of non-federal power to Ashland. 2. Transfer Service for Annexed Load Service to load in annexed territories, as defined in Ashland's Power Sales Agreement. 3. Transfer Service for Block and Slice Power Sales Agreements Issues as they relate to Block and Slice Power Sales Agreements, including: (a) Delivery of surplus energy under Block and Slice Power Sales Agreements to GT A customer load; and, (b) Service to customers for hourly generation in excess of hourly load under Block and Slice Power Sales Agreements. 05EO-40061, Ashland 1 of 1