The WAPA (UGPR) Generation
Interconnection Queue is located at the following URL:
In addition, the Generation
Interconnect requests,
sorted by IS Zone (as described in Section 4 below), are also shown at
the
following URL:
1) How to submit a request for a generator interconnection on the Integrated System
Western has entered into an agreement
with Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin) and Heartland Consumers
Power District (Heartland) to jointly operate their transmission
systems on an integrated basis. The integrated transmission facilities
of the participants comprise the Integrated System (IS). The Integrated
System consists of transmission facilities owned by Western, Basin, and
Heartland that are east of the East/West electrical separation in the
United States, the transmission facilities
owned by Western that are located west of the East/West electrical
separation,
and the Miles City AC/DC/AC converter station (Miles City Tie) owned by
Western and Basin. Western administers the IS Tariff and
administers the IS OASIS postings and coordinates the response to
generation interconnection requests on the IS.
Generator
Interconnection Requests greater than 20 MW
Generator
Interconnection Requests no greater than 20 MW
Generator
Interconnection requests can be submitted by fax,
electronic
mail or normal/overnight mail. The
queued
order will be randomly assigned (in
a non-discriminatory manner) by Western for
multiple requests that are received on the same date by
normal/overnight mail, after queuing all other requests received that
day via fax or electronic mail, which have a time stamp. Western
assigns internal tracking nomenclature to indicate the queued order of
interconnection requests. Each generator interconnection is
assigned an alphanumeric GI-XXYY number (Generator Interconnection)
with the first two numbers designating year and second two numbers
designating queued order number for that year (e.g. GI-0135 would
indicate generator interconnection request number 35 in year 2001).
Generator
interconnection requests submitted under Western's LGIP or SGIP can
be submitted by fax, or electronic mail, ONLY if the required
deposit(s) are submitted and received by Western prior to the receipt
of the fax/electronic mail, Deposits may be submitted by wire
transfer, if desired. Wire instructions are available by sending
an email request to the email addresses noted immediately below.
Confirmation should be submitted with the Interconnection Request
documentation to verify Deposit(s) have been wired and receipt
confirmed.
2) What is the generation interconnection queue order based on?
The generation interconnection request queue is based on the order in which the completed application under Western's LGIP or SGIP is received by Western. The queue is determined by the order requests were received by Western. Time stamps for fax or electronic email submissions will be used to establish the queued time/order. The queued order will be randomly assigned (in a non-discriminatory manner) by Western for multiple requests that are received at the same date by normal/overnight mail, where the precise queue order cannot be determined, after queuing all other requests received that day via fax for electronic mail, which have a time stamp.An interconnection request is NOT a request for transmission service. Receipt and approval of a generation interconnection request does not authorize the requestor to receive or deliver energy to/from the requestor's generation and does not reserve any transmission capacity on the IS. An approved generation interconnection request simply authorizes the requestor to interconnect to the IS. The ability of a requestor to interconnect to the IS does not mean that the requestor's generation can actually be delivered over the IS facilities. Transmission service must be separately requested and obtained pursuant to the Western Tariff or other applicable Tariff before the requestor can receive or deliver power to/from the requestor's generation over the IS facilities, or before any capacity is reserved on the IS. The generating customer or customer puchasing the generation must make a separate transmission service request on the OASIS (and other required submissions) to obtain transmission service over the IS persuant to the Western Tariff or other applicable Tariff.
Western will retain Available Transmission Capacity (ATC) for confirmed and pending transmission service requests in the OASIS queue. Requestor's should note that any analysis by the MAPP Impact Calculator/Scenario Analyzer from the new generation interconnection will not accurately reflect the ability to obtain transmission service over the IS, as those tools do not account for local transmission constraints or local impacts of pending transmission requests in the OASIS queue. Western may need to restrict the use of the new Point of Receipt (POR) and/or Point of Delivery (POD) for the generation interconnection until any required new constrained interfaces (due to local transmission constraints) are implemented to retain the necessary ATC for confirmed or pending transmission requests in Western's OASIS queue.
An interconnection request alone does not provide transmission rights, and does not provide nor preserve over time any ability for the requestor to inject power from the generator into or across the IS facilities.4) Review of pending Generation Interconnection requests
Western notes the conflicting Generation Interconnect requests on the WAPA (UGPR) Generation Interconnection Queue. The generation interconnection requests are grouped in zones (IS Zone) to indicate requests that clearly have impact on each other, and must be studied in queued order within that IS Zone. The Generation Interconnect requests, sorted by IS Zone, are also shown at the following URL: WAPA (UGPR) Generation Interconnection Queue - SORTED by IS Zone. There may also be cases where requests in different IS Zones may impact each other (e.g. two requests in the immediate proximity of each other, which each just inside the border of separate IS Zones) and the overall queued order of those requests will need to considered. Western will proceed with the evaluation of the generation interconnection requests in each IS Zone on a simultaneous basis, where possible. Where there is a question or conflict regarding system impacts between interconnection requests in separate IS Zones, the overall queue position will be utilized for determination of study order, system impacts, and determination of associated system upgrade requirements.
It should also be noted that
transmission service requests can impact interconnection requests as
they may utilize
all remaining transmission capability in the local area of a generation
interconnection request, or result in the IS facilities being loaded to
the point where
a generation injection is unacceptable without facility
improvements. Therefore, Western must take confirmed transmission
service requests in
to account when evaluating generation interconnection requests, if the
delivery requests will impact the ability to interconnect new
generation. Subsequent transmission service requests may further
impact the ability of generator to receive or deliver power to/from the
requestor's generation over the
IS facilities.
Coordination Issues across
transmission seams:
5) Western procedures for evaluation of generator interconnection requests
Western's general procedures for evaluating generation interconnection requests are outlined in Western's OATT, and posted business practices on its OASIS page. Western, acting as administrator of the IS, will coordinate the review of interconnection requests on the other IS owner's facilities with the applicable IS owner.6) Contact Information
If you have any questions concerning requests for generation interconnections, please contact Dirk Shulund (Billings, MT) at 406-247-7402, or Steve Sanders (Billings, MT) at 406-247-7436.
Any questions regarding other IS owner's specific facilities will be reviewed with those owners and conveyed back to the requestor through Western as the point of contact.7) Mid-Continent Area Power Pool (MAPP) Review and Approval Requirements
Western and the other Integrated System (IS) owners are members of MAPP. The IS owners observe the MAPP requirements for review and approval of additional generation to the IS system, or other interconnections and facility improvements, that reside in the MAPP area. The MAPP requirements are outlined in a number of documents including the "MAPP Restated Agreement", "MAPP Policies and Procedures for Transmission Operations", etc. Copies of these documents are available at the links above, or on the MAPP web site: www.mapp.org under the "Library" links.8) Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) Review and Approval Requirements
Western and Basin are members of WECC. Western and Basin observe the WECC requirements for review and approval of the addition of generation, or other interconnections and facility improvements to the IS system, that reside in the WECC area. The WECC requirements are outlined in a number of documents that can be found on the WECC web site: www.wecc.biz under the "Publications & Docs" link.