Adopted by the Board March 2024 (PDF here).
These PNUCC Principles provide a foundation for general, overarching discussion to resolve regional grid reliability and resiliency challenges that are growing.
The following Principles should guide a coordinated approach to regional transmission planning:
- Support enhanced reliability, improved resilience and economic efficiency.
- Develop near- and long-term load-growth and resource transmission requirements that should be assessed on a timely basis, including frequent updates based on utility integrated resource plans, revised load forecasts, evolving circumstances and technological developments.
- Result in an actionable long-term plan that identifies transmission solutions.
- Optimize the use of the existing transmission system.
- Evaluate non-wires solutions available to address local or near-term transmission system needs.
- Complement existing statutory obligations and institutional requirements.
- Provide opportunities for meaningful stakeholder engagement and input.
- Facilitate effective and efficient wholesale electricity markets.
Background
High-voltage transmission is the backbone of the electric power system. It moves resources from generation to loads. Much of the high-voltage transmission in the Pacific Northwest was constructed in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, providing the region with ample capacity to accommodate power generation and demand. After four decades of limited new construction, existing transmission has reached its capability for interconnecting new resources and serving new demands.
While the above principles focus on planning, PNUCC members recognize that there are a range of significant transmission-related issues that will also need to be successfully addressed. Cost sharing and recovery that protects current and future utility and customer investments to support the bulk electric system will need to be resolved. Coordination with federal, state and local planning jurisdictions to improve siting and permitting will be critical to successful construction of new or expanded transmission.
The Bonneville Power Administration’s “Evolving Grid” announcement to accelerate work on several transmission projects in the region is setting the stage for an infrastructure decade that should significantly advance efforts to respond to transmission interconnection and service requests.
PNUCC’s Northwest Regional Forecast shows Pacific Northwest utilities are anticipating a significant increase in loads over the next five years and are working to meet a growing demand for electricity with renewable resources, energy storage and dependable capacity. The impact of near-term industrial load growth and potential longer-term electric vehicle and heating system adoption is expected to increase demand significantly. Utilities are also predicting greater energy efficiency savings and continue to develop and deploy new ways to rely on customers to reduce energy use at peak times, such as incentivizing shifting energy usage to different times of day. Extreme weather is also impacting the grid and associated energy markets more frequently.
Load forecasts get more uncertain as we look further out and technological advancements are expected to further diversify the mix of generation, making it harder to predict the future. There is an urgent need for studies that take a long view of the evolving generation and transmission system over the next 20 years with a focus on actionable transmission construction projects that will help us be better prepared for an uncertain future.
Adopted by the Board August 2019 (PDF here)
These Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee (PNUCC) Principles provide a foundation for general, overarching discussion to address regional reliability. The intent is to create a framework under which standards (policies) are harmonized and regional stability is maintained.
The region should continue working together to ensure there is a safe, reliable, and resilient power system for the future. A well-designed power system that achieves the fundamental goal of reliability should be based on resource adequacy, resource sufficiency, and necessary transmission.
To that end, the following principles should be considered when evaluating an effective resource adequacy program.
- A regional resource adequacy program should provide common planning criteria for the assessment of adequacy to ensure reliability across multiple balancing authorities.
- A resource adequacy program should accurately assess regional and individual utility resource adequacy, inform planning and investments, and ensure customers will be served with a defined level of reliability.
- A regional resource adequacy program should include a governance structure for monitoring, mechanisms for performance, and accountability provisions for compliance.
- A regional resource adequacy program should address transmission constraints and effective solutions to connect the load to the power supply.
- A regional resource adequacy program should address west-wide resource and fuel diversity to efficiently integrate variable resources and maximize customer value.
- A regional resource adequacy program should be agnostic to resource solutions, support economic stability, and thrive for equitable outcomes.
Background
Currently, more than 73% of the installed electric generating resources in the northwest are carbon-free. That share will grow as northwest utilities continue their history of environmental sustainability with climate-friendly investments in carbon-free generation, energy efficiency, and demand response. The trend to reduce emissions accelerates as coal plants are retired and replaced with lower and zero-emitting resources.
The anticipated growth in variable energy resources(e.g. wind and solar) and upcoming capacity requirements will impact the region’s ability to meet peak demand. While improved technology, innovation, the market, as well as continued investments in energy efficiency and demand-side management programs will be part of the pacific northwest’s future, additional solutions are needed to address the almost 15,000 megawatts of coal retirements expected in the West Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) by 2030.
Numerous studies already show that without further action, the region will not have the capacity needed to serve peak demand in the 2020 to 2030 timeframe. Operations are being explored for ensuring resource portfolios across the region are able to provide the attributes and characteristics necessary to support customer needs through a changing resource mix while managing weather events (cold snaps and heatwaves) and the effects of climate change.
Adopted by the Board May 2018 (PDF here)
The Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee (PNUCC) is an association comprised of consumer and investor-owned utilities in the pacific northwest. Members focus on key issues facing the region’s electric utility industry that impact supply, demand, costs, environmental effects, and reliability of the electric power system. The diversity of the PNUCC membership provides a unique opportunity to identify common interests.
Recent development and expansion of the California Independent System Operator (CASIO) Energy Imbalance Market (EIM), and current market economics have renewed regional interest regarding the benefits of organized power markets. Organized markets offer the potential of reliable wholesale power and transmission at a lower cost. Accordingly, nearly 2/3 of the U.S. currently operates under some form of organized wholesale power and transmission market.
PNUCC recognizes that potential benefits of well-functioning markets include:
- Optimized economic dispatch of generation resources to provide energy and ancillary services
- Regional resource adequacy and capacity planning to ensure reliability
- Coordinated transmission planning
- Efficient operating reserves
- Efficient integration of low-carbon, variable energy resources, and distributed energy resources
- Efficient integrated coordinated services
The following PNUCC Principles provide a foundation for general, overarching policy discussions on topics that could potentially influence the structure of a market for the northwest. The intent is to increase awareness of the value of a market framework that incorporates principles under which the benefits of a well-functioning market would be gained.
PNUCC thinks a reliable, well-functioning organized market must:
- Ensure fair and transparent recovery of transmission costs for utilization of the transmission network
- Ensure independent, representative governance that accommodates participating load-serving entities and multistate and federal jurisdictions
- Ensure adequate resource and transmission planning standards for the benefit of all customers
- Ensure transparent price formation mechanisms that reflect bids from identified resources including ancillary services
Adopted by the Board June 2017 (PDF here)
Greenhouse Gas Policy:
- Is most effective when addressed at the broadest scale possible because greenhouse gas emissions are a global pollutant
- Should be designed to encourage effective emissions reduction across all sectors of the economy
- Should recognize the need for flexible, dispatchable resources and preserve a path for portfolio options to ensure system reliability
- Should recognize the region’s aggressive past accomplishments in energy efficiency and demand response, support ongoing investments, and acknowledge the value – including carbon savings – they will continue to provide
- Should support equitable economic stability and minimize the impact on customers
- Should recognize and harmonize new and existing legal and institutional requirements
Currently, more than 75% of the electric utilities generating resources in the northwest are carbon-free and that share will grow. Over the past decade, northwest utilities have continued their history of climate-friendly investments in carbon-free generation, energy efficiency, and demand response. This trend to lower emissions resources will accelerate as coal plants are retired and replaced with lower and zero-emitting resources. By 2030, the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) expects almost 15,000 megawatts of coal retirements. Greenhouse gas reductions are also being realized through improved technology and the market, as well as continued investments in energy efficiency and demand-side management programs.