Lori A. Burkhart is a contributing legal editor with Public Utilities Fortnightly and the managing editor of Fortnightly’s Gridweek.
Finding that "market design flaws are visible in every regional electric market today," FERC released its working paper on standardized transmission service and wholesale electric design on March 15. The work in progress outlines key principles and policy decisions on standard market design (SMD) to guide FERC in developing a revised open access transmission tariff (OATT). The paper reflects consensus by parties in written comments and workshops held since last October, and FERC expects changes to be made to the SMD by the time a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) is issued this summer.
Network Service. The FERC in the SMD would require an updated, single tariff reflecting a revised OATT for all service that would be filed by all RTOs and any utility that owns, operates or controls interstate transmission facilities. In the next few weeks, FERC will release a straw-man tariff. The new transmission service, called Network Access Service, would be available to all customers and would allow access to all sources and sinks. It would combine the flexibility and universal access of network integration transmission service and the reassignment rights of point-to-point transmission service.