Open Access Transmission and Renewable Energy Technologies: Topical Issues Brief

In April 1996, the Federal Regulatory Commission (PERC) approved Orders 888 and 889 and released a draft rule for public comment on capacity reservation tariffs (CRTs). Order No. 888 requires electric utilities to file transmission tariffs that would allow transmission access to third parties who want to conduct wholesale transactions, and Order No. 889 requires transmission-owning utilities toset up open access, same-time information systems (OASIS), using commercial software and Internet protocols. This paper discusses these Orders in detail, as well as some of the issues before FERC with implications for renewables, which include: transmission pricing; transmission terms and conditions; reassignment of transmission capacity; defining state and FERC jurisdiction over transmissionand distribution; the pricing of ancillary services; and the adoption and implementation of independent system operators.