NorthWestern Energy Responds to FERC Orders on Transmission Projects
24 6월 2009 - 2:54AM
PR Newswire (US)
BUTTE, Mont., June 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NorthWestern
Corporation d/b/a NorthWestern Energy (NYSE:NWE) plans to conduct
"Open Seasons" as planned for two major transmission projects
following the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) recent
action on the company's petitions. FERC affirmed its support of the
company's efforts to build new transmission on congested pathways.
FERC encouraged the company to develop the Mountain States
Transmission Intertie (MSTI Project) on a cost of service basis by
requesting appropriate tariff waivers to provide for the
flexibility to efficiently and effectively facilitate the project
development. FERC also agreed with the company's proposed pricing
for the Collector Project and the general approach for the
Collector open season process. "The FERC Orders are complex and
required time to fully sort through all of the details," said Dave
Gates, Vice President - Wholesale Operations. "However, after
careful review, we regard the Orders as providing necessary
guidance from FERC and supporting the development of both projects.
Accordingly, we will continue to develop the projects without delay
or interruption." In requesting market-based rates for MSTI,
NorthWestern Energy followed the approach that FERC has approved
for similar projects in the region, including the Montana-Alberta
Tie Line and TransCanada's proposed Chinook project. NorthWestern
Energy believed that this approach would provide it with
flexibility to meet market conditions and would best insulate its
native load customers from the costs and risks of the project.
Although FERC denied the company's request, it provided strong
encouragement for continuing with the project using a more
traditional approach. To quote the Order, " We also recognize the
Petitioners' desire to insulate native load customers from the
costs and risks associated with an export-only project...we believe
that NWE has ample opportunity to accomplish its objectives and
construct a project comparable to the MSTI proposal on a
cost-of-service basis by requesting appropriate tariff waivers." In
support of the MSTI Project, FERC further noted "...we acknowledge
the need for innovative proposals to develop new transmission
projects, especially in regions rich in potential to deliver
renewable energy to load centers." As to the Collector, FERC
approved NorthWestern's proposal to directly assign the cost of the
project to the generators. This has the effect of insulating native
load customers from the cost of the project. While FERC deferred
ruling on NorthWestern's request for waivers, FERC specifically
found the proposed open season process to be a reasonable means of
accommodating a large number of interconnection requests in the
queue. The open seasons for the MSTI and Collector projects will be
conducted on a transparent basis in order to ensure fairness and
non-discriminatory access. The results of the open seasons will be
used to size the projects according to customer demand. The open
season process will also ensure that the projects have sufficient
contracts with creditworthy shippers to support financing. With
more than 5,000 megawatts of proposed new electric generation -
much of it wind energy - that has sought access to the transmission
system in Montana, the company has proposed two major projects -
MSTI and the Collector Project - to facilitate development of these
projects. The Collector Project consists of up to five new
transmission lines in Montana that would connect new generation,
primarily wind farms, to the existing NorthWestern Energy
transmission system and to the proposed Mountain States
Transmission Intertie (MSTI). Most of the new proposed wind
generation that would be served by the collector system would be
located in north central, central, south central and eastern
Montana. MSTI is a proposed 500kV transmission line that would run
near Townsend, Montana to near Midpoint, Idaho. The project is
currently undergoing environmental review with a draft
Environmental Impact Statement due in late-2009. About NorthWestern
Energy NorthWestern Energy provides electricity and natural gas in
the Upper Midwest and Northwest, serving approximately 656,000
customers in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. More information
on NorthWestern Energy is available on the Company's Web site at
http://www.northwesternenergy.com/. DATASOURCE: NorthWestern
Corporation CONTACT: Media, Claudia Rapkoch, +1-866-622-8081, , or
Investor Relations, Dan Rausch, +1-605-978-2902, , both of
NorthWestern Corporation Web Site:
http://www.northwesternenergy.com/
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