Studies and Reports > 2009 MN Biennial Report > Transmission Studies

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3.0 Transmission Studies

3.1 Introduction

The Public Utilities Commission requires that the utilities include in each Biennial Report a “list of studies that have been completed, are in progress, or are planned that are relevant to each of the inadequacies identified” in the Report. Minnesota Rules part 7848.1300, item F. In the 2005 Biennial Report, the utilities not only identified completed, ongoing, and planned studies but also described in general terms the transmission planning process. In the 2007 Report, the utilities again described the relevant studies and in addition, pursuant to legislative directive, described planning processes and studies related to compliance with Renewable Energy Standards.

In this 2009 Biennial Report, the utilities identify a number of studies that have been completed that either address expansion of the transmission network to generation expansion, in particular renewables, or address local inadequacy issues (noted with a Tracking Number). Section 3.3 describes ongoing regional studies that focus on expansion of the bulk electric system to address broad regional reliability issues and support expansion of renewables in the upper Midwest. Section 3.4 focuses on ongoing studies that are attempting to resolve local inadequacy issues.

3.2 Completed Studies

The following studies have been completed and where specific transmission projects have been identified, a Tracking Number is provided. The Tracking Number identifies the year the project was first considered for inclusion in a Biennial Report and the zone where the project is located.

3.3 Regional Studies

While every study that is undertaken adds to the knowledge of the transmission engineers and helps to determine what transmission will be required to address long-term reliability and to transport renewable energy from various parts of the state to the customers, some studies are intentionally designed to take a broader look at overall transmission needs. Regional studies analyze the limitation of the regional transmission system and develop transmission alternatives that support multiple generation interconnect requests, regional load growth, and the elimination of transmission constraints that adversely affect utilities’ ability to deliver energy to the market in a cost effective manner. Many of these studies are especially important for focusing on transmission needs for complying with upcoming Renewable Energy Standards.

3.3.1 Midwest ISO Transmission Expansion Plans

The Midwest ISO engages in annual regional transmission planning and documents the results of its planning activities in the MISO Transmission Expansion Plan (MTEP). The MTEP process coordinates the transmission plans of individual MISO member utilities to develop a coordinated regional transmission plan. The Minnesota Transmission Owners have reported on the latest MTEP Plans in each of the Biennial Reports.

MTEP-08 Report. The MTEP-08 Report was approved by the Midwest ISO Board of Directors on December 4, 2008. The subtitle of the report is “Growing the Grid Across the Heartland.” The MTEP-08 Report identifies those projects required to maintain reliability for the ten year period through the year 2018, as well as a preliminary evaluation of projects that may be required for economic benefit up to twenty years in the future. There are 332 new projects recommended for approval by MISO in the 2008 plan, totaling $2.4 billion, bringing the total of currently approved projects in MISO to 475 projects, totaling $4.2 billion. Other planning projects are also listed in the report but are still in development or under study for possible inclusion in future approved plans.

MTEP-09 report. The 2009 Midwest ISO Transmission Expansion Plan is still being finalized. The following language from Section 1.2 of the Executive Summary of the draft MTEP-09 Report explains the purpose of this planning activity.

The MTEP Report is produced on an annual basis to provide interested parties with an overview of the Midwest ISO’s planning processes, an update on the transmission planning studies underway, and an understanding of the analyses used in the execution of those processes. The report is also the vehicle to communicate the projects that, as a result of those analyses, are recommended to the Midwest ISO Board of Directors for approval and subsequent implementation.

MTEP 09, the 6th edition of this publication, is the culmination of eighteen-plus months of collaboration between the Midwest ISO’s planning staff and its many stakeholders. For each report cycle, efforts are focused on identifying issues and opportunities related to the strengthening of the transmission grid, developing alternatives to be considered, and evaluating those options to determine if there is an effective solution among them. The objective is to identify projects that:

• Ensure reliability of the transmission system
• Provide economic benefit, such as through allowing increased efficiency in market operations (i.e. reducing cost of energy production and/or the price paid by load)
• Enable public policy objectives, such as the integration of renewables, to be achieved
• Address other issues or goals identified through the stakeholder input process

The MTEP-09 Report should be finalized for approval by the Midwest ISO Board before the end of 2009.

MTEP-10 and Beyond. In the MTEP-09 Executive Summary, the following quote describes future planning activities by MISO.

A focus of MTEP 10 will be on the continued implementation of the value-based planning process that the Midwest ISO has been evolving to over the last couple of years. The Midwest ISO will be refining the robustness testing methodology with stakeholders and will seek to further the amalgamation of its planning functions. As these functions - short term reliability, long-term value based and targeted studies - become fully integrated, longer-term solutions that provide greater benefits will become alternative solutions to address issues that are today solved through a series of shorter-term, and many times less valuable, mitigation steps. That is not to say, however, that the discrete analyses will disappear. Studies over each of the timeframes are still required to meet the planning needs of the region in the most expedient and efficient standpoint. In fact, with continued experience the Midwest ISO has recognized the value of having the combination of plans. As the Midwest ISO seeks to implement nearer term reliability upgrades through the queue and the NERC reliability analyses, results from targeted studies provide insight into potentially more efficient alternative solutions based on the larger-scale transmission developed therein. Similarly, targeted studies such as the Regional Generation Outlet Study are informed by the long-term transmission roadmaps created through efforts such as the MTEP long-term value-based planning and the Joint Coordinated System Plan. By planning in the reverse order from which transmission is actually built, the nearer term transmission solutions can be developed in such a way to support future goals through more efficient plan development, including such considerations as preserving future right of way requirements.

The MISO Expansion Plans are available through the MISO webpage at:

http://www.midwestiso.org/page/Expansion+Planning

This link will lead directly to the reports.

http://www.midwestiso.org/publish/Folder/3e2d0_106c60936d4_-75240a48324a

3.3.2 Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board Transmission Service Request

MISO continues to process generation interconnection requests and transmission service requests. These studies will likely have an impact on the need for transmission in Minnesota. It is difficult to predict which projects, if any, will actually move forward, as the decision to move forward on a transmission project that is related to generation interconnection and transmission service is up to the generation developer. There is one particularly large transmission service request that involves the possible construction of a 500 kV transmission line in Minnesota. The transmission service request is asking to increase the ability to transfer power from Manitoba into the United States by 1100 MW. Two options have initially been identified, one involves a 500 kV line from Winnipeg to the Twin Cities via Northeast Minnesota, and the second option involves a 500 kV line between Winnipeg to the Twin Cities via the Red River Valley (Fargo). MISO continues to study these options as well as others.

3.3.3 Study of a LaCrosse to Madison 345 kV Transmission Line

ATC is continuing its efforts to study the potential benefits of a 345 kV transmission line that would extend from LaCrosse to the Madison area in Wisconsin. The line would be approximately 150 miles long, possibly include substation enhancements, and cost an estimated $545 million to construct. ATC has submitted a North LaCrosse – Cardinal (located near Madison) 345 kV line with a possible in-service date of 2017 to Appendix C of the Midwest ISO Midwest Transmission Expansion Plan. The line is identified as project #2845 in the MTEP projects database.

ATC views that a LaCrosse to Madison 345 kV line would be driven by a combination of benefits – reliability, economic, and integration of renewable energy – and these benefits would potentially be provided to ATC’s service territory and the region, including Minnesota. For instance, the combined Southwest Twin Cities – Granite Falls Transmission Upgrade Study and Minnesota RES Update Study indicated that when wind generation increases beyond the level required for Minnesota’s 2016 RES milestone, a new 345 kV line that extends from LaCrosse to the Madison area would help avoid system stability issues in the Twin Cities. The Southwest Twin Cities – Granite Falls Transmission Upgrade Study and Minnesota RES Update Study also found that combining the Southwest Twin Cities – Granite Falls upgrade with a 345 kV line from LaCrosse to Madison would create a total of 3,600 MW of new generation delivery capability, 1,600 MW of which is attributed to the LaCrosse to Madison line.

In 2008, ATC began studying the potential economic benefits of a transmission line that would extend from LaCrosse to Madison and those efforts are continuing. Through ATC’s strategic flexibility approach, the company is analyzing various configurations of a 345 kV line from LaCrosse to Madison under several plausible futures. Results are expected in the first quarter of 2010. More information about ATC’s economic planning can be found on ATC’s 10-Year Assessment Website: www.atc10yearplan.com.

There also is an effort underway that will analyze the reliability benefits of a 345 kV transmission line from LaCrosse to the Madison area in Wisconsin. The Western Wisconsin Study is investigating the long-term reliability issues in the western Wisconsin area and transmission solutions to address those needs. The study is led by ATC and is a collaborative effort that includes Xcel Energy, Dairyland Power Cooperative, ITC Midwest, Great River Energy, Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency and the Midwest ISO. It is anticipated that the Western Wisconsin Study will be completed in the first quarter of 2010.

A LaCrosse to Madison 345 kV line also is being analyzed as part of phase I of the Midwest ISO’s Regional Generation Study (RGOS I) as a possible transmission facility needed to satisfy renewable portfolio standards and goals in Upper Midwest states. It is anticipated that a LaCrosse to Madison 345 kV line will be included in the final 345 kV designs developed in RGOS I, results from which will be provided to the Upper Midwest Transmission Development Initiative (UMTDI) for its consideration in identifying transmission needed to satisfy renewable portfolio standards in five states.

3.3.4 Regional Outlet Generation Study (RGOS)

The Midwest ISO, in collaboration with stakeholders, has undertaken a Regional Generation Outlet Study in two phases.

The purpose of the RGOS Phase I is to develop transmission projects that will fulfill the renewable energy mandates in the four states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The public policy is a major input component to RGOS and successful plan development. The Upper Midwest Transmission Development Initiative (UMTDI) is providing that public policy input. The (UMTDI) is a collaboration of the Governors and state Regulatory Commissions of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The UMTDI has a two-fold purpose; encourage interstate transmission for renewable energy and develop an equitable cost-sharing methodology for transmission. The UMTDI and stakeholder helped the Midwest ISO define renewable energy zones within the five-state region of ND, SD, MN, WI, and IA for 15 & 25 GW wind outlet scenarios. The Midwest ISO along with the stakeholders performed the studies and 345 and 765 kV transmission expansion plans were developed for the two generation outlet scenarios. This RGOS Phase I work is expected to be completed and an Executive Report published in the December 2009 timeframe.

The objective of the RGOS Phase II study is to develop a mid-term (5-15 years, approx.) set of regionally coordinated transmission projects that meet the state renewable portfolio standard requirements for the states of Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and the Midwest ISO load in Pennsylvania; as well as any increased requirements in the states studied in the RGOS Phase I at the least cost to the consumer. This study will leverage the renewable energy zones and transmission designs identified and established in RGOS Phase I. The RGOS Phase II study is intended to be completed in the January 2010 timeframe.

3.3.5 SMARTransmission Study

The Strategic Midwest Area Renewable Transmission Study (the “SMARTransmission Study”) is a comprehensive study of the transmission infrastructure that may be needed in the Upper Midwest to support renewable energy development and to transport that energy to consumers in the Upper Midwest, the Ohio River Valley, and farther East. The study is being sponsored by American Transmission Company, Electric Transmission America, LLC (a joint venture of American Electric Power & MidAmerican Energy Holdings), Exelon Corporation, MidAmerican Energy Company, Xcel Energy, and NorthWestern Energy.

Sponsors of the SMARTransmission Study have retained Quanta Technology to conduct the analysis, which will evaluate transmission alternatives 345 kV and higher and provide recommendations for new transmission development and how to appropriately stage that development. Results and recommendations will be folded into regional planning efforts such as the Midwest ISO Transmission Expansion Plan and PJM’s Regional Transmission Expansion Plan for additional study and validation. The study will include reliability and economic analyses and will focus on an area that covers the seams of three Regional Transmission Organizations – Midwest ISO, PJM and Southwest Power Pool. An open stakeholder process is being conducted to gather input and will be continued as results are published.

Completion of the SMARTransmission Study is anticipated in early 2010. More information about the study is located at: www.smartstudy.biz

3.4 Load Serving Studies

Load serving studies focus on addressing load serving needs in a particular area or community. Since many of the inadequacies in Chapter 6 are load serving situations, many of these studies relate to specific Tracking Numbers.

3.5 MAPP Load & Capability Report

The 2009 Mid-Continent Area Power Pool Load & Capability Report, dated May 1, 2009, can be found at:

http://www.mapp.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?Params=454b040717565c79401a0c0b7b615d46000 00003cd

The Introduction to the 2009 Load & Capability Report provides an overview of what the report is intended to do:

The MAPP Load and Capability Report is prepared in response to the requirement set forth in the MAPP Agreement and the MAPP Generation Reserve Sharing Pool Handbook for a two-year monthly and a ten-year seasonal load and capability forecast from each MAPP Participant. The report contains actual and forecast monthly load and capability data for the period of May 2008 through December 2011 and seasonal load and capability data for the ten-year period Summer 2009 through Winter 2018