Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutIntertie Managment Commitee Meetings 05-23-2013 3Alaska Intertie Management Committee MEETING MINUTES Thursday,September 13,2012 Anchorage,Alaska 1.CALL TO ORDER Chair Brad Evans called the meeting of the Alaska Intertie Management Committee to order on September 13,2012 at 1:03 p.m.A quorum was established. 2.ROLL CALL Members present:Brad Evans (Chugach Electric);Gene Therriault (AEA);Jim Posey (AML&P);Henri Dale (GVEA)and Joe Griffith (MEA). 3.PUBLIC ROLL CALL Public present in Anchorage:Kirk Warren and May Clark (AEA);Louis Agi and Jeff Warner (AML&P);Brian Bjorkquist (AGO);Brian Hickey (CEA);Gary Kuhn (MEA-phone);Kirk Gibson (MR&G-phone);Bernie Smith (RCA);and Sunny Morrison (Accu-Type Depositions). 4.PUBLIC COMMENT There was no public comment. 5.AGENDA COMMENTS/MOTION FOR APPROVAL MOTION:Mr.Griffith made a motion to approve the agenda.Motion seconded by Mr. Dale.The motion was approved unanimously. 6.APPROVAL OF PRIOR MEETING MINUTES --June 20,2012 and August 16, 2012 The June 20,2012 and August 16,2012 minutes were approved as amended. 7.NEW BUSINESS 7A.Formation of Railbelt Reliability Council (RRC) Chair Evans stated there were two assignments related to this topic.The first assignment was the counsel for the interested parties were going to review formation of a reliability council.The second assignment was to the technical group regarding structure formation of the reliability council. AIMC Meeting Minutes-Sep 13 2012 Page 1 of 4 Mr.Gibson said a review of the RCA authority has begun and the analysis is not completely done,but it appears they have the authority to go forward in this area.He stated that for the purpose of the council,a non-profit corporation could be structured or an informal committee. Mr.Agi requested Mr.Gibson provide any documents he has regarding the current findings. Chair Evans stated he is supportive of a council formation and not a legal corporation entity at this time.Chair Evans said he would like to keep the structure administratively light and have a council formed by agreement with a membership component. Mr.Agi stated there is some delicacy involved in creating this council.Mr.Griffith stated the structure could be ordained with resolutions from the various participating entities.Chair Evans recommended creating a voluntary organization with a common purpose and mission to create reliability standards for all users of the interconnected system.It would have an open membership with certain criteria. Mr.Posey,Mr.Griffith,Mr.Dale and Mr.Therriault all agreed to the council being informal. Mr.Bjorkquist asked if AEA would be part of this new council.Chair Evans said membership is usually defined by having an ownership of the asset.Chair Evans stated AEA is a significant asset owner in the interconnected system. Mr.Therriault asked if the intent of the council is to make recommendations.Chair Evans stated the intent of the council is to formulate the rules which govern the reliability standard that everybody has to meet.He said this group would be an independent body that would structure activities needed to achieve reliability. Mr.Dale stated even though Alaska is outside of FERC,reliability standards may still have to be established.Chair Evans stated he would rather be in charge of designing Alaska's rules than having to follow outsider's standards. Mr.Griffith asked if the RRC should be incorporated under the IMC.Chair Evans said when the group is formed,assignments will be given to review planning and reliability criteria to make sure they are current and then changes can be considered.Chair Evans stated the new council will be separate from the IMC and will create uniform reliability standards for everybody throughout the region.He said the IMC is an asset management group that would continue to adopt the reliability standards recommended by the new council.Mr.Posey,Mr.Dale and Therriault were in agreement with Chair Evans. Chair Evans commented on the second assignment to the technical group regarding structure of the formation of the reliability council.He apologized for Chugach being busy and stated they are behind on this assignment and are not ready for the meeting.Chair Evans asked if there was any more discussion on the formation of the reliability council for the Railbelt. AIMC Meeting Minutes-Sep 13 2012 Page 2 of 4 Mr.Agi agreed to follow up and make recommendations by the end of October or November. Chair Evans said this issue needs to keep moving because there is a sense of urgency regarding people operating that aren't signed up for any interconnected operating reliability standards. 7B.Discussion of RITC System Chair Evans stated the name Railbelt Interconnected Transmission Corridor is being used loosely and can be changed if someone suggests a better acronym or description.Chair Evans requested comments from the Committee regarding this issue.Mr.Griffith suggested putting a clear definition on paper for Committee comment. Chair Evans asked Mr.Agi about the issue of Addendum A and whether or not that was an independent agreement from which entities could not amend their structures and withdraw their membership.Mr.Agi stated the issue remains to be resolved.Chair Evans asked for the indulgence of the state to engage in these matters in this meeting because it is relevant.Chair Evans stated this will not be an IMC matter ultimately,but is currently an issue. Mr.Bjorkquist stated this matter is a utility issue and is not part of Addendum A.He said the issue can be addressed at this meeting even thought the state will not participate. Chair Evans said he left off the open access assignment that was to go to the technical group first and then to the legal group.Mr.Dale stated there has been some review of the existing FERC language.He said there are a lot of diametrically opposed areas in terms of what Alaska does and what FERC does,including handling risk and prioritizing reservations. Chair Evans suggested there would be a benefit of Mr.Dale identifying the problematic areas and having a work session to address those.Mr.Posey and Mr.Griffith agreed with Chair Evans. Chair Evans asked Mr.Bjorkquist if he was comfortable with the sense of direction the Committee is going with this issue.Mr.Bjorkquist stated he is comfortable with the approach and knows that Gene Therriault and Kirk Warren will want to get involved with the details going forward. Chair Evans stated there are big misunderstandings among companies about what it means to plug into a grid which need to be addressed.Mr.Therriault said he hoped his involvement and increased understanding of the proposals will assist in clear communication to the members. 7C.Review of Mutual Aid Agreements Chair Evans said the Committee is not called upon often to engage in mutual aid.He said the limits of the infrastructure are being tested about once every 10 years.Chair Evans suggested an operating group review the mutual aid agreements.Mr.Dale stated there were a lot of people in his organization who weren't familiar with the agreements. AIMC Meeting Minutes-Sep 13 2012 Page 3 of 4 Chair Evans thanked everyone who helped with the recent mutual aid,including inventory resources.He recommended annual training on mutual aid.Mr.Posey believed all of the agreements have expired.He suggested prioritizing this issue and having a tabletop after the winter season to discuss this. Chair Evans suggested a report be made to the Committee regarding lessons learned on the recent mutual aid issue and suggested modifying the agreements based on that.He suggested developing an annual mutual aid tabletop in August or at least before the winter season.Chair Evans suggested addressing inventory,logistics and other helpful issues.He suggested discussion and recommendations for employing people from outside of the road system.Chair Evans commented a long-range issue would be determining where to go if we had to go out of the state. Mr.Griffith asked who was assigned to the above tasks.Chair Evans said he wants the operators to take the first tasks.Mr.Griffith suggested assigning a chairman for the tasks.Chair Evans said if nobody minds,he will assign Burke Wick the chairman duties. Chair Evans stated another area to look at is what we can do to help each other in communications.It is not rational to be able to staff up to answer thousands of calls per hour. He suggested having people come in and help take outage call activity.Mr.Griffith also suggested talking to the telephone company about their batteries failing. 8.OLD BUSINESS 8A.Resolution No.2012-01,Spinning Reserve MOTION:Mr.Griffith made a motion to move Resolution No.2012-01 off the table. Motion seconded by Mr.Posey.The motion was approved unanimously. MOTION:Mr.Griffith made a motion to adopt Resolution No.2012-01 as amended. Motion seconded by Mr.Posey.Following a roll call vote,the motion was approved unanimously. 9.NEXT MEETING DATE The next meeting date is at the discretion of the Chair. 10.ADJOURNMENT There being no further business of the AIMC,the meeting adjourned at 1:54 p.m. Gene iault,Secretary AIMC Meeting Minutes-Sep 13 2012 Page 4 of 4