HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-09-19 RTO Meeting_AgendaRAILBELT TRANSMISSION ORGANIZATION (RTO) GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE AGENDA September 19, 2025 12:00 PM Alaska Energy Authority Conference Room To participate dial 1-888-585-9008 and use code 212-753-619# 1. CALL TO ORDER
2. ROLL CALL (for Committee members)
3. PUBLIC ROLL CALL (for all others present)
4. AGENDA APPROVAL
5. PUBLIC COMMENTS
6. APPROVAL OF THE MEETING MINUTES – September 10, 2025
7. OLD BUSINESS
A. Open Access Transmission Tariff, RCA Matter #TA1-8001
8. EXECUTIVE SESSION – (Bylaws Section 5.12.3) To discuss matters, the immediate knowledge of
which could have an adverse effect on the finances or legal position of the RTO, the Committee
or Authority, or that are confidential under state, federal, or local law.
9. NEW BUSINESS
A. Creation of Subcommittees – Resolution 25-01
10. MEMBERS COMMENTS
11. NEXT MEETING DATE – TBD
12. ADJOURNMENT
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RAILBELT TRANSMISSION ORGANIZATION (RTO) GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES September 10, 2025 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Million, GVEA, called the Railbelt Transmission Organization Governance Committee meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. A quorum was established. 2. ROLL CALL (for Committee members) Curtis Thayer (Alaska Energy Authority [AEA]); Arthur Miller (Chugach Electric Association [CEA] (arrived late)); Brian Hickey (City of Seward); Travis Million (Golden Valley Electric Association [GVEA]); Brad Janorschke (Homer Electric Association [HEA]); Tony Izzo (Matanuska Electric Association [MEA]); Ed Jenkin (Railbelt Reliability Counsel [RRC]). 3. PUBLIC ROLL CALL (for all others present) Karen Bell (AEA),Leeanne Smoke (AEA); Jennifer Bertolini (AEA); Andrew Jensen (Governor’s Office); Tony Zellers (MEA); Bill Price (AEA); Sarah Lambe (HEA); Jessica Spuhler (HEA); Tina Grovier (Stoel Rives, RTO); Daniel Heckman (GVEA); Kody George (City of Seward); Carl Monroe (Munro Advisors, LLC); Matt Clarkson (CEA) (arrived late)). 4. AGENDA APPROVAL MOTION: A motion was made by Mr. Thayer to approve the agenda. Motion seconded by Mr. Hickey. A roll call was taken, and the motion to approve the agenda passed unanimously. 5. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments. 6. APPROVAL OF THE MEETING MINUTES – August 29, 2025 MOTION: A motion was made by Mr. Thayer to approve the Meeting Minutes of August 29, 2025. Motion seconded by Mr. Hickey. A roll call was taken, and the motion to approve the Minutes of August 29, 2025 passed unanimously.
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7. OLD BUSINESS A. Open Access Transmission Tariff, RCA Matter #TA1-8001 Tina Grovier, Stoel Rives, stated since the last RTO Governance meeting, the RCA issued its order governing confidential discovery, and the Intertie Management Committee (IMC) filed a late petition to intervene in the docket. That petition was filed before the RCA had ruled on the other petitions for intervention and the RCA has not yet ruled on any petitions to intervene. She explained that before the RCA approved the remainder of the proposed procedural schedule on Monday, both RAPA and the RTO filed responses to the IMC’s petition. Ms. Grovier said the Commission has now adopted the procedural schedule that was proposed by the parties and the potential interveners. She noted that RTO’s witnesses have been drafting prefiled testimony and the RTO has been working on responses to the initial round of comments from RAPA, the RRC, Alaska Wind Holdings and AKPIRG. Ms. Grovier stated she has matters related to these topics and the next steps in the Docket U-25-028 to discuss with the Governance Committee in executive session, the immediate knowledge of which could have an adverse effect on the legal or financial positions of the RTO and/or the Committee members. MOTION: A motion was made by Mr. Hickey to enter into Executive Session to discuss matters, the immediate knowledge of which could have an adverse effect related to RTO finances and legal strategy. This is consistent with our Bylaws, which allow the Board to consider confidential matters in executive session, and in this case, the RTO believes that these are subjects that would have an adverse effect on the finances of the RTO and are being discussed with an attorney, the immediate knowledge of which could have an adverse effect on the financial or legal position of the Committee or are protected by law due to rules protecting personal privacy and certain business information. Motion seconded by Mr. Izzo. A roll call was taken, and the motion to enter into Executive Session passed unanimously. 8. EXECUTIVE SESSION – 8:10 am. (Bylaws Section 5.12.3) To discuss matters, the immediate knowledge of which could have an adverse effect on the finances or legal position of the RTO, the Committee or Authority, or that are confidential under state, federal, or local law. The RTO Governance Committee reconvened its regular meeting at 9:13 a.m. Chair Million advised that the RTO did not take any formal action on the matters discussed while in executive session, except as authorized by Bylaws Section 5.12.2, to give direction to an attorney or negotiator regarding the handling of a specific legal matter or pending negotiation.
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9. NEW BUSINESS A. RTO Prefiled Testimony MOTION: A motion was made by Mr. Miller that the RTO approve Chair Million to work with Tina Grovier, the legal team, and the witnesses to finalize and file (1) the RTO’s prefiled direct testimony, including any exhibits, and (2) the RTO’s responses to comments on September 12, 2025, with the understanding that no material changes will be made without bringing the matter back to the Committee. Motion seconded by Mr. Thayer. A roll call was taken, and the motion for Chair to work with Tina Grovier, legal team and witnesses to finalize direct testimony and RTO responses to comments passed unanimously.
B. Creation of Subcommittees – not discussed. 10. MEMBERS COMMENTS There were no member comments. 11. NEXT MEETING DATE – September 19, 2025. Chair Million indicated that the next meeting is September 19, 2025. 12. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business for the committee, the meeting adjourned at 9:16 a.m. ______________________________ Travis Million, Chair _______________________________ Curtis W. Thayer, Secretary
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RAILBELT TRANSMISSION ORGANIZATION RESOLUTION NO. 25-01
A Resolution of the Railbelt Transmission Organization Designating Initial Standing Subcommittees
WHEREAS, through the passage of 2024 House Bill 307 (“HB307”), the Alaska Legislature
directed the Railbelt Transmission Organization (“RTO”) to file a nondiscriminatory open access
transmission tariff (“OATT”) with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (“RCA”) on or before July
1, 2025;
WHEREAS, before the OATT can become effective, the RTO needs business practices
related to, among other things, billing and settlement, submission of annual transmission revenue
requirement (“ATRR”) information from relevant transmission owners, and evaluating new
transmission facilities to see if they qualify as part of the backbone transmission system (“BTS”);
WHEREAS, the RTO also needs to determine and conduct (or oversee or contribute to the
process of conducting) certain technical studies, including but not limited to those related to a
regional/local benefit allocator;
WHEREAS, even after OATT implementation, the RTO will need updates or other revisions
to its OATT, or even new provisions so that the OATT can evolve over time to accommodate,
among other things, future Network Upgrades and the establishment of additional rules and
regulations by the Railbelt Reliability Council; and
WHEREAS, Article 6 of the RTO’s Bylaws empowers the Governance Committee to appoint
standing or ad hoc subcommittees to advise and make recommendations to the Committee based
on the scope of authority granted to the subcommittee;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that a standing subcommittee designated as the
Finance Subcommittee be appointed to advise and make recommendations to the Governance
Committee on business practices and other matters related to the financial aspects of the OATT
or the RTO, including but not limited to proposing the RTO’s administrative budget and matters
related to the calculation of the RTO’s ATRR and its component parts, such as a Times Interest
Earning Ratio (“TIER”);
FURTHER RESOLVED, that a standing subcommittee designated as the Technical
Subcommittee be appointed to advise and make recommendations to the Governance Committee
on business practices or studies of a technical nature, including but not limited to the
regional/local benefit allocator, inclusion of assets in the BTS, and system losses; and
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FURTHER RESOLVED, that a standing subcommittee designated as the Tariff
Subcommittee be appointed to advise and make recommendations to the Governance Committee
on business practices, terms of service included or that should be included in the OATT, as well as
on any amendments to the OATT or other submissions to the RCA related to the OATT that the
RTO may wish to consider.
PASSED AND APPROVED by the Governance Committee of the Railbelt Transmission
Organization, this ___ day of September, 2025.
___________________________________ RTO Chair ATTEST: ___________________________________ RTO Secretary