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A Go-Slow Alternative to RTO West
A group representing most publicly owned utilities in the Northwest has offered an alternative to Regional Transmission Organization (RTO ) West . Their proposed Pacific-Northwest Agreement to Coordinate Transmission (PACT ) seeks to accomplish the same goals as RTO West.
PACT is a challenge to the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA ) and investor-owned utility (IOU) approach of RTO West. Both proposals come in response to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC ) push to create independently operated transmission systems. PACT supporters are hoping for support from state regulators, members of the Northwest Congressional Delegation and public interest groups to add credibility to their proposal. PACT will also need support from BPA. The agency joined the IOUs in filing RTO West but has so far withheld making a final decision on whether RTO West is the best model for the region.
The key difference between the two approaches is that PACT relies on existing institutions, while RTO West would create a new agency that would take over control of BPA and utility-owned transmission systems and administer transmission markets. PACT envisions better coordination among existing transmission owners to facilitate fair and equitable access to the grid as a whole. Where PACT involves incremental change, RTO West would completely transform how the Northwest grid is operated. PACT supporters face an uphill battle given FERC's push to fundamentally change how U.S. power grids are managed. But they are counting on fears of further market manipulation to lend support to their incremental, go-slow approach.
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Steven Weiss