The 11th annual Western Transmission Summit will bring together top executives from the Western area’s regional planning entities, transmission developers, utilities, and state regulatory agencies to discuss and debate the most critical issues surrounding transmission expansion in the Western region. You will have the opportunity to brainstorm with these thought leaders on how to address complex planning, siting, and market structure issues while balancing reliability, policy directives and economic interests. Hear key project managers reveal the inside details of the most important transmission projects in the region in case study sessions.

Learning Outcomes

• Explore barriers and the potential path towards western regionalization
• Discuss FERC Order 1000 and its impact on transmission projects
• Discuss complex transmission planning, siting and market structure issues with industry thought leaders
• Hear transmission leaders reveal the inside details of major transmission projects in the region, in an exclusive project showcase session
• Explore renewable integration in the West
• Understand physical & cyber security threats and best practices to protect your company
• Explore energy storage as a transmission planning resource

 

Credits

EUCI has been accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).  In obtaining this accreditation, EUCI has demonstrated that it  complies with the ANSI/IACET Standard which is recognized internationally as a standard of good practice. As a result of their Authorized Provider status, EUCI is authorized to offer IACET CEUs for its programs that qualify under the ANSI/IACET Standard.

EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 1.0 CEUs for this event and 0.4 CEUs for the workshop.

 

Instructional Methods

Case studies, PowerPoint presentations and group discussion will be used in this event.

Requirements for Successful Completion of Program

Participants must sign in/out each day and be in attendance for the entirety of the course to be eligible for continuing education credit.

Monday, February 25, 2019

8:00 – 8:30 a.m. :: Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 8:45 a.m. :: Opening Remarks by Chairperson

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8:45 – 9:30 a.m. :: Western Regional ISO – Inevitable Shift or Elusive Dream?

Many observers of western energy policy believe that a move to a regional wholesale market has become inevitable. The rapid growth and low cost of wind and solar power has exposed the limitations of a grid and grid policies intended for conventional thermal and hydro plants. But such a move has encountered significant political barriers, both in California and across the West. We will explore the economics, politics and drivers of a regional wholesale energy market, as the author discussed in a report for the California think-tank Next10.

Bentham Paulos, Principal of PaulosAnalysis

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9:30 – 10:15 a.m. :: DEEP DIVE: FERC Order 1000

Get ready for a deep dive! This presentation will cover important aspects of FERC Order 1000 as it relates to current and future transmission projects in the West, including:

• Regional planning
• Status & current considerations
• Lessons learned
• Long-term view
• Planning process

Laura Hatfield, Transmission Contract Manager, Puget Sound Energy

10:15 – 10:45 a.m. :: Networking Break

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10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. :: PANEL DISCUSSION: Overcoming Key Transmission Planning Challenges

There are many drivers shaping the energy industry today. In this session, we’ll take a look at some of the most critical current issues that are influencing transmission development, such as:

• FERC 1000
• Grid modernization
• Transmission siting & permitting challenges
• Transmission upgrades and technological innovations
• Evaluating non-wire alternatives

Panelists:

Robert Smith, VP, Transmission Development, TransCanyon

Charles Adamson, Principal Manager, T&D Major Projects, Southern California Edison

Tracy Rolstad, Senior Power Systems Consultant, Avista

Gary DeShazo, Director, Regional Transmission North, CAISO

David Getts, General Manager, SouthWestern Power Group

12:15 – 1:15 p.m. :: Group Luncheon

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1:15 – 2:15 p.m. :: CASE STUDY: Project Updates

Join us for an update on major Western projects including:

Southern California Edison

Renewing the Infrastructure, a Case Study in Optimizing the Grid

Two significant projects in construction and one in development to deliver new generation sources and replace old ones. This presentation will review the challenges and progress for the following projects:

1.  Mesa Substation 500kV upgrade, the in-place rebuild and upgrade of a 220/66/16 kV substation to 500/220/66/16 kV. The enlarged substation will deliver additional power to load to replace retiring coastal power plants.
2. West of Devers Upgrade, the replacement of four 220kV transmission lines for approximately 40 miles to improve import capability from renewable rich areas to load.
3. Eldorado-Lugo-Mohave Series Capacitor Upgrade, six new and upgraded 500kV series capacitors to improve transfer capability from Southern Nevada to Southern California.

Charles Adamson, Principal Manager, T&D Major Projects, Southern California Edison

SunZia Project Update

Update on the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project, including current status of rights-of-way, permits, commercial arrangements and timing. 

David Getts, General Manager, SouthWestern Power Group

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2:15 – 3:30 p.m. :: PROJECT SHOWCASE: Transmission Supporting the Integration of Renewable Energy in the West

Rooftop solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources are becoming a significant part of the energy mix in the West. How will incorporating DERs into electricity generation and infrastructure planning processes affect developing transmission planning? With IRP processes being updated across the West to better evaluate the growth of rooftop solar and other DERs in utility planning, how are our assumptions about transmission planning changing? What are the current challenges in reflecting renewable energy data in regional transmission planning models?

Showcase:

Major Interregional Transmission Project – Southwest Intertie Project-North (SWIP-North)

SWIP-North is a proposed 2,000 megawatt (MW), 275-mile, 500 kV single circuit overhead AC transmission line that will complete a critical link between the California ISO and the rest of the Western Grid. SWIP-North represents the third and final phase of the 566-mile, 500 kV Southwest Intertie Project (SWIP) corridor developed by LS Power to enable access to premium renewable resources and EIM opportunities with the flexibility to address over-generation and congestion issues.

Mark Milburn, Vice President, LS Power

Gordon Butte Pumped Hydro Storage

The 400 MW Gordon Butte PSH Project is designed with best-in-class quaternary configured equipment to enable improved utilization of the transmission system in the Northern Tier / Pacific Northwest region. The Project will produce abundant flexible capacity to provide grid operators with the ability to time-shift significant amounts of energy. The fast-acting facility will market a suite of ancillary services, including but not limited to, spinning reserves, inertia, voltage regulation, load following, frequency control and the collection, storage and firming of variable renewable resources for tactical deployment.

Eli Bailey, VP Business Development, Absaroka Energy

3:30 – 4:00 p.m. :: Networking Break

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4:00 – 5:00 p.m. :: DEEP DIVE: Energy Storage for Transmission Planning

Storage interconnection & Applications in the West

Storage is rapidly becoming an integral part of the grid as a resource, transmission services and as a transmission asset.  With multiple-use applications and evolving rules and market structures at the federal, state and local level assessing economic and operational benefits are complex.  Deployment of storage projects in the west will continue.  How are utilities evaluating and justifying storage and what are key factors in grid investment? How are storage interconnections combines with other technologies affecting interconnection and transmission needs?

Laura Hatfield, Transmission Contract Manager, Puget Sound Energy

Demystify the Value of Energy Storage

Several North American utilities and EPRI have collaborated to develop an energy storage analysis framework and tools such as StorageVET® to implement the following:

• Explore potentially beneficial locations for energy storage deployment
• Investigate the locational and system benefits and impacts of energy storage systems at specific locations to optimize size and operation of energy storage deployments
• Improve methods for incorporating energy storage systems and other DER into distribution capacity planning and evaluation of locational benefits

Specifically, this presentation will apply this analysis framework to a vertically integrated utility exploring distribution-connected storage to address a transmission planning need, while comparing storage on a benefit-cost basis to other non-wires alternatives and conventional alternatives.  EPRI will also feature an overview of the range of the other 25+ energy storage cases EPRI and utilities are investigating, which demonstrates the potential of evaluating a range of different use cases and locations with the storage analysis framework and tools.

Eknath Vittal, Technical Leader, Transmissions Operations and Planning Power Delivery and Utilization, EPRI

Giovanni Damato, Senior Project Manager Energy Storage and Distributed Energy Resources, Power Delivery & Utilization, EPRI

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Tuesday, February 26, 2019

8:00 – 8:30 a.m. :: Continental Breakfast

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8:30 – 9:15 a.m. :: DEEP DIVE: Emerging ICS Threats and the Value of Intelligence

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) continue to be a growing target for compromise. This presentation will provide an overview of current threats and vulnerabilities to ICS, as well as discussing the threat intelligence plays in developing effective cybersecurity defenses. The presentation will also discuss the recent approval of NERC CIP-013, its implementation and Lessons learned in the industry with the ongoing NERC CIP standards.

Jerome Farquharson, Director of Compliance & Critical Infrastructure Protection, Burns & McDonnell

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9:15 – 10:00 a.m. :: 2018-2019 RAC Study Program: Evaluating Potential Future Reliability Risks

The world in which Bulk Power System planners and operators in the Western Interconnection work in 2018 and into the future is changing rapidly.  Essential Reliability Services such as frequency support, ramping and balancing and voltage support, will continue to be significant concerns into the foreseeable future.  Additionally, public policies, technological developments, regulatory changes and other broad drivers will also have significant impacts on the reliability of the Bulk Electric System.  WECC and its stakeholders have developed a study program for 2018-2019 to enable WECC to understand and, potentially recommend mitigations for, potential future reliability risks between 2018 and 2038.

Byron Woertz, Manager, System Adequacy Planning, Western Electricity Coordinating Council

10:00 – 10:30 a.m. :: Networking Break

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10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. :: Transmission Leaders Policy Panel—Transmission Expansion and the Pathway Towards Facilitating Robust Energy Markets in the West

U.S. transmission planning has changed dramatically over the past two decades with the development of Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs). The Southwest Power Pool (SPP), the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) have found success in developing transmission lines that have unlocked low-cost renewable resources in their regions, while also reducing power costs for their customers. Transmission experts from those regions, as well as from the Intermountain West, will share their experiences and offer insight into how improved coordination and regionalization in Western transmission planning can yield similar results and will discuss new market efforts that are underway in the West, with the development of a full RTO apparently stalled and how those effort might achieve various benefits.

Panelists will discuss: 

• How MISO, SPP, and ERCOT developed major transmission projects enabling dozens of gigawatts
• of low-cost renewable energy of past decade, including lessons learned from those experiences applicable to the grid expansion and modernization in the Western region.
• The current state of transmission planning in each of region, including a discussion of: (1) chief obstacles to interregional planning; (2) key reforms needed to develop interregional lines across RTOs and balancing areas; and (3) key reforms and next steps needed for closer collaboration among RTOs and balancing areas.
• Expected construct of the Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM) and key principles that are being pursued in its development, including discussion of whether EDAM can facilitate some of the transmission related benefits that ISO/RTOs have facilitated.

Moderator:

Mark Crisson, Board of Directors, Southwest Power Pool

Panelists:

Gary DeShazo, Director, Regional Transmission North, CAISO

Caitlin Liotiris, Energy Strategies

Johnny Casana, External Affairs & Government Relations, Pattern Energy Group

Charles Adamson, Principal Manager, T&D Major Projects, Southern California Edison

Boris Andino, Manager, T-Line Asset Management, Pacific Gas & Electric

Eli Bailey, VP Business Development, Absaroka Energy

Betsy Beck, Director Transmission and Markets Policy, AWEA

Gary DeShazo, Director, Regional Transmission North, CAISO

Johnny Casana, External Affairs & Government Relations, Pattern Energy Group

Giovanni Damato, Senior Project Manager Energy Storage and Distributed Energy Resources, Power Delivery & Utilization, EPRI

Gary DeShazo, Director, Regional Transmission North, CAISO

Jerome Farquharson, Director of Compliance & Critical Infrastructure Protection, Burns & McDonnell

Laura Hatfield, Transmission Contract Manager, Puget Sound Energy

Mark Milburn, Vice President, LS Power

Bentham Paulos, Principal of PaulosAnalysis

Tracy Rolstad, Senior Power Systems Consultant, Avista

Robert Smith, VP, Transmission Development, TransCanyon

Eknath Vittal, Technical Leader, Transmissions Operations and Planning Power Delivery and Utilization, EPRI

Byron Woertz, Manager, System Adequacy Planning, Western Electricity Coordinating Council

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