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SPP Receives FERC Approval to be First RTO Operating in Both Eastern and Western Interconnections

LCG, March 205, 2025--The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) today announced it will soon be the first regional transmission organization (RTO) in the nation to provide full services in both the Eastern and Western Interconnections of the U.S. power grid. On March 20, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) unanimously approved Southwest Power Pool’s amended tariff that includes provisions that enable Western members to join the RTO. The expansion of the SPP RTO is scheduled to go live April 1, 2026.

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LCG Publishes Updated 2025 Annual Outlook for Texas Electricity Market (ERCOT)

LCG, March 20, 2025 – LCG Consulting (LCG) has released a second edition of its annual outlook of the ERCOT wholesale electricity market for 2025, highlighting the region's rapid transition toward increased reliance on renewable energy resources and battery storage.

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Industry News

FERC Grants SPP RTO Status

LCG, October 6, 2004--The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted the Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (SPP) RTO status, subject to SPP submitting further revisions. The Commission also issued an Order on Rehearing related to SPP, removing some of the obstacles from the path to becoming a fully-functioning RTO. Both Orders were issued October 1, 2004.

The Commission previously issued a July 2, 2004 Order which had acknowledged SPP's continuing efforts to meet the prerequisites for RTO status and had identified specific, remaining issues to be addressed. The Commission has accepted many of the changes proposed by SPP, such as those related to "Corporate Governance". To address grandfathered agreements (GFA), the Commission noted SPP's commitment to address conversion issues at a technical workshop.

Commissioner Brownell dissented with respect to two issues. First, the Commissioner stated, "It is still unclear whether SPP has adequate authority to direct the day-to-day operations of the facilities within its footprint." Second, the Commissioner took issue with the fact that SPP had submitted a contract with an independent market monitor (IMM) that was inconsistent with the Commission's specific requirements previously set forth in its July 2 Order.

In the Order on Rehearing (issued October 1), the Commission did grant a rehearing for Schedule 1 rate pancaking, noting that "an RTO tariff must not result in transmission customers paying multiple access charges to recover capital costs." The Commission required SPP to submit a timetable to remove pancaking from Schedule 1.

The Commission clarified that its earlier, February 10 Order "does not contemplate any development and implementation of Day 2 markets, beyond the energy imbalance market in development as part of Phase 1 of SPP's plan, without the preparation of cost/benefit analysis." The Commission also clarified issues related to the Regional State Committee (RSC), such as stating, "our purpose in approving an RSC is not to usurp state authority, but, rather, to facilitate state consensus on certain regional issues and a partnership between this Commission and state commissions."

SPP, a regional reliability council since 1968, has 48 members serving customers in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

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