FERC Approves SPP's Provisional Load Interconnection Review Process to Facilitate New Load Additions

What's Happening?

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved the Southwest Power Pool's (SPP) 'provisional load' interconnection review process. This new process allows SPP to study potential data centers and other load additions even when there isn't available power to serve the new facilities. The approval addresses SPP's previous inability to study many transmission customers' requests for load additions due to the lack of power supplies required for a 10-year load forecast. Under the provisional load process, the costs of network upgrades needed to interconnect new load will be assigned to the transmission customer until planned generation is included in the transmission service agreement. Afterward, any remaining network upgrade costs will be rolled into zonal or regional rates. This process aims to encourage the construction of generation resources and attract more load interconnection customers to the SPP region.

Why It's Important?

The approval of the provisional load process by FERC is significant as it facilitates the planning and execution of future load additions, which are crucial for the expansion of infrastructure to support growing energy demands. By allowing transmission customers time to procure firm transmission service for planned generation, the process ensures that new loads can be integrated more efficiently. This is particularly important for large-scale projects like data centers and manufacturing plants, which require substantial power supplies. The decision could lead to increased investment in the SPP region, potentially boosting economic growth and job creation. Additionally, the process protects transmission customers from bearing the costs of network upgrades for generating resources that may not be built, thus providing financial security and encouraging more stakeholders to participate in the energy market.

What's Next?

SPP is advancing a 90-day interconnection study process for 'high impact large load' that will be paired with new generation or for interconnecting large loads with current or planned generation. This policy, approved by SPP's board, will require FERC approval. The grid operator has seen a significant increase in requested load additions, including large loads like data centers. Since 2020, SPP has received 26.4 GW of load interconnection requests larger than 100 MW, including 9 GW disclosed as data centers. However, only a portion of these requests move forward, indicating a need for streamlined processes to facilitate these developments.