17.20.924    ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION LINES, ECONOMY CONSIDERATIONS

(1) For electric transmission lines where economy considerations are a basis of need, an application must contain the following, as relevant:

(a) a system cost study for the 10 years following the date the proposed line is to be placed in service, showing system costs with and without the proposed line;

(b) an analysis of markets and prices for surplus energy or of the need for and alternative sources of firm energy to be transmitted over the proposed line;

(c) an analysis of sources and prices for purchased energy to be received over the proposed line;

(d) an analysis of the demand for and price of wheeling services to be provided by the proposed line;

(e) other economic analysis relevant to demonstrating the need, economic feasibility or financial viability of the proposed line;

(f) a discussion of the relationship of the capacity of the proposed facility to the size of projected flows over the facility; and

(g) if transmission capacity exists that could carry the desired energy or power flows without violating voltage drop, transfer capacity or other transmission planning criteria, a discussion of efforts by the applicant to reach an acceptable agreement with the owners of this transmission capacity to make it available to the applicant at reasonable cost and an explanation of why the proposed facility is preferable to use of the existing facility.

(2) If the transmission grid is managed by a regional transmission organization (RTO) formed under FERC order 2000, the application must report:

(a) the extent of congestion and the costs of congestion throughout the year, with and without the proposed facility, for each affected flow path on the regional grid;

(b) a projection of the transmission rights that would be created by the proposed facility; and

(c) planning evaluations of the proposed facility written either by the RTO or another regional planning organization.

History: 75-20-105, MCA; IMP, 75-20-211, MCA; NEW, 1984 MAR p. 1844, Eff. 12/28/84; TRANS, from DNRC, 1996 MAR p. 2863; AMD, 2005 MAR p. 252, Eff. 2/11/05.