WestTEC Study Plan Gets Unanimous Approval

PORTLAND – The Western Transmission Expansion Coalition, or WestTEC, reached a significant milestone last week when the WestTEC Steering Committee unanimously approved the project’s Study Plan.

WestTEC is a West-wide effort to develop an actionable transmission study to support the needs of the future energy grid. It takes a new, unique approach that spans across the region and includes a broad swath of industry sectors, states and tribes.

“The Study Plan approval was th…

WRAP Committee Approves New Transition Plan, Looks to Summer 2027 Bin…

PORTLAND – A vote today by the Western Resource Adequacy Program’s Resource Adequacy Participant Committee (RAPC) paves the way for WRAP participants to enter a binding program in 2027.

RAPC members approved a new transition plan that outlines a gradual path to fully implement the WRAP. The plan pushes back the deadline to elect to go binding in 2027 and temporarily reduces charges when participants are short on capacity.

“The plan helps in three critical ways,” sa…

2024 Engineers Forum

New Members Successfully Integrated into Northwest Power Pool Reserve…

Yearlong ‘tremendous’ effort culminates in cutover on May 1

PORTLAND, Ore. – After a yearlong complex implementation effort, 10 new members successfully joined operations of the Northwest Power Pool Reserve Sharing Group on May 1.

The new participants are former members of the Southwest Reserve Sharing Group, coming from Arizona, New Mexico, Southern Nevada, California’s Imperial Valley and Texas. They reached an agreement in June 2023 to join the NWPP Reserve Shar…

Western Power Pool Statement in Response to WRAP Participant Letter t…

Participants in the Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP) published a letter today in which they stated they will not elect to move to a binding program in Summer 2026. Instead, participants will propose a revised WRAP transition plan with the goal of beginning a binding program in 2027.

We have worked closely with participants as they considered this decision. WPP will continue working with them as they develop their revised transition proposal.

Our goal has always been to have a crit…

WestTEC Selects Members of REC, Filling Final Piece of Organizationa…

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Western Transmission Expansion Coalition, or WestTEC, has completed a major milestone in its organizational structure by selecting the members of its Regional Engagement Committee, or REC.

The REC is WestTEC’s primary stakeholder engagement group. It is responsible for reviewing proposals, scopes of work for technical studies and other deliverables, and for providing feedback and recommendations to the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee is WestTEC&rsq…

Join us for two regional transmission planning virtual events in Janu…

Note: The events have passed. Below please find links to more information.

Join us in January for two virtual events with important news and updates about the Western Transmission Expansion Coalition and other regional transmission planning efforts. Below find more information about the two events and links to register. We hope you will attend.

Transmission Planning: Who is Doing What? Thursday, January 25, 2024: 9-11am Pacific

Several transmission planning efforts are underway to fore…

TPC "Newsletter" of Upcoming Activities

Posted Comments for the Western Transmission Expansion Coalition Conc…

The Western Power Pool posted a paper on October 2, 2023, outlining a proposed concept for a West-wide effort to develop an actionable transmission plan to support the needs of the future energy grid. The effort is referred to as the Western Transmission Expansion Coalition (WTEC). Comments were due October 31 and several sets of comments were received. These are now posted in our document library, accessible via the links below. A dedicated WTEC section of our site has been added and is availa…

WPP Reveals Concept for Transmission Planning Group, Seeks Feedback

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Western Power Pool today released a paper outlining a proposed concept for a West-wide effort to develop an actionable transmission plan to support the needs of the future energy grid. The effort is referred to as the Western Transmission Expansion Coalition (WTEC).

The Western Power Pool (WPP), which will serve as the facilitator of the coalition, is collecting feedback on the concept paper to inform next steps. Comments are due by October 31 and should be sent di…