PORTLAND, Ore. – The Western Power Pool today took a major step toward implementing the Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP) by filing the WRAP tariff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

The WRAP is the first region-wide reliability planning and compliance program in the history of the West. The program was started at the request of WPP’s customer utilities who were concerned about the issue of resource adequacy in the region.

“We are here because of the work of our staff, regulators, participants, and stakeholders,” said Sarah Edmonds, WPP President and CEO. “The next few months are critical. The filing kicked off the open comment period, and we hope we can count on your support. We welcome stakeholders across the region to file supportive comments at FERC.”

Stakeholders can read the tariff and entire filing packet on the WPP website and make comments at FERC under docket number ER22-2762.

FERC’s approval of the tariff would enable WRAP to set terms and conditions for participation and allow for governance changes to be made. WPP is hoping for a final order from FERC giving approval by the end of this year. 

Edmonds, along with WPP Director of Reliability Programs Rebecca Sexton and WPP Director of Technology, Modeling, and Analytics Ryan Roy, discussed the tariff filing in more detail in the video above.

“We can better ensure reliability by working together, and we avoid the risks and inefficiency of continuing to do it individually,” Sexton said. 

The WRAP team also intends to confirm commitments from potential participants for the next phase of their participation by mid-December.

“As we move forward, we will benefit from several seasons operating the WRAP on an informational, non-binding basis,” Roy said. “During this time, we will collect data, learn, and adjust before participants will be required to begin meeting WRAP requirements starting in Summer 2025.”

Yesterday’s filing follows unanimous approval of the tariff by the WPP Board of Directors last week.

About the WRAP: WPP is launching the WRAP, which is the first region-wide reliability planning and compliance program in the history of the West. With coordination and visibility across participants, the WRAP paints a more accurate, regional picture of resource needs and supply. It delivers a region-wide approach for assessing and addressing resource adequacy, taking advantage of operating efficiencies, diversity, and sharing of pooled resources. So far, 26 utilities from the northwest, parts of the desert southwest, Canada and northern California have joined WRAP’s non-binding phase.

Media contact: For more information, contact Kevin Langbaum at kevin@kblcommunications.com.