PORTLAND, OR – The Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP), administered by the Northwest Power Pool (NWPP), has completed the primary design phase of the program development and is gearing up to implement the first stage of its program in which program participants will commit to meeting a common resource adequacy planning standard.

“We have reached a major milestone in our effort to stand up a resource adequacy program in the West,” said Frank Afranji, president of the NWPP. “A common resource adequacy planning standard will increase coordination and visibility with respect to adequacy in the region and is a positive step toward enhancing regional reliability.”

The first stage of the program will be “non-binding” meaning there will be no penalties if participants do not meet their adequacy obligations and does not yet include the operational component of the program which will allow participants to pool and share resources during tight grid operating conditions. Work in the next phase of the project will include evolving the NWPP’s corporate structure to house an independent board so the NWPP can serve as the administrator of the program and filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Later stages of the program will layer on additional requirements and functionality and evaluate further design changes that may be needed. The full program is expected to be operational in 2024.

This next phase of the program also welcomes new participants from across the West including Black Hills Power and Clatskanie PUD. In total there are 20 participants, representing approximately 57,300 MWs of load and spanning 9 states and one Canadian province committed to the program's next phase, with additional participants expected to join in the coming weeks.

“We are encouraged by the support throughout the West and are very excited to welcome our new participants as we move into this next phase of program implementation. This milestone is the product of years of hard work from participants and stakeholders alike,” said Afranji.

The WRAP will continue work to further develop and implement the program with the help of Southwest Power Pool (SPP) who has been hired as the program operator. The scope of SPP’s services as a program operator include performing forward showing functions, modeling and system analytics, real-time operational program development, continual technical improvement, and IT systems work.

For more information, visit www.nwpp.org/wrap

Media Contact

NWPP:  Rebecca Sexton at 253-379-3002 or Rebecca.Sexton@nwpp.org