FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October
1, 2015
CONTACT:
Western: Lisa
Meiman, 720-962-7050/7411,
MediaRelations@wapa.gov
SPP: Dave Avery, 501-482-2320, davery@spp.org
Basin: Andrea
Blowers, 701-557-5768, ablowers@bepc.com
Heartland:
Ann Hyland, 605-256-6536, ahyland@hcpd.com

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — At midnight, Western
Area Power Administration’s Upper Great Plains Region, Basin Electric Power
Cooperative and Heartland Consumers Power District successfully transferred
functional control of the integrated transmission system to Southwest Power
Pool and began operating in the regional transmission organization. This was
the final step in achieving full membership in the RTO.
“This major achievement demonstrates Western’s commitment to
evolve our services in a changing energy frontier so we can continue to
reliably, economically and securely serve our customers,” said WAPA
Administrator and CEO Mark Gabriel. “We appreciate the spirit of cooperation, dedication and
professionalism by SPP and the continued involvement and support of our
customers during this transition.”
With the inclusion of the IS, SPP’s footprint spans almost 575,000
square miles in all or parts of 14 states in the central U.S. and includes more
than 800 generating plants, nearly 5,000 substations and about 56,000 miles of
high-voltage transmission lines. The IS will add about 5,000 megawatts of peak
demand and 7,600 megawatts of generating capacity, including a threefold
increase in SPP's current hydroelectric capacity. WAPA also represents the
first federal power marketing administration to become a full RTO member.
“The successful integration of the
Integrated System is a significant milestone for SPP as we prepare to celebrate
our 75th anniversary in 2016,” said SPP President and CEO Nick Brown. “The IS
further diversifies our membership with the addition of a federal agency and creates
a more robust transmission network to meet the electrical demand across the
region and efficiently operate a wholesale energy market.”
The decision to integrate into SPP meant the IS
would need to develop systems and tools to successfully operate in an RTO
environment. “I have to give a lot of credit to our employees who have been
dedicated and tenacious in preparing the cooperative for this transition,” said
Paul Sukut, Basin Electric CEO and general manager. “It’s a significant shift
in how we have historically operated, and though our decades-old partnership
with WAPA is changing, we have plans to continue working with them in a
number of ways. Today, we have taken a step to evolve our operations and
partnerships, but one thing will never change. Our primary focus has and always
will be serving our members.”
“Heartland has been preparing for this transition for some
time, and we are glad to finally see the process complete,” said Heartland CEO
Russell Olson. “This is a necessary step in ensuring we are providing the best
possible service to our customers. We will have greater flexibility and
increased options for buying and selling power and look forward to the
opportunities operating within SPP will provide.”
The integration is the culmination
of years of discussions and public involvement between the IS members, SPP, the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and customers. The IS owners have studied
several forms of potential regional transmission organization participation
since the 1990s. Beginning in 2001, the IS participants began to evaluate
potential options of joining SPP, joining the Midcontinent Independent System
Operator or continuing operations on a stand-alone basis. These studies
identified the option to join SPP as having the most benefit and the least
risk. A public process began in November 2013 to hear comments from concerned
parties, which resulted in approval to pursue membership in January 2014.
WAPA’s Upper Great Plains Region
markets Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program – Eastern Division power and energy
to preference customers in Montana east of the Continental Divide, North
Dakota, South Dakota, western Minnesota and Iowa and eastern Nebraska. It also
operates the Integrated Transmission System, which is owned by Western, Basin
Electric Power Cooperative and Heartland Consumers Power District.
For more information on the
membership process, visit https://www.wapa.gov/regions/UGP/PowerMarketing/Pages/spp-membership.aspx.
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About Western Area Power Administration
Western Area Power Administration annually markets and
transmits more than 25,000 gigawatt-hours of clean, renewable power from 57 hydroelectric powerplants owned and operated by the Bureau of Reclamation and
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 15 central and western states. Western also
owns, operates and maintains a more than 17,000 circuit-mile, high-voltage
transmission system in its service territory. It is part of the Department of
Energy. Learn more at www.wapa.gov.
About Basin Electric Power Cooperative
Basin
Electric is a consumer-owned, regional cooperative headquartered in Bismarck,
N.D. It generates and transmits electricity to 138 member rural electric
systems in nine states: Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New
Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. These member systems
distribute electricity to about 2.9 million consumers.
www.basinelectric.com
About Heartland Consumers Power District
Heartland Consumers Power District is a
non-profit, public power utility located in Madison, S.D. Heartland provides
reliable wholesale power as well as energy services and community development
programs to communities, state agencies and organizations in South Dakota,
Minnesota and Iowa. Heartland is governed by a ten-member, publicly elected board
of directors and owns participation shares in two base-load generating units
including Whelan Energy Center Unit 2 near Hastings, Nebraska and Laramie River
Station near Wheatland, Wyoming. Heartland also procures the output of the 51
MW Wessington Springs Wind Energy Center located in South Dakota.
About Southwest Power Pool, Inc.
Southwest
Power Pool, Inc. manages the electric grid and wholesale energy market for the
central United States. As a regional transmission organization, the nonprofit
corporation is mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to ensure
reliable supplies of power, adequate transmission infrastructure and
competitive wholesale electricity prices. Southwest Power Pool and its diverse
group of member companies coordinate the flow of electricity across 56,000
miles of high-voltage transmission lines spanning 14 states. The company is
headquartered in Little Rock, Ark. Learn more at www.spp.org .