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TITLE 16ECONOMIC REGULATION
PART 2PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS
CHAPTER 25SUBSTANTIVE RULES APPLICABLE TO ELECTRIC SERVICE PROVIDERS
SUBCHAPTER ECERTIFICATION, LICENSING AND REGISTRATION
RULE §25.101Certification Criteria

        (II) For a transmission line not addressed by clause (i) of this subparagraph, the commission will consider, among other factors, the needs of the interconnected transmission systems to support a reliable and adequate network and to facilitate robust wholesale competition. When evaluating reliability for a proposed project in the ERCOT region, the commission will consider and any review conducted by ERCOT must incorporate the historical load, forecasted load growth, and additional load currently seeking interconnection. The forecasted load growth and additional load currently seeking interconnection must be substantiated by quantifiable evidence of projected load growth. The commission will give great weight to:

          (-a-) the recommendation of an organization that meets the requirement of PURA §39.151; and/or

          (-b-) written documentation provided by a transmission service provider to ERCOT that the transmission line is needed to interconnect transmission service or retail customers.

      (iii) Resiliency. ERCOT may recommend, and the commission may approve, a transmission project that is submitted as an economic or reliability project and does not demonstrate sufficient economic savings or reliability benefits to merit approval on those grounds if ERCOT determines the line would address a resiliency issue identified in the grid reliability and resiliency assessment required by subparagraph (E) of this paragraph. In determining whether to approve such a project the commission will consider:

        (I) the margin by which the transmission project was unable to demonstrate sufficient economic savings or reliability benefits to merit approval on those grounds;

        (II) whether the resiliency benefits the transmission project would provide by reducing the impacts to customers of potential outages caused by regional extreme weather scenarios are sufficient to compensate for the project's inability to demonstrate sufficient economic savings or reliability benefits to merit approval on those grounds.

        (III) the cost effectiveness of the transmission project's ability to address the resiliency issue identified by ERCOT compared to other possible solutions,

        (IV) other factors listed in PURA §37.056(c), as appropriate.

    (B) Routing: An application for a new transmission line must address the criteria in PURA §37.056(c) and considering those criteria, engineering constraints, and costs, the line must be routed to the extent reasonable to moderate the impact on the affected community and landowners unless grid reliability and security dictate otherwise. The following factors must be considered in the selection of the utility's alternative routes unless a route is agreed to by the utility, the landowners whose property is crossed by the proposed line, and owners of land that contains a habitable structure within 300 feet of the centerline of a transmission project of 230 kV or less, or within 500 feet of the centerline of a transmission project greater than 230 kV, and otherwise conforms to the criteria in PURA §37.056(c):

      (i) whether the routes parallel or utilize existing compatible rights-of-way for electric facilities, including the use of vacant positions on existing multiple- circuit transmission lines;

      (ii) whether the routes parallel or utilize other existing compatible rights-of- way, including roads, highways, railroads, or telephone utility rights-of-way;

      (iii) whether the routes parallel property lines or other natural or cultural features; and

      (iv) whether the routes conform with the policy of prudent avoidance.

    (C) Uncontested transmission lines: An application for a certificate for a transmission line will be approved administratively within 80 days from the date of filing a complete application if:

      (i) no motion to intervene has been filed or the application is uncontested; and

      (ii) commission staff has determined that the application is complete and meets all applicable statutory criteria and filing requirements, including, but not limited to, the provision of proper notice of the application.

    (D) Projects deemed critical to reliability. Applications for transmission lines which have been formally designated by a PURA §39.151 organization as critical to the reliability of the system will be considered by the commission on an expedited basis. The commission will render a decision approving or denying an application for a certificate under this subparagraph within 180 days of the date of filing a complete application for such a certificate unless good cause is shown for extending that period.

    (E) Grid reliability and resiliency assessment. ERCOT must conduct a biennial assessment of the ERCOT power grid's reliability and resiliency in extreme weather scenarios. Each assessment must:

      (i) consider the impact of different levels of thermal and renewable generation availability;

      (ii) identify areas of the state that face significant grid reliability and resiliency issues, taking into account the impact of potential outages caused by regional extreme weather scenarios on customers, including multiple element outage analysis when appropriate, and

      (iii) recommend transmission projects that may increase the grid's reliability or resiliency in extreme weather scenarios.

  (4) Tie line. An application for a tie line must include a study of the tie line by ERCOT. The study must include, at a minimum, an ERCOT-approved reliability assessment of the proposed tie line. If an independent system operator intends to conduct a study to evaluate a proposed tie line or intends to provide confidential information to another entity to permit the study of a proposed tie line, the independent system operator must file notice with the commission at least 45 days prior to the commencement of such a study or the provision of such information.

(c) Projects or activities not requiring a certificate. A certificate, or certificate amendment, is not required for the following:

  (1) An extension of facilities as described in PURA §37.052(a) and (b);

  (2) A new electric high voltage switching station, or substation;

  (3) The repair or reconstruction of a transmission facility due to emergencies. The repair or reconstruction of a transmission facility due to emergencies should proceed without delay or prior approval of the commission and must be reported to the commission in accordance with §25.83 of this title;

  (4) The construction or upgrading of distribution facilities within the electric utility's service area;

  (5) Routine activities associated with transmission facilities that are conducted by transmission service providers. Nothing contained in the following subparagraphs should be construed as a limitation of the commission's authority as set forth in PURA. Any activity described in the following subparagraphs must be reported to the commission in accordance with §25.83 of this title. The commission may require additional facts or call a public hearing thereon to determine whether a certificate of convenience and necessity is required. Routine activities are defined as follows:

    (A) The modification, construction, or extension of a transmission line that connects existing transmission facilities to a substation or metering point provided that:

      (i) the transmission line modification, construction, or extension does not exceed:

        (I) three miles if the line connects to a load-serving substation or metering point; or

        (II) two miles if the line connects to a generation substation or metering point; and

      (ii) all rights-of-way necessary for the modification, construction, or extension have been acquired, and

      (iii) all landowners whose property is directly affected by the transmission line, as defined in §22.52(a)(3) of this title, have given written consent for the modification, construction, or extension. If the transmission line modification, construction, or extension does not exceed one mile to provide service to a substation or metering point, written consent is only required by landowners whose property is crossed by the transmission line.

    (B) The rebuilding, replacement, or respacing of structures along an existing route of the transmission line; upgrading to a higher voltage not greater than 230 kV; bundling of conductors or reconductoring of an existing transmission facility, provided that:

      (i) no additional right-of-way is required; or

      (ii) if additional right-of-way is required, all landowners of property crossed by the electric facilities have given prior written consent.

    (C) The installation, on an existing transmission line, of an additional circuit not previously certificated, provided that:

      (i) the additional circuit is not greater than 230 kV; and

Cont'd...

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