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Congestion Management Tools Launched by Staff BPA Journal, August 2008

This summer, BPA launched its reliability redispatch pilot and the curtailment calculator prototype. These tools will bring BPA closer to finding sustainable solutions to help manage existing congestion on the transmission system.

The reliability redispatch pilot requires voluntary bids from participating generators in and outside of BPA's Balancing Authority. If a flowgate is near or over the operating transfer capability of a line, BPA dispatchers can pair up participant bids and request generators to increase or decrease their output to relieve the congestion. BPA tested a version of the reliability redispatch tool last summer, and has now expanded it to allow participants outside BPA's Balancing Authority and to include 10 of BPA's internal network transmission paths. This pilot will run through the end of September 2009.

If there are insufficient bids for the reliability redispatch pilot to relieve congestion, the curtailment calculator prototype will allow BPA to curtail schedules to reduce the amount of energy that crosses an internal network transmission path. Any curtailments made will be consistent with the Open Access Transmission Tariff, which defines the terms and conditions of BPA's transmission services. Input provided through the prototype effort should continue to improve the curtailment calculator tool.