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FERC Urged to Reverse Wind Power Curtailment by BPA by Staff PennEnergy, August 2011

Pacific Northwest wind generators filed a complaint that too much of a good thing -- hydropower -- has prompted Bonneville Power Administration illegally to force curtailment of wind generation in favor of providing free excess hydropower to the region.

The wind generators are urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to stop BPA from using its transmission monopoly power to curtail competing generators in an "unduly discriminatory manner."

"Bonneville has adopted a new practice whereby it unilaterally curtails wind generators without compensation, and ‘substitutes' its own generation for delivery to the wind generators' customers, in violation of the wind generators' interconnection contracts with Bonneville and the firm transmission rights associated with the delivery of the output of the wind generators' facilities," the complaint states.

BPA began limiting the output of non-hydroelectric energy, including thermal generation and wind energy, in May due to high river flows creating a temporary oversupply of hydropower. The agency said the action was required to protect salmon and steelhead, maintain the reliability of the power grid, and avoid shifting costs to BPA customers.

The wind generators asked FERC to order BPA immediately to revise its curtailment practices to comply with non-discrimination standards of the Federal Power Act and to abide by terms of interconnection agreements with the wind generators.