The following is a release from the Coalition of Eastside Neighborhoods for Sensible Energy:

Last Wednesday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued its decision on the complaint CENSE filed about PSE’s Energize Eastside project.  FERC dismissed the complaint, saying that a federal agency has no authority to intervene in a project designed to serve only local needs.

Although CENSE wanted a different outcome, FERC’s decision contains some good news.  FERC says it can’t intervene because Energize Eastside serves no regional need.  But PSE lists delivery of 1500 MW of electricity to Canada as one of the top five key assumptions that justify the project (see page three of the Eastside Needs Assessment Executive Summary).  This is not a reasonable assumption to include in a local project.

The importance of this assumption was confirmed by Bellevue’s independent consultant, Utility System Efficiencies.  When the firm’s transmission analysts removed Canadian exports from their study, overloads on the Eastside grid virtually disappeared.  Four overloads were eliminated, and the last remaining overload was minor.  This final overload might be eliminated entirely if local generation plants were turned on at full capacity (the analysts did not model them correctly according to CENSE experts).

CENSE asked FERC to order ColumbiaGrid to perform a better study.  Since FERC determined that Energize Eastside doesn’t fall under its jurisdiction, this responsibility rests firmly on the shoulders of city councils.  CENSE now formally asks the City of Bellevue to conduct a study that includes 1) no unnecessary exports to Canada, 2) all local generators producing electricity at their full capacity, and 3) federally-mandated Corrective Action Plans activated to avoid power outages and overloads.  Such a study would show that existing infrastructure can deliver reliable power to the Eastside for many years to come.

A new study will cost less than $15,000. This is a small fraction of litigation and increased electricity costs that everyone will pay if we get this wrong. CENSE will even offer to pay a significant portion of the study cost.