EnergyNewswatch

Transmission Settlements, Billing and Accounting

Live Streaming Online September 28-29, 2022

A BankWebinars.com Program

Click Here to register $1795 (Program $1195, Workshop $495)

If you are unable to attend at the scheduled date and time, we make recordings available to all registrants for three business days after the event

This one-and-a-half day course will spell out the fundamentals and best practices of billing and settlements for all transmission transactions involving transmission owners (TOs), transmission providers (TSPs), transmission customers (TCs) and ISOs.  It will cover workflows for both groups of utilities:  1) those operating as local balancing authorities (LBAs) in all seven U.S. RTOs, and 2) those operating as stand-alone local balancing authorities (BAs) and transmission service providers (TSPs).  This is the perfect primer for those new to transmission settlements, billings and accounting functions, and full of granular detail for seasoned transmission settlement professionals requiring sharper definition on new transmission rules, regulations, and processes. 

A pre-course workshop will provide much needed definition on the E-tag submission process, an essential element of transmission settlements for point-to-point services.

Learning Outcomes

Attendees will cover content, engage in discussions, and participate in exercises that will allow them to:

• Examine transmission billing and settlement design and process workflows for both groups of utilities – those operating as local balancing authorities (LBAs) in all seven U.S. RTOs and those operating as stand-alone balancing authorities (BAs)
• Assess the correlation between transmission ratemaking and tariffs to billing, settlements and accounting
• Explain settlement methodology and the basis for settlement pricing values
• Identify transmission usage billing determinants
• Illustrate how to unpack transmission schedules, statements and invoices
• Analyze the timing, validation and reconciliation of transmission settlements and their connection to accounting
• Compare the shadow settlement and trend analysis approaches of energy market vs. transmission settlements
• Evaluate the process adjustments to transmission settlements required by FERC’s ROE Order
• Estimate how FERC Order 2222 for DERs will affect transmission settlements and accounting
• Discuss transmission billing and settlements challenges, tips and traps

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

9:00 – 9:15 a.m. :: Overview & Introduction

9:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. :: Transmission Regulation And Rates Background

Regulatory Foundations

• Federal Power Act structure and principles
• FERC Orders and processes
  • 888, 889, 890, 1000 and 2000
  • OATT (Open Access Transmission Tariff)
• OASIS (Open Access Same-Time Info System)
• FERC vs. State regulatory authority 
  • RTO vs. stand-alone BA
  • Rate/PSCR cases vs. FERC approved templates
• Differentiating between transmission settlement parties
  • Transmission Owners
  • Transmission Customers
• Special issues
  • Understanding the turbulent history of return on equity (ROE) concept for RTOs
  • How to allocate cost of transmission upgrades

Ratemaking, Tariffs and Their Relationship to Settlements

• FERC pages 
• Main tariff transmission schedules 
• Network vs. regional cost sharing 
• Submittal of schedules and attachments
• Capturing settlement data correctly and “TS-12”
• True-up of formula rate

Review of Different Transmission Schedules

• FERC schedules
  • Schedule 1 for scheduling control and dispatch service
  • Schedule 2 for reactive service charge
  • Schedules 7 (firm) and 8 (non-firm) for point-to-point (PTP) service
  • Schedule 9 for network integration transmission service (NITS)
  • Schedule 11 for transmission upgrades
  • Schedule 12 for FERC fee
• Key billing determinants
  • What they mean and how they’re settled

12:30 – 1:15 p.m. :: Lunch Break

1:15 – 3:00 p.m. :: Transmission Settlements Processes for Utilities in ISOs

Perfecting the Basics

• Unpacking transmission settlements
• Transmission formula rate
• ISO rates files
• Cost share allocation projects and how those revenue requirements are determined
• Review of cost-sharing on formula rate

RTO Transmission Settlements in Depth

• Settlement schedule
• How FERC orders affects settlements.
• TO billing determinants
• Transmission settlement files
• Revenue files (OISRs)
• Invoices
• Reconciling data submittals to actual transmission settlements

ISO Billing Protocols

• Connecting invoices, OISRs and files
• Tying out and validating
• Shadow settlements for peak load data or revenues received and settlements
• NERC TLR process

Identifying Transmission Usage Billing Determinants

• Referencing an ISO’s best practices manual (BPM) for guidance
• Network peak and volumetric consumption
• Revenue distribution examples
  • Review a Schedule 7 and 8 reservation
  • TPF (transaction participation)

3:00 – 3:15 p.m. :: Afternoon Break

3:15 – 5:15 p.m. :: Transmission Billing Workflows for Utilities Operating as
Transmission Service Providers (TSPs)

Understanding Transmission Billing Regulations

• Reviewing key FERC schedules for utilities operating as stand-alone balancing authorities (BAs)
• Open access transmission tariff (OATT)
• Reviewing key billing determinants for network integration transmission service (NITS) and point-to-point (PTP) services
• Recent regulation updates – FERC orders 676-I and 676-J

Transmission Billing Workflow for Transmission Providers

• Roles for transmission service providers (TSPs)
• Validating meter data for generation resources and loads
• Compute billing for NITS customers
• Bilateral transactions – reading OASIS and E-tag data to compute billing for firm and non-firm point-to-point services
• How are transmission losses (physical vs. financial) handled in transmission billing?
• Generating settlement invoices
• True-ups and prior period adjustments
• Handling disputes

Transmission Billing Workflow for Transmission Customers

• Timing, validation and reconciliation for transmission invoices received from transmission service provider (TSP)
• The importance of shadowing transmission bills received from TSP
• Input data to shadow transmission bills – E-tag, transmission service requests (TSR), tariff rates, meter data
• Reconciling data submittals to actual transmission invoices
• Validating prior period adjustments
• Tools and methodologies
• Disputes

5:15 p.m. :: Course Adjourns for the Day

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

9:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. :: Contemporary Issues Affecting Transmission Settlements and Billing

Transmission Billing in Imbalance Energy and Exchange Markets

• Should OATT be revised when entering imbalance energy markets (CAISO WEIM and SPP WEIS)?
• How are transmission costs allocated in imbalance energy markets?
• How are financial losses computed for the nascent SEEM market?

Risk Management and Financial Controls

• Internal controls – Sarbanes Oxley compliance
  • SSAE 18_SOC 1 Type II Report
  • Bridge Letter
• RTO credit policies
  • Credit exposure calculation / determining margin call
• Settlement system replacement by ISOs
• Scheduling changes

Transmission Projects Across ISO Seams

• Apportionment of cost recovery
• Documentation
• Settlement
• Transmission studies

FERC Order 2222 for DERs

• Role of DERs in wholesale markets
• Do transmission tariffs have to be revised to reflect DERs?

Addressing Special Operating Anomalies and Their Impact on Transmission

• Storm and weather events
• Are billing adjustments needed?

12:15 p.m. :: Course Adjournment

Fundamentals of E-Tags for Transmission Scheduling & Billing

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 : CENTRAL TIME

Overview

This workshop will dive deep into the fundamentals and common practices of creating, updating and settling of E-tags.  It will provide important background and context for transmission owners (TOs), transmission providers (TSPs), transmission customers (TCs) and ISOs – who must all be familiar with interchange schedules – by which energy is transferred and coordinated among balancing authority areas (BAAs).  The primary tool for providing this coordination is the NERC E-Tag, used to channel energy in pre-schedule as well as real-time scenarios.  E-Tags form the basis for the ensuing, required workflows and settlement.  

Learning Outcomes

• Discuss the lifecycle of E-tags
• Review the definitions of roles and responsibilities
• Identify E-Tag creation, adjustments, and curtailments
• Evaluate real-time examples of pre-scheduling and real-time E-Tag activities
• Examine the relationship of E-Tags with transmission billing workflows

Agenda

1:00 – 1:15 p.m. :: Overview and Introductions

1:15 – 1:30 p.m. :: What is E-Tag?

1:30 – 2:15 p.m. :: Who Needs to Create, Maintain and Approve E-Tags

2:15 – 3:00 p.m. :: How to Create, Update and Approve E-Tags

3:00 – 3:15 p.m. :: Afternoon Break

3:15 – 3:45 p.m. :: E-Tags in Operation

3:45 – 4:15 p.m. :: E-Tag, Power Trades and Grid Operations

4:15 – 5:00 p.m. :: E-Tag and Transmission Billing

5:00 p.m. :: Workshop Adjournment