December 12, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
December 12, 2022
Chelan PUD commissioners recently voted for the Washington State PUD to join the Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP), the first reliability planning and compliance program in the Northwest, which has been in the works since 2019.
About 26 utilities from Canada to northern California are participating in the voluntary, non-binding phase of WRAP.
Chelan said that while the Pacific Northwest typically produces abundant energy supply, “there are warning signs of a less certain future ahead: Increased demand for electricity, the rise of intermittent renewables like wind and solar, increased regulatory requirements, and more large-load industries moving to the West.”
WRAP has asked utilities to join the binding phase over the next several years, which means that utilities have guaranteed first priority to purchase energy from other member utilities in the event of a critical shortage. It also means that utilities may be subject to penalties if they don’t meet capacity requirements. The cost of joining is about $185,000 the first year, and $150,000 annually.
Chelan listed the benefits of WRAP as:
“If it doesn’t work out the way we anticipate, we can exit the program with a two-year notice at any time,” said Shawn Smith, Managing Director of Energy Resources.
Copyright © 2024 Kansas Power Pool | Designed by Custom Internet Services LLC