Platts seeks comments on refinements to three US electricity locations

Platts is seeking comments on a proposed refinement and clarification in how it defines the three "into" trading locations in the North American electricity market: Into Southern, Into Entergy, and Into TVA.

Please submit comments via email by April 1 to mike_wilczek@platts.com or by phone: 202-383-2246.

In all three definitions Platts proposes to change the term "control area" to "transmission system." The purpose of the changes is to make clear that the three "into" pricing locations exclude areas that are in an entity's control area, but are not part of its transmission system. Control areas include portions of the electricity grid that are not part of the control-area entity's transmission system, but where the control-area entity is the balancing authority.

For example, Georgia Transmission Corporation (GTC) is the owner of transmission within the Southern Company control area. Southern Company, as the control-area entity, is the balancing authority for GTC, but GTC is not part of the Southern transmission system.

Transactions into such areas are not included in the three "into" pricing locations because they are not comparable. They may be priced differently from ?into? transactions because there are additional transmission charges to move the power to the control-area entity?s transmission system.

The electricity trading market already considers "into" products to be limited to transactions into an entity's transmission system, and "into" transactions reported to Platts conform to the proposed definition. The proposed change would simply refine the definitions to eliminate possible ambiguity.

Below are the current and proposed definitions.

Into Southern Current description: Into Southern comprises power delivered to an interface with or a delivery point within the Southern Company control area, which spans a swath of SERC from Georgia to Mississippi including a portion of the Florida panhandle.

Proposed description: Into Southern comprises power delivered into the Southern Company transmission system, which spans a wide swath of SERC from Georgia to Mississippi including a portion of the Florida panhandle.

Into TVA Current description: Into TVA comprises power delivered to an interface with or a delivery point within the control area of the Tennessee Valley Authority, which includes Tennessee and the northern portion of Alabama. Proposed description: Into TVA comprises power delivered into the Tennessee Valley Authority transmission system, which includes Tennessee and the northern portion of Alabama.

Into Entergy: Current description: Into Entergy comprises power delivered to an interface with or a delivery point within the Entergy control area, which spans portions of Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. (The portion of Entergy?s control area in Texas is not part of ERCOT.)

Proposed description: Into Entergy comprises power delivered into the Entergy transmission system, which spans portions of Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. (The portion of Entergy?s control area in Texas is not part of ERCOT.)