MIC4.9 Review Position Paper–October 1, 2015 DRAFT1
DRAFT FOR MIC MEMBERSHIP REVIEW
Market Interface Committee (MIC)
4.9 Review Committee Structure Review Position Paper
Kathy Anderson, MIC Chair
October 1, 2015
155 North 400 West, Suite 200
Salt Lake City, Utah 84103-1114
Western Electricity Coordinating Council
MIC4.9 Review Position Paper–October 1, 2015 DRAFT1
Strategic Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the position of the Market Interface Committee (MIC) members with regards to the future of the MIC given the committee structure review that is currently being conducted by the 4.9 Committee review workgroup.
Purpose of MIC
The purpose of the MIC is to advise and make recommendations to the WECC Board of Directors on the development of consistent Market Interface practices and compatible commercial practices within the Western Interconnection. Market Interface involves all interactions among market entities and entities responsible for reliable grid operation related to transmission service and physical delivery.Commercial Practices include the products and practices involved in trading electricity, including the interaction among market entities that does not affect or require assistance from entities responsible for reliable grid operation.
History of MIC
The MIC was created to provide a forum for WECC members to come and discuss commercial and market practices and evaluate the impacts those practices have on the reliability of the WECC systems. In addition, it provides a forum where market participants can come together and discuss the impacts reliability standards and practices have on the efficiency and liquidity of markets. It provides a valuable forum for members to discuss possible common practices to help increase or improve efficiencies for the greater good of the Western Interconnection.
Value of MIC
The MIC is an important committee in the fact that it is the only place where activities performed in energy markets are reviewed for their impact on reliability and also where reliability changes and practices are reviewed for their impacts on efficient and liquid energy markets. The market voice is an important one as commercial practices can have an impact on the reliability of the system creating inadvertent and unscheduled flow on systems. Without a place where these impacts can be discussed and reviewed, the reliability of the Western Interconnection can be impacted with no agreed to resolution by parties.
Future of MIC
During the MIC meeting on July 16, 2015, the future of the MIC was discussed among the membership. There are some members who feel that joining the Operating Committee and the MIC together make some sense from travel and cost perspective for those companies where the member representatives are the same on both committees, as well as operational efficiencies for WECC with one less Standing Committee to support. However, there are others who feel that the Operating Committee has a completely different focus and membership make-up than the MIC and fear the voice of the Transmission Customer would be lost and not heard in such a combined committee. While open to considering in the future the potential consolidation of the two Standing Committees into one, the overall consensus of the MIC membership was that this would need to be done carefully to ensure the purposes of both committees are retained and the voice of each group (Transmission Provider and Transmission Customer) is equally important and heard.
The MIC chair, Kathy Anderson, reached out to the OC incoming chair, Darren Buck to discuss the concept of combining the Standing Committees. The OC and the MIC Chairs agreed that it would be premature at this time to combine the Committees as there is great value in each Committee continuing to focus on its purpose and provide that voice and position to the Board of Directors and WECC staff. It is especially important as entities in the west continue to look at new markets (i.e. Energy Imbalance Markets) as the perspective of the market and analysis of impacts from those markets would likely be different from each Standing Committee’s view.
The recommendation and position of the MIC membership to the 4.9 Committee, WECC Staff, and the WECC Board would be to continue the three Standing Committee structure reporting directly to the Board of Directors.
Western Electricity Coordinating Council