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VELCO transmission planners continually evaluate the performance of the electric transmission network by comprehensively analyzing how various factors, such as Vermont and regional demand, proposed new generation and growth, will affect system reliability and operation. The planning process is continuous and guided by both our state and regional requirements with careful coordination with our stakeholders.
VELCO collaborates with the ISO-New England in its responsibility to plan the transmission system for New England, as reflected in ISO-NE’s annual report on transmission system needs, the Regional System Plan (RSP). Both VELCO and ISO-New England must plan and design the transmission system to meet regional and national standards. The national transmission planning standards are mandatory and are maintained by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). The regional design criteria and procedures are maintained by the Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC) and ISO-NE.
At the state level, VELCO must publish a Long-Range Transmission Plan that looks out 20 years and is updated every three years. That Plan analyzes the transmission system, identifies where the system does not meet design and reliability criteria and describes the transmission alternatives to resolve the concerns. The Plan serves as a foundation for a collaborative process involving all Vermont utilities and other stakeholders through the Vermont System Planning Committee. The purpose of this collaborative process is to ensure full, fair and timely consideration of alternatives to building transmission where alternatives can meet the identified reliability needs. In addition, the process incorporates public participation and outreach at each step of the planning cycle. Below is a graphic that illustrates the Vermont Planning Cycle.
Each Participating Transmission Owner (PTO) is responsible for maintaining and publicly posting the status of its Local System Plan (LSP), a critical component of the regional transmission planning efforts, on its website. The LSP details the planned transmission projects and upgrades necessary to meet local energy needs. The Independent System Operator (ISO) will provide links to each PTO's LSP from is Regional System Plan Project List.
VELCO planning team has been working to implement an interactive map to satisfy FERC order 2023 requirement. The FERC order aimed at the Improvements to Generator Interconnection Procedures and Agreements (GIPA). The goal of this project was to provide an interactive map to potential energy developers to show the ability of VELCO transmission lines to handle potential additional MWs injection points based on the current topology of VELCO system. The development of the map has also considered N-1 scenarios including potential contingencies inside VELCO .
The interactive map must be viewed as a source for information to understand the best candidates’ locations to handle additional MW injection load such as solar PV and other renewable resources, however additional studies may be required to provide the needed level of accuracy as dedicated by ISO-NE planning procedures, NPCC and NERC standards. The current map uses a single summer case to estimate additional line capacities, so Shoulder and spring like conditions are not currently modeled. To stress the limitation of the map, the following disclaimer statements were added: “This map should be used for information purposes only as it provides general guidelines for transmission capacity. The map does not represent all expected system conditions nor includes voltage or stability constraints. Users are encouraged to follow all NERC and ISO-NE requirements regarding the interconnection process as referenced by ISO-NE and NERC.
The map is available on the VELCO website under the planning section at the following link: https://www.velco.com/heatmap/
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