A group of planning authorities have developed the Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative (referred to as EIPC or the Collaborative) and have submitted a proposal to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for performing interconnection-wide transmission analyses.

The EIPC filing was in response to DOE's June funding opportunity announcement and DOE selection is anticipated by early November, with a final contract expected by the end of the year.

The project proposes to establish processes for aggregating the modeling and regional transmission plans of the entire Eastern Interconnection and for performing inter-regional analyses to identify potential opportunities for efficiencies between regions in serving the needs of electrical customers. This interconnection-wide analysis will also serve as the reference case for modeling alternative grid expansions based on scenarios guided by stakeholder input and the consensus recommendations of a multi-constituency stakeholder steering committee to aid states and other stakeholders in assessing inter-regional options and policy decisions.

The project will benefit power system stakeholders by providing modeling and analysis considering the entire Eastern Interconnection, identifying potential opportunities for efficiencies between regional transmission plans, providing coordinated analysis of scenarios of interest to policy makers and stakeholders, and developing potential transmission expansion options and cost estimates to inform their decisions.

Named as principal investigators in the proposal are PJM Interconnection; New York Independent System Operator, Inc.; ISO New England, Inc.; Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.; Southern Company Services Inc., as agent for Alabama Power Company, Georgia Power Company, Gulf Power Company, and Mississippi Power Company; Tennessee Valley Authority; Mid-Continent Area Power Pool, by and through its agent, MAPPCOR; and Entergy Services, Inc. on behalf of the Entergy Corporation Utility Operating Companies.

The 23 planning authorities that have signed agreements to join the EIPC make up about 95 percent of the peak load of the Eastern Interconnection.

The principal investigators will work in collaboration with other planning authorities in the Eastern Interconnection and have engaged Charles River Associates, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and The Keystone Center as subcontractors on the proposal.

The project narrative submitted as part of the proposal contains additional detail and is being made available to interested parties through the planning authority Web sites.

"The EIPC is initiating dialogue with stakeholders on Oct. 13, 2009, to develop an effective process for gathering input and guidance by a stakeholder steering committee on transmission analyses that will be completed by the collaborative," noted David Whiteley, who facilitated the formation of the EIPC and helped develop the proposal. "If our proposal is accepted, our objective is to seamlessly fold our work into the DOE funded studies, working closely with state, provincial, and federal leadership and regulators."