National Electric Transmission Congestion Study - W2agz.com

e most appropriate to consider designation of one
or more National Corridors in, these areas.
Congestion Areas of Concern. These are areas
where a large-scale congestion problem exists or
may be emerging, but more information and analysis
is needed to determine the magnitude of the
problem and the likely relevance of transmission
and other solutions. The congestion in these areas
may be significant, but it does not appear to be of
critical importance at this time. These areas are
shown in Figures 5-1 and 5-2 by light blue arrows.
The arrows also indicate where some possible transmission
solutions have been suggested and the direction
of the additional electricity flows that would
result. 29
This study identifies four Congestion Areas of Concern:
• New England
• The Phoenix-Tucson area
• The San Francisco Bay area
• The Seattle-Portland area
Conditional Congestion Areas. These are areas
where significant congestion would result if large
amounts of new generation resources were to be developed
without simultaneous development of associated
transmission capacity. These areas are
shown in Figure 5-5, and they are known to be of
considerable interest for possible development of
wind, nuclear, or coal-fired generation to serve distant
load centers. Timely development of integrated
generation and transmission projects in these areas
will occur only if states, regional organizations,
Federal agencies, and companies collaborate to
bring these facilities into existence.
Some of the areas of principal interest are:
• Montana-Wyoming (coal and wind)
• Dakotas-Minnesota (wind)
• Kansas-Oklahoma (wind)
• Illinois, Indiana and Upper Appalachia (coal)
• The Southeast (nuclear)
All of these congestion areas are discussed below.
In all cases, it appears that a combination of broad
regional planning and more detailed local planning
are essential to develop a set of preferred transmission,
generation and demand-side solutions—to
meet regionally-perceived needs, and to build adequate
regional support and consensus around those
solutions. The likelihood of successful outcomes,
with or without designation of National Corridors,
will be enhanced if the parties involved in the regional
planning also address cost allocation and
cost recovery for desired solutions.
Figure 5-1. Critical Congestion Area
and Congestion Area of Concern
in the Eastern Interconnection
29 See comments by PJM, Allegheny Power, American Electric Power, and the California Energy Commission in response to
DOE’s Notice of Inquiry of February 2, 2006.
40 U.S. Department of Energy / National Electric Transmission Congestion Study / 2006