NTTG Issues Major Transmission Development Plan In The West

December 4, 2009 – Utah Association of Energy Users

The Northern Tier Transmission Group's (NTTG) planning committee has released its first 10-year bulk transmission expansion plan, with projects that span from Wyoming to Oregon's Pacific Coast and from Washington and Montana south to Arizona and Las Vegas.

Forecasts call for construction of substantial power generation re-sources in the Northern Tier footprint, well in excess of local demands, so that significant transmission will be required to move power to distant demand centers, the group said in the draft of its 2008-2009 Biennial Plan.
"In assessing the economic value of potential generation additions and load changes, as well as new transmission projects, it is important to have an indication of how much economical energy generation is unable to reach loads due to congested transmission and the economic benefit of relieving that congestion," the group said.

The sheer size of that task is indicated in the plan itself, which said several work groups developed and incorporated detailed modeling data for more than 3,000 generating units, more than 15,000 transmission buses and more than 20,000 transmission line segments in 43 load areas. The study considers up to a 20-year planning horizon.