UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BEFORE THE

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

TC Ravenswood, LLC)Docket No. ER12-1418-000

MOTION TO INTERVENE, COMMENTS, REQUEST FOR LIMITED
TARIFF WAIVERS, AND ALTERNATIVE PROTEST OF

THE NEW YORK INDEPENDENT SYSTEM OPERATOR, INC.

In accordance with Rules 211, 212, and 214 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice
and Procedure,1 the New York Independent System Operator, Inc. (“NYISO”) respectfully
moves to intervene, provides comments, requests certain limited tariff waivers, and, in the
alternative, protests certain elements of the Application of TC Ravenswood, LLC to Implement
a Black Start Service Rate Schedule (“Application”) in the above-captioned proceeding.2 As
described below, the NYISO supports the substance3 of TC Ravenswood, LLC’s
(“Ravenswood’s”) Application to provide black start service, but protests Ravenswood’s
proposal to provide this service through a stand alone rate schedule outside of the NYISO
tariffs (“Rate Schedule”). 4

In its Application, Ravenswood requests that the Commission accept its proposed Rate Schedule for the provision of black start service by its steam turbine units 10, 20, and 30

1 18 C.F.R. §§ 385.211, 385.212, and 385.214.

2 TC Ravenswood, LLC, Application of TC Ravenswood, LLC to implement a Black Start Service Rate Schedule, Docket ER12-1418-000 (March 30, 2012) (“Ravenswood Application”).

3 The NYISO’s support of the “substance” of the Application does not extend to its various

misstatements and mischaracterizations concerning the NYISO’s markets (including the In-City Capacity

market.) See Ravenswood Application at pp. 3, 9. These allegations are inaccurate but, because Ravenswood
itself acknowledges that they are not relevant to this proceeding, see Ravenswood Application at 3, 18
(acknowledging that the proposal does not address any supposed market “problems”), and because they have
already been fully addressed in other dockets, the NYISO will not comment further here. Similarly, as is
discussed in Section V.B below, the NYISO does not support Ravenswood’s unsupported and inaccurate claims
of supposed deficiencies in the NYISO’s stakeholder processes and shared governance system.

4 Terms with initial capitalization that are not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Services Tariff, and if not defined therein, in the NYISO Open Access Transmission Tariff.

(“Ravenswood Units”) in the Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (“Con

Edison”) portion of the statewide program administered by the NYISO for restoring electric service in New York following an unplanned outage (“New York Restoration Program”). Ravenswood previously withdrew the Ravenswood Units from the New York Restoration Program on September 30, 2011, citing its concern that the black start tests required by the NYISO tariffs could damage its units.

The Ravenswood Units play an important role in the timely restoration of electric service to New York City. For this reason, the NYISO has worked diligently with
Ravenswood to address its testing concerns in a manner that would permit the Ravenswood Units to participate in the New York Restoration Program going forward. The NYISO is currently working with its stakeholders, including Ravenswood, to complete the development of revised black start requirements on an expedited schedule that, among other things, are intended to address Ravenswood’s testing concerns.

The NYISO believes that the underlying substance of Ravenswood’s proposal would
provide a meaningful near-term contribution to reliability by enhancing the effectiveness of
the New York Restoration Program. The NYISO, therefore, supports the substance of
Ravenswood’s request and would welcome Commission action to permit the Ravenswood
Units to provide black start service under terms consistent with those proposed in
Ravenswood’s proposed Rate Schedule, but within the framework of the NYISO’s Market
Administration and Control Area Services Tariff (“Services Tariff”). Ravenswood has stated
that the only material differences between its proposed Rate Schedule and the black start
requirements in Rate Schedule 5 of the Services Tariff are the testing and term-of-service
requirements.5 Accordingly, the NYISO requests that the Commission grant limited waivers

5 Ravenswood Application at p. 17.

of the testing and term-of-service requirements in Rate Schedule 5 to permit Ravenswood to
provide black start service under the NYISO tariffs in a manner consistent with the substance
of its proposal. The requested waivers would remain in place for an interim period while the
NYISO, Ravenswood, and other stakeholders complete the ongoing process to revise the
black start requirements for New York. This approach mirrors Ravenswood’s previous
request for waivers, which it developed and coordinated with the NYISO, but later withdrew.
Ravenswood’s requested waivers would have permitted the Ravenswood Units to continue to
provide black start service under the NYISO tariffs for a limited period without having to
perform a full black start test, while the NYISO worked to address Ravenswood’s concerns
through its stakeholder process.6

While the NYISO supports the substance of Ravenswood’s proposal, it cannot support
the specific procedural mechanism Ravenswood has proposed in its Application - a stand
alone Rate Schedule for providing black start service outside of the NYISO tariffs. The
Commission should reject this approach because it unlawfully and unnecessarily duplicates
the requirements for the provision of black start service in New York already established in
the NYISO Services Tariff. In addition, Ravenswood’s Application is the practical equivalent
of a unilateral amendment of Rate Schedule 5 in violation of Article 19 of the NYISO’s
Independent System Operator Agreement (“ISO Agreement”),7 an agreement that
Ravenswood voluntarily executed.

6 See TC Ravenswood, LLC, Motion of TC Ravenswood, LLC for Waiver of New York Independent
System Operator, Inc.’s Tariff Provisions Regarding Black Start and System Restoration Procedures; and
Request for Expedited Treatment, Docket No. ER11-4200-000 at pp. 2-3, 8 (August 2, 2001) (“Ravenswood
Waiver Request”).

7 See Independent System Operator Agreement, available at: http://www.nyiso.com/public/webdocs/
documents/regulatory/agreements/nyiso_agreement/iso_agreement.pdf (“ISO Agreement”).

Robert E. Fernandez, General Counsel
Raymond Stalter, Director of Regulatory Affairs
*Carl F. Patka, Assistant General Counsel
New York Independent System Operator, Inc.

10 Krey Boulevard

Rensselaer, NY 12144
Tel: (518) 356-6000
Fax: (518) 356-4702
rfernandez@nyiso.com
rstalter@nyiso.com

cpatka@nyiso.com

* -- Persons designated for service.

II.MOTION TO INTERVENE

*Ted J. Murphy

Hunton & Williams LLP
2200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20037
Tel: (202) 955-1500

Fax: (202) 778-2201

tmurphy@hunton.com

*Kevin W. Jones8

Michael J. Messonnier, Jr. Hunton & Williams LLP 951 East Byrd Street

Richmond, VA 23219
Tel: (804) 788-8200
Fax: (804) 344-7999
kjones@hunton.com

mmessonnier@hunton.com

The NYISO is a not-for-profit corporation responsible for providing open-access
transmission service, maintaining reliability, and administrating competitive wholesale
markets for electricity, capacity, and ancillary services in New York State. Pursuant to its
tariffs and the reliability rules of the New York State Reliability Council (“NYSRC”), the
NYISO is responsible for administering the statewide black start and system restoration
program to provide for the timely restoration of electric service in New York in the event of
an unplanned outage. In addition, the NYISO’s Commission-approved tariffs establish the
term-of-service, testing, and compensation requirements for generators that provide black
start service in New York. As Ravenswood is requesting that the Commission accept a rate
schedule for the provision of black start service in New York, the NYISO has a direct and

8 The NYISO respectfully requests waiver of 18 C.F.R. § 385.203(b)(3) (2011) to permit service on counsel for the NYISO in both Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA.

substantial interest in this proceeding. This interest cannot be adequately represented by any
other party. The NYISO, therefore, should be permitted to intervene in this proceeding.

III.BACKGROUND

A.New York Restoration Program

The NYISO is responsible for maintaining the New York Restoration Program.9 The
program is composed of two separate, coordinated programs: (i) the NYISO black start and
system restoration program, which provides for the restoration of electric service to New
York by means of the 345 kV transmission backbone of New York that is energized by large
hydropower units located in northern and western New York, and (ii) Con Edison’s local
black start and system restoration program, which provides for the restoration of electric
service to its service territory by means of gas and steam turbine generators located there.10

B. NYISO Tariff Requirements Regarding Generators’ Provision of Black

Start and System Restoration Service in New York

Rate Schedule 5 of the NYISO Services Tariff establishes the requirements for the
provision of black start and system restoration service in New York. In particular, Section

15.5.3.1 of Rate Schedule 5 establishes the term-of-service, testing, and compensation

requirements for generators providing black start service for the Con Edison portion of the New York Restoration Program.

Pursuant to these provisions, a generator with black start capability located in Con
Edison’s service territory commits to participate in the Con Edison portion of the New York
Restoration Program for a minimum period of three years. A participating generator may
withdraw from the program by providing one year’s advance notice at the end of the second

9 NYSRC Reliability Rules G-R1, Measurement G-M1. The term “New York Restoration Program” as used in this submission is the same as “NYCA System Restoration Plan” in the NYSRC Reliability Rules.

10 NYSRC Reliability Rules G-R1, Measurement G-M1; see also NYISO System Restoration Manual §

2 (July 2010).

year of its three-year commitment period. If a generator does not provide this notice, it
commits to participate in the program for a subsequent three-year commitment period.
A generator participating in the Con Edison portion of the New York Restoration
Program is required to conduct an annual black start capability test in accordance with test
criteria set forth in Appendix I of Rate Schedule 5 of the Services Tariff, which incorporates
Con Edison’s black start testing criteria. A participating generator is also responsible for
performing operator training and for conducting annual tests and certification of certain
equipment and critical components related to its black start capabilities.
So long as a generator complies with its tariff obligations, including its unit testing requirements, it receives a set annual amount for its participation based upon the voltage level at which the unit is interconnected - $350,000 for 345 kV and $300,000 for 138 kV. A
generator may also recover additional verifiable costs associated with performing operator
training and conducting annual black start capability tests, and may be reimbursed for certain
equipment damage resulting from the provision of black start service. The NYISO is
responsible for administering customer payments and charges in connection with the
provision of black start service in Con Edison’s service territory.11

C.NYISO Actions to Retain the Ravenswood Units in the New York

Restoration Program

The Ravenswood Units have provided black start and system restoration services in

Con Edison’s service territory both prior to the formation of the NYISO and since the NYISO
established the current black start requirements in its tariffs. Due to their size (approximately
1800 MW) and location, the Ravenswood Units’ inclusion in the Con Edison portion of the
New York Restoration Program provides significant benefits to New York City by enhancing

11 See NYISO Services Tariff § 15.5.3.1. (“[T]he ISO will make payments for such local services

directly to the Generators that provide it, under the terms of this Rate Schedule. The LSEs in those local

Transmission Owner areas will be additionally charged for those services by the ISO under the ISO OATT.”).

the robustness of the Con Edison portion of New York Restoration Program.

In September 2010, Ravenswood notified the NYISO and Con Edison pursuant to

Rate Schedule 5 that it intended to withdraw the Ravenswood Units from participation in the
Con Edison portion of the New York Restoration Program at the end of the three-year
commitment period on September 30, 2011, citing its concern that the additional cycling
associated with the annual black start tests could cause serious damage to its units.
After receiving this notice, the NYISO initiated discussions with Con Edison and
Ravenswood, along with other generators participating in the Con Edison portion of the New
York Restoration Program, to review the NYISO’s existing black start requirements and to
develop program improvements. The purpose of these discussions was to address, among
other things, Ravenswood’s stated concerns regarding the testing requirements for steam
turbine units and the NYISO’s and Con Edison’s concerns regarding the procurement and
retention of black start resources for the New York Restoration Program going forward.
In July 2011, the NYISO and Ravenswood agreed that Ravenswood would
temporarily extend its participation in the New York Restoration Program beyond September
30, 2011, to provide additional time to complete the development and implementation of
enhancements to the NYISO’s black start requirements that were intended to address the
parties’ concerns. The extension would enable Ravenswood to continue to provide black start
service for several additional months without having to perform a full black start test of its
units.12 On August 2, 2011, Ravenswood requested that FERC waive certain black start
requirements in the NYISO tariffs to provide for this temporary extension.13 However, on
August 26, 2011, Ravenswood filed an amendment to its motion seeking to withdraw this

12 See Ravenswood Waiver Request at pp. 2-3, 8.

13 See id. at p. 2.

waiver request and indicating that it would withdraw the Ravenswood Units from the New York Restoration Program on September 30, 2011.14 On September 27, the Commission issued an order permitting Ravenswood to withdraw its waiver request and withdraw its units from the New York Restoration Program.15

Notwithstanding the withdrawal of the Ravenswood Units from the New York

Restoration Program, the NYISO continued to work with Con Edison, Ravenswood, and other
generators, to develop improvements to the New York Restoration Program. Based on these
discussions, the NYISO has developed a package of revisions to its black start requirements
for its stakeholders’ consideration. The stakeholder Black Start Task Force met on March 30,
2012, to discuss the proposed revisions, including changes to the test requirements for steam
turbine units that are intended to address Ravenswood’s concerns. At that meeting, generators
generally reacted positively to the NYISO’s proposed changes to the black start testing

regime. The NYISO is continuing to make progress through an expedited stakeholder process in the further development of its proposed revisions and anticipates filing the resulting tariff revisions with the Commission this summer.

D.Ravenswood’s Application for a Stand Alone Rate Schedule to Provide

Black Start Service

On March 30, 2012, Ravenswood submitted its Application in this proceeding

requesting that the Commission accept its proposed Rate Schedule to provide black start

service in New York. Ravenswood indicated that the impetus for its filing was a March 16,
2012, draft report issued by NYSRC’s Reliability Compliance Monitoring Subcommittee that

14 TC Ravenswood, LLC, Amendment to Motion of TC Ravenswood, LLC, Docket No. ER11-4200-000 (August 26, 2011). As grounds for its withdrawal, Ravenswood cited its financial concerns resulting from a drop in capacity prices for the New York City area, along with Con Edison’s submission of a petition to the New
York State Public Service Commission (“PSC”) requesting that generators be required to obtain the PSC’s
consent prior to ceasing to provide black start service in New York.

15 TC Ravenswood, LLC, Order on Waiver Requests and Request for Settlement Conference, 136 FERC ¶ 61,213 at PP 44, 46.

concluded that the absence of the Ravenswood Units from the New York Restoration Program
could delay by up to five hours the restoration of electric service to New York City.16
Ravenswood stated in its Application its intent to be of assistance in restoring electric service in the event of a blackout.17 It proposed to provide “Spot Black Start Service” under its own, stand alone Rate Schedule while continuing to work through the stakeholder process on testing, term of service, and compensation issues.18 Ravenswood asserted that “the only material differences [between its proposed Rate Schedule and] the black start provisions in NYISO’s Services Tariff are with respect to testing and term of service,”19 and that “[t]he rates under TC Ravenswood’s proposed rate schedule directly parallel the rates set forth in the NYISO Services Tariff.”20

IV. COMMENTS AND WAIVER REQUESTS

The NYISO believes that an interim means should be found to permit Ravenswood to provide black start service in New York, while the NYISO, Ravenswood, and other
stakeholders complete the ongoing process to revise the black start requirements in the
Services Tariff. The NYISO supports the substance of Ravenswood’s request and would, therefore, welcome Commission action to permit the Ravenswood Units to provide black start service consistent with the term-of-service and test requirements proposed by Ravenswood, but only within the framework of the NYISO Services Tariff.

To accomplish this, the NYISO requests that the Commission grant the NYISO a

limited waiver of certain black start requirements in Rate Schedule 5 of the Services Tariff.

16 Ravenswood Application at pp. 13-16.

17 Id. at pp. 1, 17.

18 Id. at p. 17.

19 Id. at p. 17.

20 Id. at p. 19.

Ravenswood asserts in its Application that the only material differences between the

NYISO’s black start tariff requirements and its proposed Rate Schedule are the term-of-

service and test requirements.21 The NYISO, therefore, requests that the Commission grant the NYISO a waiver of:

(i) the term-of-service requirements in Section 15.5.3.1 of Rate Schedule 5, so that the
NYISO can permit Ravenswood to provide black start service within the framework of the
NYISO tariffs without requiring Ravenswood to commit to a new three-year term-of-service,
and

(ii) the test requirements in Section 15.5.3.1 and Appendix I of Rate Schedule 5, so that the NYISO can accept a successful test of the Ravenswood Units under Ravenswood’s proposed testing regime to satisfy Ravenswood’s requirement to conduct a successful black start test under Rate Schedule 5 and permit the NYISO to pay Ravenswood for its provision of black start service.

In effect, the NYISO’s proposed waivers would achieve the substance of

Ravenswood’s proposal, but set its proposal within the proper framework of the NYISO

tariffs. Aside from these specific changes, the NYISO would continue to administer its black start requirements pursuant to Rate Schedule 5. The NYISO requests that the waivers remain effective until the NYISO, Ravenswood, and other stakeholders complete the ongoing process to revise the black start requirements in New York.

The NYISO appreciates Ravenswood’s willingness “to assist to the maximum extent
to which it is capable in helping to restore service promptly in the event of an actual black
out.”22 The NYISO believes that its proposed waivers address Ravenswood’s stated concerns.

21 Ravenswood Application at p. 17.

22 Id. at p. 1.

As described above, Ravenswood had previously agreed with the NYISO to request a waiver
of Rate Schedule 5 that would have resulted in the substantially similar outcome of permitting
Ravenswood to perform black start service for a limited period of time without having to
perform a full black start test, while the NYISO worked with Ravenswood and other
stakeholders to address their concerns.23 Ravenswood withdrew that waiver request for
reasons not at issue here.

The Commission has previously granted tariff waivers where: (i) a concrete problem needs to be remedied, (ii) the entity seeking the waiver acted in good faith, (iii) the waiver is of a limited
scope, and (iv) the waiver will not have undesirable consequences, such as harming third parties.24 The NYISO submits that its waiver requests satisfy these factors.

(i) A concrete problem exists in this instance. The Ravenswood Units play an important role
in the Con Edison portion of the New York Restoration Program. Their inclusion in the program
would contribute to the near-term reliability of the program, while the NYISO works with Con
Edison, Ravenswood, and its other stakeholders to develop revised black start requirements. The
NYISO is currently leading an expedited stakeholder process to complete the development of the
revisions to Rate Schedule 5 that aim to address generator’s concerns, including Ravenswood’s
testing concerns, while retaining black start resources in the New York Restoration Program going
forward.

(ii) The NYISO has acted in good faith in this instance. The NYISO has proposed an

approach for moving forward that addresses Ravenswood’s stated term-of-service and test concerns, while also enabling the NYISO to satisfy its responsibilities for ensuring the reliable provision of black start service in New York.

23 See Ravenswood Waiver Request at pp. 2-3, 8.

24 See, e.g., ISO New England, Inc., 117 FERC ¶ 61,171 at P 21 (2006).

(iii) The scope of the waiver request is limited. The requested waivers do not require, but

rather permit, Ravenswood to provide black start service within the New York Restoration Program, and provide that the requirements for this service are consistent with the term-of-service and test
requirements set forth in Ravenswood’s proposal. In addition, the requested waivers would only
remain in effect until the NYISO, Ravenswood, and other stakeholders complete the ongoing process to revise the black start requirements in New York. This is consistent with Ravenswood’s assertion that it is seeking to provide black start service, while continuing to work to resolve certain testing, term-of-service, and compensation issues.25

(iv) The Commission’s granting the requested waivers will not have undesirable

consequences or harm third parties. Ravenswood is the only NYISO market participant that will be
directly impacted by the requested waivers, and, as described above, it will not be harmed by the
waiver. To the contrary, Ravenswood will be paid to provide a service that it already has indicated it
is capable and willing to perform and under term-of-service and test requirements that are consistent
with its proposal.

If, however, the Commission determines that a waiver is not appropriate in this instance and
that the term-of-service and test requirements described in Ravenswood’s proposal must be expressly
set forth in a tariff, the Commission should reject Ravenswood’s proposed Rate Schedule for the
reasons described below and confirm that the NYISO tariff would be the appropriate vehicle for
these requirements.

V.PROTEST

While the NYISO would support Commission action to permit Ravenswood to

provide on an interim basis black start service under the Services Tariff consistent with the
term-of-service and test requirements proposed by Ravenswood, the NYISO cannot support

25 See Ravenswood Application at p. 17.

the specific mechanism Ravenswood has proposed in its Application - a stand alone Rate Schedule for providing black start service outside of the NYISO tariffs. The Commission should reject the Rate Schedule for the reasons described below.

A.Ravenswood’s Rate Schedule Impermissibly Duplicates Rate Schedule 5 of

the Services Tariff

The Commission should reject Ravenswood’s Application because the proposed Rate Schedule addresses the same subject matter - the provision of black start service in Con
Edison’s service territory - as does Rate Schedule 5 of the NYISO Services Tariff. The
NYISO is responsible under its Commission-approved tariffs and NYSRC’s reliability rules for administering the provision of black start service in New York.

The service that Ravenswood is seeking to provide through its own Rate Schedule

already falls under the exclusive purview of the NYISO tariffs. Section 4.1.2 of the Services Tariff provides that:

The ISO shall provide all Market Services in accordance with the terms of the ISO Services Tariff and the ISO Related Agreements. The ISO shall be the sole point of Application for all Market Services provided in the [New York Control Area]. Each Market Participant that sells or purchases Energy,
including Demand Side Resources, sells or purchases Capacity, or provides Ancillary Services in the ISO Administered Markets utilizes Market Services and must take service as a Customer under the Tariff.

The NYISO is the sole provider of Market Services in the New York Control Area in

accordance with the terms of its tariffs and agreements. Among these are ancillary services, which include black start service. Section 4.1.2 of the NYISO Services Tariff, therefore, bars Ravenswood from establishing a separate, stand alone rate schedule to provide the same
service already provided by the NYISO.

Ravenswood’s proposed “Spot Black Start Service” does not pertain to a distinct
product beyond the scope of the existing NYISO tariffs. Rather, Rate Schedule 5 of the
Services Tariff already establishes term-of-service, testing, and compensation requirements

for a generator providing black start service in Con Edison’s service territory. There is no
reason for black start service to be provided anywhere other than under the NYISO Services
Tariff. Indeed, Commission precedent is clear that it must be provided under NYISO tariffs.26
The fact that the proposed Rate Schedule provides the same compensation as that established
in Rate Schedule 5 highlights the overlap between it and the Services Tariff.
The Commission has denied the two previous attempts to file a separate rate schedule to govern a service that properly fell within the scope of the NYISO tariffs. Most recently, in 2010, Ravenswood submitted a proposed stand-alone rate schedule seeking compensation for certain variable costs that it incurred in providing what it called “Minimum Oil Burn Service,” which it contended it was unable to recover under the NYISO tariffs.27 The Commission
rejected Ravenswood’s proposed rate schedule finding that the service actually at issue was
the generation of electricity, which is a Market Service that falls under the exclusive purview
of the NYISO tariffs.28 Because the NYISO is the sole provider of Market Services, the
Commission found that the Services Tariff barred Ravenswood from proposing a duplicate
rate schedule to provide a service exclusively governed by the Services Tariff.29
In 2002, Astoria Generating Company, L.P. (“Astoria”) submitted a proposed stand-
alone “Quick Start Service Tariff.”30 That schedule would have compensated Astoria for a
new ancillary service that it was contractually obliged to provide to Con Edison but which did

26 See, e.g., California Independent System Operator, Corp., 129 FERC ¶ 61,241 at P 102 (2009)

(affirming that even non-Commission-jurisdictional utilities that choose to participate in an ISO-administered market do so pursuant to the terms of the ISO’s tariff.)

27 See TC Ravenswood, LLC, Order Rejecting Proposed Rate Schedules, 135 FERC ¶ 61,087 at P 4 (October 27, 2010).

28 See id. at P 24.

29 See id. at P 25.

30 Astoria Generating Company, L.P., 101 FERC ¶ 61,275 at P 3 (2002).

not then exist in the NYISO markets.31 The Commission rejected Astoria’s tariff and directed
that Astoria instead work through the NYISO stakeholder process to resolve its issues.32
Ultimately, the NYISO added a new Rate Schedule 6 to the Services Tariff to govern sales of
“Quick Start Reserves” within the framework of the NYISO tariff structure.
The Commission has similarly rejected attempts by generators to file stand-alone rate schedules in other markets.33 Although the Commission has sometimes authorized the filing of rate schedules to provide supplemental compensation for generators in market
environments such filings are invariably made by the Independent System Operator (“ISO”)
itself or, at a minimum, pursuant to the terms and conditions of an existing ISO tariff.34

B.Ravenswood’s Rate Schedule Is an Impermissible Unilateral Attempt to

Amend the Services Tariff

With certain narrow exceptions that are not implicated here, Article 19 of the ISO

Agreement requires the NYISO’s independent Board of Directors and its stakeholder

Management Committee to jointly approve proposed amendments to the NYISO tariffs.

Management Committee approval may only be obtained if at least 58% of the NYISO’s

stakeholders approve an amendment.35 This “shared governance” system, which Ravenswood

31 See id. at P 4. By comparison, Ravenswood’s case for a stand-alone rate schedule is weaker than
Astoria’s because it is seeking to provide services that are already covered by the NYISO Services Tariff.

32 See id. at PP 14, 17.

33 See, e.g.¸USGen New England, Inc., 90 FERC ¶ 61,323 (2000), reh’g denied, 92 FERC ¶ 61,020 (2000) (rejecting a proposed SRS agreement because the ISO should be “the first instance for stakeholders to work out their differences on issues such as costs and recovery of costs…”); Sithe New England Holdings, LLC and Sithe New Boston, LLC v. New England Power Pool and ISO New England, Inc., 86 FERC ¶ 61,283 (1999) (rejecting a proposed cost-based rate schedule finding that changes to such compensation mechanisms should be pursued through the stakeholder process); but cf. Otter Tail Power Co., 99 FERC ¶ 61,019 at 61,091 (2002) (“Otter Tail”). The Commission’s finding in Otter Tail is distinguishable from the current situation, because the customer tariff applied only to non-ISO transactions and services. Otter Tail at 61,091.

34 See ISO New England Inc. and New England Power Pool, 129 FERC ¶ 61,008 at P 18 (2009)

(allowing certain generators to file individual cost-based rate schedules pursuant to FPA Section 205, but only under the rubric of an ISO Tariff).

35 See ISO Agreement at Article 7.10(b).

is part of, has successfully balanced stakeholder interests, resolved controversies that would
otherwise have been litigated before the Commission, and enjoys broad stakeholder support.
The Application attempts to bypass the shared governance system by creating separate black start requirements outside of the NYISO tariffs. Moreover, although the proposed Rate Schedule would technically apply only to Ravenswood, its acceptance by the Commission would establish a troublesome precedent that would encourage other market participants to seek to adjust their tariff obligations in a similar fashion. The Application, therefore, is the practical equivalent of a formal tariff amendment filed in contravention of Article 19 of the ISO Agreement.

The Commission has previously rejected attempts by individual entities to make “end-
runs” around ISO stakeholder processes.36 It should do the same here. Otherwise, the
Commission risks undermining the stakeholder process by creating incentives to avoid
collaboration and compromise in favor of unilateral Section 205 filings. The Commission
would also be creating a paradoxical situation in which individual NYISO stakeholders would
have a unilateral right to file tariff amendments that the NYISO itself lacks.
Ravenswood attempts to justify its proposed end-run by claiming that the NYISO’s shared governance system is inherently biased against suppliers. It also suggests that
stakeholder processes should have no role in evaluating issues that, supposedly, only impact a
single market participant.37 Neither assertion has any basis in fact. The Commission has
repeatedly found that the NYISO’s shared governance system complies with both its

36 See, e.g., ISO New England Inc., 130 FERC ¶ 61,145, at P 34 (2010) (“we encourage parties to

participate in the stakeholder process if they seek to change the market rules...”); ISO New England Inc., 125

FERC ¶ 61,154 (2008) (directing that unresolved issues be addressed through the stakeholder process); New

York Independent System Operator, Inc., New York Transmission Owners, 126 FERC ¶ 61,046, at PP 53-54

(2009) (directing that a proposal be “presented to and discussed among … stakeholders and filed as a section 205 proposal, not unilaterally presented to the Commission”).

37 Ravenswood Application at pp. 16-17.

independence and stakeholder responsiveness requirements.38 The shared governance system
is not dominated by any one stakeholder or class of stakeholders. While the transmission
owners as a sector constitute 20% of the vote, the generator owners as a sector constitute

21.5% of the vote.39 Ravenswood offers no support for its claim that a coalition of multiple stakeholder classes is systematically working in concert to disadvantage generators. Nor is
there any basis in Commission precedent for the proposition that stakeholder processes should not address controversial questions or issues related to the rates, terms, and conditions under which products will be sold.

The procedural aspect of the Application should therefore be rejected because it

violates Article 19 of the ISO Agreement, a contract that is on file with the Commission and which Ravenswood has executed.

C.Denying Ravenswood’s Application Would Be Consistent with the D.C.

Circuit’s Atlantic City Decision

In support of its position that the Commission should accept its Rate Schedule,

Ravenswood cites only to the D.C. Circuit’s Atlantic City decision in which the court held that
the Commission may not compel utilities to involuntarily cede their filing rights under Section
205 of the Federal Power Act.40 However, denying Ravenswood’s Application would be
entirely consistent with Atlantic City insofar as it has the effect of requiring Ravenswood to
abide by an agreement that it voluntarily entered into governing Section 205 filings to amend
the Services Tariff. As the D.C. Circuit stated in its Atlantic City decision: “utilities may
choose to voluntarily give up, by contract, some of their rate filing freedom under section

38 See, e.g., Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp., 88 FERC 61,229 (1999) (accepting the NYISO's
sector voting rules as compliant with Order No. 888's requirements and affording "fair representation across a
broad spectrum of market participants"); New York Independent System Operator, Inc., 133 FERC ¶ 61,072
(2010) (affirming that the NYISO "satisfies the RTO/ISO governance requirements of Order No. 719.")

39 A 58% super-majority vote is required to adopt a measure under the shared governance system.

40 See Atlantic City Electric Co. v. FERC, 295 F.3d 1, 9 (D.C. Cir. 2002).

205.”41 Specifically, all NYISO Market Participants who become members of the

Management Committee in order to participate in the NYISO stakeholder governance process
must become signatories to the ISO Agreement.42 Ravenswood voluntarily became a
signatory and thus voluntarily accepted its requirements. As explained above, Ravenswood’s
proposed rate schedule is the practical equivalent of a unilateral filing to amend the Services
Tariff without going through the NYISO’s shared governance process.43 Ravenswood would
have effectively revised the Services Tariff to change the requirements for a black start
provider in Con Edison’s service territory. Ravenswood has voluntarily agreed that such
changes should only be made through the ISO Agreement’s Article 19 process.
Even if Ravenswood’s filing was not an impermissible, unilateral attempt to amend the Services Tariff, denying Ravenswood’s Application would still be consistent with the Atlantic City decision. Public utilities have the right to make Section 205 filings, but the
Commission need not accept them when they are wholly and unnecessarily duplicative of
previously accepted tariff provisions governing the same service. In this case, the
Commission has accepted Rate Schedule 5 of the Services Tariff, including the term-of-
service, testing, and compensation requirements for generators providing black start service in
New York. Notwithstanding Ravenswood’s efforts to characterize “Spot Black Start Service”
as a separate product outside the scope of the NYISO tariffs, it is really just black start service
as addressed in Rate Schedule 5. The Commission may, therefore, reject the Application,

41 See id. at 10-11.

42 See ISO Agreement § 7.01.

43 Commission precedent strongly disfavors attempts to make end-runs around ISO/RTO stakeholder processes. See, e.g., ISO New England, 128 FERC ¶ 61,266 at P 55 (2009) (declining to grant a party’s specific request for relief because the Commission “will not ... circumvent that stakeholder process”); New York
Independent System Operator, Inc., 126 FERC ¶ 61,046 at PP 54 (2009) (stating that while a proposal “may have merit” the proposal should be “presented to and discussed among ... stakeholders”); New England Power Pool, 107 FERC ¶ 61,135 at PP 20, 24 (2004) (declining to accept changes proposed for the first time in a
FERC proceeding by an entity that participated in the stakeholder process because the “suggested revisions have not been vetted through the stakeholder process and could impact various participants”).

without depriving Ravenswood of its rights to make Section 205 filings to establish rates for services beyond the scope of the NYISO tariffs.

For all of these reasons, the proposed Rate Schedule should be rejected as impermissibly duplicative of Rate Schedule 5 of the Services Tariff.

IV.CONCLUSION

WHEREFORE, for the foregoing reasons, the New York Independent System

Operator, Inc., respectfully requests that the Commission take the actions specified above so that TC Ravenswood, LLC may continue to participate in the New York Restoration Program under the NYISO tariffs in a manner consistent with the terms it has proposed. The
Commission, however, should reject Ravenswood’s proposed duplicative, stand-alone rate schedule that would be inconsistent with Commission precedent and TC Ravenswood, LLC’s own voluntary contractual commitment.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/Michael J. Messonnier, Jr.

Michael J. Messonnier, Jr. Counsel to

the New York Independent System Operator, Inc.

April 12, 2012

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that I have this day caused the foregoing document to be served upon

each person designated on the official service list complied by the Secretary in this proceeding in accordance with the requirements of Rule 2010 of the Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 C.F.R. § 385.2010 (2011).

Dated at Washington, DC this 12th day of April, 2012.

By:/s/Ted J. Murphy

Ted J. Murphy

Hunton & Williams LLP

2200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20037