New York Public Service Commission New York Power Authority, and

New York State Energy Research and

Development Authority

New York Independent System
Operator, Inc.

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)Docket No. EL15-64-000
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REQUEST FOR LEAVE TO ANSWER AND ANSWER OF THE
NEW YORK INDEPENDENT SYSTEM OPERATOR, INC.

Pursuant to Rules 212 and 213 of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (the

“Commission’s”) Rules of Practice and Procedure,1 the New York Independent System

Operator, Inc. (“NYISO”) respectfully requests leave to submit the following brief answer to the Answer of Independent Power Producers of New York, Inc. (“IPPNY Answer”) in this
proceeding. As discussed below, the NYISO opposes IPPNY’s request that the filing deadline for the renewable exemption be stayed until 60 days after the Commission issues a ruling on remand concerning the renewable exemption in ISO New England, Inc. (“ISO-NE”). The
Commission should instead grant the NYISO’s original request for a 45 day extension of time to make its compliance filing, including with respect to a renewable exemption.

1 18 C.F.R. §§ 385.212 and 385.213.

I.Request for Leave to Answer

The NYISO recognizes that the Commission generally discourages answers to answers. But the Commission should exercise its discretion2 and accept this answer because it helps to clarify the issue raised by IPPNY and will assist the Commission’s review.

II.ANSWER

The IPPNY Answer contends that the Commission should stay the compliance filing

deadline with respect to the establishment of a renewable exemption in New York until 60 days
after the Commission takes action in response to the recent United States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit (“Circuit Court”) Clerk’s order voluntarily remanding the appeal of
ISO-NE’s renewable exemption.3 IPPNY claims that this is justified by “administrative
efficiency.”4 It suggests that granting the stay would permit the Commission “to reconsider the
merits and scope of ISO-NE’s renewable exemption without requiring the NYISO, its
stakeholders, and Commission staff to spend considerable time and resources on a proposal that
may ultimately be at odds with any Commission policy on a renewable energy exemption
established in the ISO-NE case.”5

The NYISO is not a party to the ISO-NE renewable exemption appeal or to the

Commission proceedings related to it. Nevertheless, it has reviewed both the Circuit Court

2 See, e.g., Morgan Stanley Capital Group, Inc. v. New York Independent System Operator, Inc.,

93 FERC ¶ 61,017 at 61,036 (2000) (accepting an answer that was “helpful in the development of the
record... ”); New York Independent System Operator, Inc., 91 FERC ¶ 61,218 at 61,797 (2000)
(allowing “the NYISO’s Answer of April 27, 2000, [because it was deemed] useful in addressing the
issues arising in these proceedings... ”); Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp., 88 FERC ¶ 61,138 at

61,381 (1999) (accepting prohibited pleadings because they helped to clarify the issues and because of the complex nature of the proceeding).

3 Clerk’s Order, NextEra Energy Res. LLC v. Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm’n, Case No. 15-070 (D.C. Cir. Dec. 1. 2015).

4 IPPNY Answer at 5.
5 Id.

Clerk’s order and the Commission’s November 20 motion for a voluntary remand.6 It seems
clear that the Commission did not seek a remand because it questioned the merits of its earlier
determinations approving renewable exemptions under ISO-New England’s and the NYISO’s
respective tariffs. Instead, it appears that the Commission was concerned about the validity of a
factual assumption that it relied upon in approving the 200 MW renewable exemption cap in
ISO-NE. Specifically, the Commission expected that sloped demand curves would be in place in
ISO-NE’s local capacity zones when it approved a 200 MW renewable exemption. But such
curves have not yet been established in ISO-NE and recent developments indicate that they may
not be in the near future.7

This concern is not applicable to the NYISO. The NYISO already has sloped Demand
Curves. The NYISO is working to develop a renewable exemption that would be tailored to
avoid both unnecessary mitigation and the danger of artificial price suppression given existence
of sloped capacity Demand Curves and other market features. The factual assumptions
underlying the Commission’s order directing the NYISO to implement a renewable exemption
tailored to conditions in New York have not changed. It therefore does not seem that any
Commission action concerning the appropriateness of the ISO-NE 200 MW renewable
exemption in the absence of sloped local capacity zone demand curves would be relevant to the
NYISO’s development of its own compliance filing. IPPNY’s requested relief therefore does not
appear to be justified.

6 Motion of Resp’t, NextEra Energy Res. LLC v. Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm’n, Case No. 15-
070 (D.C. Cir. Nov 20. 2015) (“Motion for Voluntary Remand”).

7 See Motion for Voluntary Remand at 2-3.

III.CONCLUSION

WHEREFORE, for the foregoing reasons, the New York Independent System Operator,
Inc. respectfully requests that the Commission accept this answer and renews its request that the
Commission grant its request for a 45 day extension of the compliance deadline, and reject
IPPNY’s request for a stay of the obligation to make a renewable exemption compliance filing.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Ted J. Murphy

Ted J. Murphy

Counsel for the New York Independent System Operator, Inc.

Dated: December 14, 2015

cc:Michael Bardee

Anna Cochrane
Kurt Longo
Max Minzner
Daniel Nowak
Larry Parkinson

J. Arnold Quinn
Douglas Roe

Kathleen Schnorf
Jamie Simler
Gary Will

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that I have this day served the foregoing document upon each person

designated on the official service list compiled 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.
Dated at Rensselaer, NY this 14th day of December 2015.

/s/ Joy A. Zimberlin

Joy A. Zimberlin

New York Independent System Operator, Inc.

10 Krey Blvd.

Rensselaer, NY 12144 (518) 356-6207