40.14 Additional SDU Studies

40.14.1 Notice of SDUs Requiring Additional Studies

If a new System Deliverability Upgrade is identified (i.e., a System Deliverability Upgrade not previously identified and cost allocated in a Class Year Study or Cluster Study and not substantially similar to a System Deliverability Upgrade previously identified and cost allocated in a Class Year Study or Cluster Study), the ISO will notify all members of the ISO Operating Committee’s Interconnection Projects Facilities Study Working Group that the ISO has made such a determination, with such notice to be provided as soon as practicable after the ISO presents the preliminary Cluster Study Deliverability Study results to stakeholders and the ISO Operating Committee approves such results.  This notice will be referred to as the “Notice of SDUs Requiring Additional Study.”  At the same time the ISO issues the Notice of SDUs Requiring Additional Study, the ISO will issue a notice to only the Interconnection Customers of those Cluster Study Projects for which the ISO has identified System Deliverability Upgrades requiring Additional SDU Studies.  Each Interconnection Customer to which such notice is issued shall respond to the ISO within ten (10) Calendar Days to indicate whether it elects to (1) proceed or not proceed with an Additional SDU Study for the identified System Deliverability Upgrades; or (2) pursue one of multiple System Deliverability Upgrade alternatives identified by the ISO. The option Interconnection Customer elects will be evaluated in the Additional SDU Study.  If the Interconnection Customer does not elect to pursue an Additional SDU Study for required System Deliverability Upgrades, it may only accept or reject its Deliverable MW, if any, in the Cluster Study.  If the ISO does not receive the Interconnection Customer’s election by the deadline, the Interconnection Customer (1) will be deemed to have notified the ISO that it elects to not proceed with an Additional SDU Study for the identified System Deliverability Upgrades; and (2) will only be permitted to accept or reject its Deliverable MW, if any, in the Cluster Study.

40.14.2 Additional SDU Studies

40.14.2.1  If no Interconnection Customer of a Cluster Study Project to which the Notice of SDUs Requiring Additional Study is issued elects to proceed with such additional studies, the Cluster Study will proceed to the Final Decision Period set forth in Section 40.15 of this Attachment HH.  Alternatively, if any Interconnection Customer of a Cluster Study Project to which the Notice of SDUs Requiring Additional Study is issued elects to proceed with such additional studies, the Cluster Study will proceed to the Final Decision Period set forth in Section 40.15 of this Attachment HH; provided, however, that the Additional SDU Study will be performed separate and apart from the Cluster Study; provided further that pursuant to Section 40.15.2 of this Attachment HH, an Interconnection Customer that elects to proceed with an Additional SDU Study must proceed with the Final Decision Period with the rest of the Cluster for that Cluster Study for its CTOAF and SUF Project Cost Allocation, its SDU Project Cost Allocation for any other System Deliverability Upgrades, and Deliverable MW, if any.

40.14.2.2  The ISO will submit to the Connecting Transmission Owner, Affected Transmission Owner, or Affected System Operator any System Deliverability Upgrades identified by the ISO in the Additional SDU Study.  Upon the ISO’s submission of the identified System Deliverability Upgrades, the applicable Connecting Transmission Owner, Affected Transmission Owner, or Affected System Operator shall determine a +30%/-15% estimate of the costs of the equipment, engineering and design work, procurement and construction work and commissioning of the required System Deliverability Upgrades that are identified by the ISO in accordance with Good Utility Practice and, for each of these cost categories, shall specify and estimate the cost of the required work.  The Transmission Owner will calculate cost estimates based on the assumption that the activities for which the cost estimates are calculated are performed by the Transmission Owner and shall be subject to reasonable exclusions (e.g., environmental, subsurface conditions, permitting, site acquisition costs).  The Connecting Transmission Owner, Affected Transmission Owner, or Affected System Operator shall also determine a preliminary schedule showing the estimated time required to complete the engineering and design, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning phases for the required System Deliverability Upgrades. 

40.14.2.3  Following the ISO’s receipt of the final cost estimates and preliminary schedules from the Connecting Transmission Owners, Affected Transmission Owners, and Affected System Operators pursuant to Section 40.14.2.2, the ISO shall complete the draft Additional SDU Study report.  The ISO will present the draft Additional SDU Study report to the ISO Operating Committee’s Transmission Planning Advisory Subcommittee and Interconnection Project Facilities Study Working Group.  The ISO will then present the draft Additional SDU Study report to the ISO’s Operating Committee for its approval.  Upon the ISO Operating Committee’s approval, the Additional SDU Study report will be final.  If more than one System Deliverability Upgrade is addressed in an Additional SDU Study for a given Cluster Study Process, the ISO may develop and present a separate Additional SDU Study report and conduct a separate Additional SDU Study Decision Period for each individual System Deliverability Upgrade.

40.14.2.4   If an Additional SDU Study report is approved by the ISO Operating Committee prior to or at the same time as the Cluster Study Report is approved by the ISO Operating Committee, the ISO will perform a combined Final Decision Period and Additional SDU Study Decision Period.  If an Additional SDU Study report is approved by the ISO Operating Committee: (i) after the Cluster Study Report is approved by the ISO Operating Committee but (ii) at least sixty (60) Calendar Days prior to the scheduled Phase 1 Study Start Date, the ISO will commence a separate Additional SDU Study Decision Period pursuant to Section 40.15.2 of this Attachment HH.  The ISO shall terminate the Additional SDU Study if: (i) there is not sufficient time to commence the Additional SDU Study Decision Period pursuant to this Section 40.14.2.4, (ii) the Additional SDU Study report is not approved by the ISO Operating Committee prior to ten (10) Business Days prior to the scheduled Phase 1 Study Start Date for the subsequent Cluster Study Process, or (iii) the Additional SDU Study Decision Period is not completed prior to ten (10) Business Days prior to the scheduled Phase 1 Study Start Date for the subsequent Cluster Study Process.

40.14.2.5   If an Interconnection Customer is part of an Additional SDU Study: (i) that does not complete in time for the Interconnection Customer to proceed to the Additional SDU Study Decision Period pursuant to Section 40.15.2 of this Attachment HH or (ii) for which the Additional SDU Study Decision Period is terminated, the following provisions apply:

(1)  The Interconnection Customer may later request, any number of times, to enter a subsequent Cluster Study (i.e., a Cluster Study subsequent to the one in which the Additional SDU Study was triggered) or an Expedited Deliverability Study and be evaluated for CRIS.

(2)  To enter a subsequent Cluster Study, the Interconnection Customer must satisfy the applicable entry requirements for an Interconnection Request or CRIS-Only Request in the Application Window for the Cluster Study Process set forth in Section 40.5.4 of this Attachment HH.  To enter an Expedited Deliverability Study, the Interconnection Customer must satisfy the entry requirements set forth in Section 40.19.2 of this Attachment HH.