Electric utility migration to regional transmission operations: A case study

Many engineers and planners can benefit from an account of the experiences and technical challenges encountered at one large Mid-Atlantic electric utility during the migration from a traditional, integrated utility into several functionally separate entities in order to allow open electric transmission access. The new utility organization is based on requirements given in the 1996 FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) Orders 888 & 889 and on NERC (North American Electric Reliability Council) deregulated market definitions that include guidelines for a transmission owner, a generation owner, a regional transmission operator (RTO), and other entities. A review of the experience gained and the technical challenges overcome in this transition should be of benefit to others.