2.5. ERMUSR 09-11-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Docket No. TS11-2-000, et al. - 5 - 10. Turning to the merits of Owensboro's waiver request, Louisville Gas claims that other circumstances are present that warrant denying Owensboro's request for waiver of the Standards of Conduct requirements.15 Louisville Gas believes that without the discipline required by the Standards of Conduct, Owensboro could use non-public information about generator or transmission outages to maximize sales opportunities and improperly influence the market. In its answer, Owensboro argues that (a) certain communications restrictions on its power marketer and transmission provider and (b) certain reliability agreements restrain its ability to share information, and should mitigate Louisville Gas's concerns.16 Louisville Gas responds that such restraints do not provide adequate assurance that Owensboro will not use such information to benefit itself or its affiliates if the waiver request is granted.' 11. Having considered the representations in Owensboro's filing, the opposition thereto, and the subsequent answers, the Commission grants Owensboro's requests for waivers from both the requirement to maintain and establish an OASIS and the requirement to comply with the Standards of Conduct. As both parties note, the Commission generally grants waivers of its Standards of Conduct requirements to small electric utilities that have not relinquished control over the operation of their transmission systems to an ISO/RTO, which remain in effect unless and until the Commission takes is Louisville Gas Protest at 1-2. 16 Owensboro Answer at 1-3. Owensboro adds that Big Rivers Electric Corporation (Big Rivers) has little incentive to share information with Owensboro because, even though Owensboro has hired Big Rivers to perform certain transmission- operation functions, Big Rivers is Owensboro's competitor. Owensboro Answer at 8-9. Owensboro also disputes that Big Rivers would use Owensboro as a conduit for sharing information with ACES Power Marketing (ACES). In this regard, Owensboro explains that Big Rivers is a member of ACES and, thus, it would have no need to use Owensboro as a conduit for such communications. Moreover, Big Rivers has adopted Standards of Conduct (filed with the Commission) that prohibit Big Rivers from providing non-public transmission information to ACES directly or from using anyone as a conduit to do so. Id. Owensboro also notes that Big Rivers represented to the Commission that it had already implemented measures with respect to its Transmission Function to guarantee that it is physically and functionally independent from activities associated with ACES and those measures are codified in its Standards of Conduct. Id. at 9-10. " Louisville Gas Answer at 1-2.