Commission hears Southwest Power Pool update on expedited resource adequacy study, planning and transmission rules

The Kansas Corporation Commission on May 29 heard a quarterly update on Southwest Power Pool (SPP) activities from Justin Grady, director of utilities, covering SPP's May 22 filing at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for an expedited resource adequacy study (ERIS, docket ER25‑2296), tariff and policy changes approved by the SPP regional state committee (RSC) and SPP board, and a competitive transmission project selection.

Grady told commissioners SPP filed the ERIS tariff filing with FERC on May 22 and asked for a 60‑day review window. He said the filing is intended to allow certain load‑serving entities to use a one‑time, expedited interconnection study to connect generation roughly six months earlier than through the standard generation interconnection queue — accelerating some connections from the third quarter of 2026 into the first quarter of 2026 if FERC approves the proposal and timing holds.

Grady said ERIS was developed after stakeholders expressed concern that a typical five‑year timetable for new generation may not be sufficient to secure resources needed for regional resource adequacy. He said the ERIS proposal includes limiting conditions — such as requiring a demonstrable projected capacity deficit through 2030, a…