Save Passamaquoddy Bay rebuts Downeast LNG's 2012 April 24 filing re purpose and need and natural gas availability in New England, under CP07-52-000, et. al..

2011 Regional System Plan ISO New England Inc. System Planning October 21, 2011 Preface ISO New England Inc. (ISO) is the not-for-profit corporation responsible for the reliable operation of New Englands power generation and transmission system. It also administers the regions wholesale electricity markets and manages the comprehensive planning of the regional power system. The planning process includes the preparation of an annual Regional System Plan (RSP) in accordance with the ISOs Open Access Transmission Tariff (OATT) and other parts of the Transmission, Markets, and Services Tariff (ISO tariff), approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).1 Regional System Plans meet the tariff requirements by including the following: Forecasts of future annual and peak loads (i.e., the demand for electricity) for a five- to 10-year planning horizon and the need for resources (i.e., capacity) Information about the amounts, locations, and characteristics of market responses (e.g., generation or demand resources or merchant transmission facilities) that can meet the defined system needs to satisfy demandsystemwide and in specific areas Descriptions of transmission projects for the region that could meet the identified needs, as summarized in an RSP Project List, which is updated several times each year and also includes information on project status and cost estimates.2 RSPs also must summarize the ISOs coordination of its short- and long-term system plans with those of neighboring systems, the results of economic studies of the New England system, and information that can be used for improving the design of the regional power markets. In addition to these requirements, the RSPs identify the initiatives and other actions the ISO, state officials, regional policymakers, participating transmission owners (PTOs), and other New England Power Pool (NEPOOL) market participants and stakeholders can take to meet the needs of the system.3 The 2011 Regional System Plan (RSP11) and the regional system planning process were developed in full accordance with the requirements established in the OATT for the regions 10-year electricity needs from 2011 through 2020. The requirements of the OATT, including Attachment K, the ISO Information Policy, interconnection procedures, and requirements for generators and elective upgrades, prescribe how ISO tasks comply with the requirements.4 1 ISO New England Open Access Transmission Tariff, Section II, Attachment K, Regional System Planning Process (December7, 2007), http://www.iso-ne.com/regulatory/tariff/sect_2/oatt/oatt.pdf. ISO New England Inc. Transmission, Markets, and Services Tariff, Part II, Section 48 (2010), http://www.iso-ne.com/regulatory/tariff/ index.html. 2RSP11 is based ...