Participants in the North Carolina Transmission Planning Collaborative (NCTPC), made up of representatives from the state’s electric utilities, have identified 19 major projects that will maintain and improve the electric transmission network as part of the 2018-2028 Collaborative Transmission Plan (2018 plan) for the state. The projects represent more than US$657 million in investments over the next decade.
The major transmission projects identified in the 2018 plan are expected to be implemented during the next 10 years by the transmission owners to preserve system reliability and improve economic electricity transfers across the transmission network. Major projects are defined as those requiring transmission investments of more than US$10 million.
The transmission projects for Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Carolinas in the 2018 plan include one new Duke Energy Progress project, four new Duke Energy Carolinas projects, and two Duke Energy Progress projects that were placed in service. In addition, two Duke Energy Carolinas projects and one Duke Energy Progress project were canceled. Appendices B and C in the 2018 plan report contain the specific details on each of the 19 major reliability projects identified in the plan.
In-service dates and cost estimates for some projects that are planned or underway have been revised.
The NCTPC was formed in 2005 to develop a shared plan for enhancements of the electric transmission system in the state. Participants include Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Progress, North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation and ElectriCities of North Carolina.
Since 2005, projects totaling more than US$1.5 billion have been identified in the NCTPC plans. More than US$688 million in projects have been placed in service through the end of 2018, $606 million are still in the planning stage and another $244 million are being deferred until after 2028 or cancelled as a result of changing transmission system requirements. The 2017 plan included an estimate of US$426 million for 17 projects. The plan is updated annually.
The NCTPC was established to provide participants and other stakeholders an opportunity to participate in the electric transmission planning process for North Carolina and develop a single, coordinated transmission plan that includes reliability and local-economic-study transmission-planning considerations. The group’s priority is to appropriately balance costs, benefits and risks associated with the use of transmission and generation resources.
Another goal of the NCTPC is to study the strength of North Carolina’s transmission infrastructure. The scope of the 2018 NCTPC study included a base-reliability analysis for transmission needs to meet load growth between 2018 and 2028. In 2018, the NCTPC also examined the interconnection and network-transmission-system impacts of serving 300 MW of hypothetical load at six potential economic development sites that would have a choice of electric provider.
“The NCTPC brings all the state’s utilities together to assess the future of our electric-transmission system and leverage the opportunities provided by the state’s changing utility landscape, including the continued adoption of renewables, improved energy efficiency and the incorporation of edge-of-grid technology,” said North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation’s John Lemire, chair of the NCTPC Oversight Steering Committee. “This year we also conducted a local economic study to determine the electric-transmission infrastructure needs for several economic-development sites that will support the growth and prosperity of communities across the state. All of these efforts allow us to better serve utility customers throughout North Carolina and ensure that we are providing them with the most reliable and affordable power possible.”
The NCTPC process includes active involvement of other market participants and stakeholders through a Transmission Advisory Group, which is open to all interested parties.
