Common use of Stakeholder Process for Regional Rate Filings Clause in Contracts

Stakeholder Process for Regional Rate Filings. (i) Absent unanticipated circumstances, every PTO proposal to modify regional rates in accordance with Section 3.04(b) shall be presented by the PTOs to the appropriate stakeholder Technical Committee(s) for consideration and an advisory vote. The Technical Committee, at its next meeting following the one at which the intial presentation is made (which shall be no later than 30 days after any proposal is made), shall: (i) vote on the merits of the proposal as presented or with changes accepted by the PTOs; or (ii) by motion and vote of 66-2/3%, defer action on any proposal presented if it reasonably determines that additional information should and could be provided to more adequately inform the members of such Technical Committee before a vote on the merits is taken. Any deferral shall be for no more than 30 days, after which the PTOs may move for an advisory vote upon their proposal at the next meeting of the Technical Committee (which shall be held within 30 days of the start of the deferral). At that time, the Technical Committee may vote on the merits of the proposal as presented or with changes approved by the Committee, or may vote to oppose the proposal on the grounds that sufficient information has still not been provided, but may not defer consideration of the proposal for any further period without the consent of the PTOs. Failure of the Technical Committee to vote within the time frames set forth in this paragraph shall advance the process to the next step, and in no event shall a period of longer than 60 days be required for the PTOs to submit a proposal to modify regional rate design in accordance with Section 3.04(b) to the Participants Committee. (ii) Absent unanticipated circumstances and after the fulfillment of the procedures outlined in Section 3.04(l)(i), every PTO proposal to modify regional rates in accordance with Section 3.04(b) shall be presented by the PTOs to the stakeholder Participants Committee for an advisory vote, along with a report of any action, failure to act or advisory vote taken by any Technical Committee(s). Such report shall be considered by the Participants Committee no later than the first regularly scheduled meeting following notification of that presentation. The Participants Committee shall: (i) vote on the merits of the proposal as presented or with changes accepted by the PTOs; or (ii) by motion and vote defer action on any proposal if it reasonably determines that the proposal presented is materially different from the proposal presented to the Technical Committee, and was not voted on by the Technical Committee. Any deferral shall result in a repeat of the processes outlined above. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Participants Committee may, at its discretion, consider and vote upon any proposal submitted to it and such a vote shall have the same effect as if the proposal had first been voted upon by a Technical Committee. The Participants Committee may not defer action on any item that has been voted on by a Technical Committee and presented to the Participants Committee for an advisory vote unless the PTOs consent to such deferral. If the Participant Committee has not scheduled a meeting to vote on the merits of a PTO proposal to modify regional rates in accordance with Section 3.04(b) prior to date that the PTOs intend to submit such a proposal to the FERC, then the PTOs shall request that the Participants Committee schedule a special meeting to conduct an advisory vote on the merits of such proposal. In no event shall the PTOs be required to wait for a Participant Committee advisory vote for a period of longer than 90 days after initial notification of such proposal to stakeholders prior to submitting a proposal to modify regional rate design in accordance with Section 3.04(b) to the FERC. (iii) An advisory vote by the Participants Committee on the merits of any proposal, whether in favor of or in opposition, terminates the stakeholder proceedings absent voluntary resubmission of the same or a modified proposal by the PTOs, at a future time. The PTOs shall report the results of such advisory vote in any relevant filing made by the PTOs with the FERC. A failure by the Participants Committee to vote within the time frames outlined above terminates the Participant proceedings absent voluntary resubmission of the same or a modified proposal by the PTOs at a future time. (iv) Nothing in this Section 3.04(l) shall limit the ability of the PTOs to submit a filing pursuant to Section 3.04(g) to modify regional rates in the event the PTOs conclude that a filing to modify regional rates is required due to unanticipated circumstances, provided that the PTOs shall provide such notification to the stakeholder Participant Committee or undertake such consultation with the stakeholder Technical Committee(s) and Participant Committee as is possible under the circumstances and shall provide the Participants Committee with a written statement setting forth the circumstances that do not permit the notification or consultation otherwise required by this Section 3.04(l). (v) The process set forth in this Section 3.04(l) shall not apply to filings related to regional rates submitted to the FERC on an informational basis. The applicable process for review of such informational filings shall be set forth in the ISO OATT.