Balancing Authority Area Services

BPA provides various Balancing Authority Area (BAA) Services to generators operating within BPA's BAA (formerly known as Control Area). These services are essential to the safety and reliability of the Federal Columbia River Transmission System (FCRTS) owned and operated by BPA.

For most generators that are connected directly to the FCRTS, the BAA services are provided within the terms of the applicable Interconnection Agreement.
  All other generators in BPA's BAA, including those interconnected to other utilities and some 'grandfathered' generators directly connected to the FCRTS, operate under separate Control Area Services Agreements or Balancing Authority Area Services Agreements (BAASA): These services include:

• Generation Imbalance Service
• Energy Imbalance Service
• Operating Reserves and, in some cases,
• Variable Energy Resource Balancing Service (VERBS)

The full descriptions of all the covered services are set forth in detail in BPA's Transmission and Ancillary Services Rates and General Rate Schedule Provisions, in BPA's Business Practices, and in appropriate Bulletins published from time to time on an 'as-needed' basis. Typical project milestones and timeline are illustrated in this graphic. Any load or generator contemplating requesting a change of BAA, either to BPA or to another Balancing Authority, should contact the appropriate Transmission Account Executive at the earliest opportunity. For assistance in procedural matters, please contact the Customer Service Engineer for Balancing Authority Area services.

Related Links

Reports	Balancing Authority Area Services Materials
BPA FERC Order 845 Study Report Interconnection Request Queue	Rates Transmission Business Practices Technical Requirements for Interconnection Typical BAA (Balancing Authority Area) Project Milestones