In June 2023, Congress directed the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to conduct a study of electric transfer capability between Transmission Planning Regions (TPR) in the United States. NERC, in consultation with its six Regional Entities, filed the final Interregional Transfer Capability Study (ITCS) report with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on November 19, 2024, ahead of the December 2 deadline. The report included three parts: Transfer Capability Analysis, Recommendations for Prudent Additions to Transfer Capability, and Recommendations to Meet and Maintain Transfer Capability. To further enhance understanding, NERC also published ITCS interactive visuals on its website, highlighting transfer capabilities between TPRs and study findings for extreme weather scenarios. Public comments on the ITCS were accepted through February 25, 2025. FERC will now review these comments and has 12 months to provide a report to Congress with recommendations, if any, for statutory changes.

Transfer capability measures the grid’s ability to rely on distant electricity resources during energy shortages. The ITCS analyzed transfer capabilities between neighboring TPRs within the U.S., as well as from Canada into the U.S. However, transfers from the U.S. into Canada were initially excluded from the ITCS. Recognizing the interconnected nature of the North American bulk power system, NERC has since expanded the ITCS to identify and recommend transfer capabilities from the U.S. to Canada and between Canadian provinces, providing a complete view of North American transfer capability.

Building on the ITCS methodology, the Canadian Analysis evaluated existing transfer capabilities between Canadian provinces and from the United States to Canada, focusing on energy margin and potential additions.

NERC and the Regional Entities collaborated on the study with Canadian Planning Coordinators, as well as the Canadian Analysis Advisory Group that was established to provide input on study design, transfer directions, study cases, and scenarios. The advisory group will also review and provide input on the draft report. As a cross-border Regional Entity, Midwest Reliability Organization is responsible for the Manitoba and Saskatchewan provincial information in the analysis.

The Transfer Capability Analysis phase of the Canadian study has been completed, and the results were presented to the Canadian Analysis Advisory Group at its February meeting. The Energy Margin and Transfer Additions Analysis has also been completed, and the results will be presented to the Canadian Analysis Advisory Group in March. The full report on the Canadian analysis is expected to be published in the second quarter of 2025. The ITCS initiative page on NERC’s website contains all the published reports to date, along with many other resources. 

– Dianlong Wang, MRO Principal Reliability Assessment Engineer