Bulletin Index 2001

We periodically post bulletins here to inform customers of developments within BC Hydro Transmission and/or the industry and/or to solicit feedback on policy changes. These announcements can be time sensitive, so please subscribe for the updates.

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Our Transmission Scheduling bulletins for 2001 are listed below. Select another year in the drop-down to view bulletins from the archive.

Title	Bulletin Date
eTag Version 1.7 Implementation	December 14, 11:18 a.m.
Post Schedule Details Functionality - Update	December 14, 8:52 a.m.
Displacements: Matching Requests	December 12, 9:25 a.m.
Daily Transmission and Energy Settlements Reports - Now Available	December 4, 1:41 p.m.
OASIS Now Operational	November 21, 8:43 a.m.
Pre-Schedule 00:00:00 (Midnight) ATC	November 20, 5:32 p.m.
Pre-Schedule ATC Now Available for Sale	November 20, 12:04 p.m.
OASIS Outage	November 20, 7:52 a.m.
Scheduling Enhancements and New Business Practices - Implementation	November 13, 9:47 a.m.
Post Schedule Details Functionality	November 6, 4:46 p.m.
OASIS Now Operational	November 5, 10:17 a.m.
OASIS Outage	November 5, 8:59 a.m.
Scheduling Enhancements and New Business Practices	November 1, 2:06 p.m.
NW Oasis Node to Block Customers Who Do Not Comply with FERC's S&CP Document	October 29, 3:37 p.m.
OASIS Now Operational	October 26, 6:03 p.m.
Pre-Schedule 00:00:00 (Midnight) ATC	October 26, 5:31 p.m.
Pre-Schedule ATC Now Available for Sale	October 26, 1:09 p.m.
OASIS Outage	October 26, 9:27 a.m.
NW Oasis Node to Block Customers with Excessive Transactions	October 24, 9:53 a.m.
Examples of Ricochet Energy Schedules, Loss eTags, Interruptible Energy Schedules, and Mixed Class Wheelthroughs	October 15, 10:54 a.m.
NW Oasis Site Off-line for Specified Time on Thursday, 11 October 2001	October 10, 4:24 p.m.
OASIS ONLINE	October 7, 4:04 p.m.
OASIS OFF LINE	October 7, 1:43 p.m.
Supplementary Information re: SIS for 311567	September 26, 2:28 p.m.
Daily Prices on OASIS - RESOLVED	September 5, 4:38 p.m.

eTag Version 1.7 Implementation

Posted on December 14 , 11:18 a.m.

As a result of changing industry requirements, the North American Electric Reliability Council requires all control areas, transmission providers, purchasing/selling entities and security coordinators to implement eTag Version 1.7 requirements by 6 March 2002. This requirement is viewed as a functional upgrade to eTag Version 1.67 and provides new functionality and flexibility.

Specifically, this upgrade means that all market participants must use software that interfaces with eTag Version 1.7 specifications for the tagging system to function. Therefore, by 6 March 2002 all entities must have operable back-end systems integrated with eTag Version 1.7, trained personnel available, and all interoperability issues resolved.

Due to the change in structure from eTag Version 1.67 to Version 1.7, there will be changes in the implementation of existing functionality. As a result, Grid Operations will be releasing new business practices, in the future, associated with this upgrade prior to implementation.

For details regarding eTag changes or if you have any issues or concerns related to implementation of this functionality contact Brenda Ambrosi by 4 January 2002.

Post Schedule Details Functionality - Update

Posted on December 14 , 8:52 a.m.

Further to the bulletin posted on 6 November 2001 @ 16:46, we hereby advise all customers that the Post Schedule Details functionality will not be operational in December 2001, as originally anticipated. Rather, this functionality will be released in February 2002. However, we will post another bulletin closer to the release of this functionality, specifying the precise time of implementation.

As discussed in the above-noted bulletin, this functionality will post daily energy schedule information to OASIS for schedules that have flowed on the previous day as well as post the curtailment details that occurred for those energy schedules.

Displacements: Matching Requests

Posted on December 12 , 9:25 a.m.

Please replace Section 5.4.3, Matching Requests, in your copy of Grid Operations' Scheduling Business Practices. Specifically, Sections 5.4.3(3), (5), and (7) have been augmented, which are highlighted in red and will be effective 13:00 on 13 December 2001.

Matching Requests is part of the displacement process that occurs in pre-schedule only, NOT real-time. Refer to Section 5.4, entitled Displacements, in its entirety for all the rules associated with the displacement process.

Daily Transmission and Energy Settlements Reports - Now Available

Posted on December 4 , 1:41 p.m.

Grid Operations is now producing Daily Settlements Reports containing detailed hourly breakdown of all transmission services incurred by customers in the previous day. Customers who would like access to their Daily Settlement Reports by this method are required to complete the Electronic Website Access Agreement containing the terms and conditions for such access.

We will issue a logon ID and password to the person designated in the Agreement upon receipt. The completed Agreement should be faxed to Grid Operations, Settlements & Billing, at (604) 296-1649.

If you have completed the Website Access Agreement and have received your logon ID and password, access your Daily Settlements Reports as follows:

Select Reports.

Enter your Username and Password. Click submit.

If you cannot remember your Username and Password, click on 'Forgot your username or password?'. Enter your e-mail ID. Click submit. If your e-mail matches what is on file, you will be e-mailed your Username and Password within minutes. If you are set up for multiple companies, you will only be e-mailed the first occurrence of your Username and Password. If you have changed your e-mail address or have comments, concerns, data errors or wish to report discrepancies, please notify BCHA.GOsettle@bchydro.bc.ca

Note that reports from 26 November 2001 onward are valid; however, they do not contain ancillary service charges. Reports prior to 26 November 2001 contain test data only and will be removed within the next week.

OASIS Now Operational

Posted on November 21 , 8:43 a.m.

Further to the bulletin posted 20 November, 2001 @ 07:52 PDT, we are pleased to announce that OASIS is operational effective immediately. If there are any OASIS requests QUEUED during this outage, they will be invalidated. Thank you for your patience regarding this matter.

Pre-Schedule 00:00:00 (Midnight) ATC

Posted on November 20 , 5:32 p.m.

Since OASIS is still off-line and we do not know when it will be operational, attached is our Pre-schedule 00:00:00 (midnight) ATC information for 22 November, 2001 which is available for sale on 21 November, 2001 at 00:00:00 PDT

Please fax your transmission requests to (604) 473-2721 using the Transmission Service Fax Request Form.

If OASIS becomes operational prior to 00:00:00 (midnight) 21 November, 2001 the OASIS ATC postings will supercede the ATC posted in this bulletin.

Please note: While backup procedures are in place, do not QUEUE requests in the OASIS system. A new bulletin will be posted to this website when the OASIS outage is over.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Pre-Schedule ATC Now Available for Sale

Posted on November 20 , 12:04 p.m.

OASIS is still off-line and we do not know when it will be operational. However, we will keep you posted on the status.

As a result of this unforeseen outage, attached is our Preschedule ATC information for 21 November, 2001 which is available for sale today (20 November, 2001) at 12:30pm PDT.

Please fax your transmission requests to (604)473-2722 using the Transmission Service Fax Request Form.

OASIS Outage

Posted on November 20 , 7:52 a.m.

OASIS is not functioning in both Pre-schedule and Realtime. Therefore, backup procedures are now in place until further notice. This outage should be resolved shortly and we will post another notice once OASIS is back on-line. Thank you for your patience.

Scheduling Enhancements and New Business Practices - Implementation

Posted on November 13 , 9:47 a.m.

Further to the bulletin posted on 1 November 2001 at 14:06, we are pleased to announce the implementation of our Scheduling Application enhancements effective 13:00, today, 13 November 2001. These enhancements include the calculation of unused transmission and how it applies to ATC calculations, granting of remaining capacity in real-time, immediate updates of Counterflow ATC upon scheduling energy, and Super Blankets.

Post Schedule Details Functionality

Posted on November 6 , 4:46 p.m.

We are pleased to introduce the Post Schedule Details functionality, which will be operational in December 2001. We will post another bulletin closer to the release of this functionality, specifying the precise time of implementation.

This functionality will run once per day between 02:00:00 and 06:00:00, posting the previous day's information to OASIS so that customers can view detailed information regarding scheduled uses of reserved capacity.

Specifically, Post Schedule Details serves two functions. First, it posts energy schedule information to OASIS for schedules that have flowed on the previous day. Second, it posts the curtailment details that occurred for those energy schedules.

OASIS Now Operational

Posted on November 5 , 10:17 a.m.

Further to the bulletin posted 5 November 2001 at 8:59, we are pleased to announce that OASIS is operational effective immediately. Thank you for your patience regarding this matter.

OASIS Outage

Posted on November 5 , 8:59 a.m.

Scheduling Enhancements and New Business Practices

Posted on November 1 , 2:06 p.m.

We are pleased to introduce enhancements to our Scheduling Application, which will be implemented on 13 November 2001. We will post another bulletin closer to the release of these enhancements, specifying the precise time of implementation.

These new functionalities include improvements to the calculation of unused transmission and how it applies to ATC calculations, granting of remaining capacity in real-time, immediate updates of Counterflow ATC upon scheduling energy, and Super Blankets. These features should provide additional flexibility in transmission scheduling for customers and are discussed in detail in the above link. Please add the enhancements document to your copy of Grid Operations' Scheduling Business Practices.

NW Oasis Node to Block Customers Who Do Not Comply with FERC's S&CP Document

Posted on October 29 , 3:37 p.m.

Further to the bulletin posted on 24 October 2001 at 9:53, this is to advise customers that have automated request submissions, and automated polling of requests and offerings that their automated systems must be compliant with FERC's Standards and Communication Protocols (S&CP) version 1.4, section 4, which sets out interface requirements. A library of other OASIS documents is found at Library of OASIS Documents.

Since 21 October 2001, the NW OASIS node has identified requests/queries that are poorly formatted and non-compliant with S&CP, which are consuming excessive computer resources thereby compromising the integrity of the NW OASIS node. As a result, the NW OASIS node will be forced to block all transactions for those non-compliant customers.

The following procedures augment those set out in the bulletin posted on 24 October at 9:53. If any customer is blocked, they should contact Brenda Ambrosi from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.

OASIS Now Operational

Posted on October 26 , 6:03 p.m.

Further to the bulletin posted 26 October 2001 at 9:27, we are pleased to announce that OASIS is operational effective immediately. Thank you for your patience regarding this matter.

Pre-Schedule 00:00:00 (Midnight) ATC

Posted on October 26 , 5:31 p.m.

Since OASIS is still off-line and we do not know when it will be operational, attached is our Pre-schedule 00:00:00 (midnight) ATC information for 28 October 2001, which is available for sale on 27 October 2001 at 00:00:00 am PDT.

Please fax your transmission requests to (604) 473-2722 using the Transmission Service Fax Request Form.

If OASIS becomes operational prior to 00:00:00 (midnight) on 27 October 2001, the OASIS ATC postings will supercede the ATC posted in this bulletin.

Pre-Schedule ATC Now Available for Sale

Posted on October 26 , 1:09 p.m.

OASIS is still off-line and we do not know when it will be operational. However, we will keep you posted on the status.

As a result of this unforeseen outage, attached is our Pre-schedule ATC information for 27 October 2001, which is available for sale today (26 October 2001) at 1:30 pm PDT.

Please fax your transmission requests to (604) 473-2722 using the Transmission Service Fax Request Form.

OASIS Outage

Posted on October 26 , 9:27 a.m.

It appears that OASIS is not functioning properly in Realtime. Therefore, backup procedures are now in place until further notice. This outage should be resolved shortly and we will post another notice once OASIS is back on-line.

Pre-schedule is not open for business at this point in time until the OASIS problem is resolved. Thank you for your patience.

NW Oasis Node to Block Customers with Excessive Transactions

Posted on October 24 , 9:53 a.m.

Since 00:00:00 on 21 October, some customers have been submitting thousands of requests in rapid fire mode and performing constant transtatus and transoffering queries on the NW OASIS node. If this behaviour continues, the NW OASIS node will be forced to block all transactions for those particular customers. If any customer is blocked, they should contact Brenda Ambrosi at 604-293-5852 and leave their name and telephone number on her voice mail if she is unavailable. BC Hydro Grid Operations (Grid Operations) will inform the relevant party at the NW OASIS node, who in turn, will contact that particular Grid Operations' customer for resolution of the situation. We thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Examples of Ricochet Energy Schedules, Loss eTags, Interruptible Energy Schedules, and Mixed Class Wheelthroughs

Posted on October 15 , 10:54 a.m.

We understand that customers are unclear how to submit correct ricochet energy schedules, loss eTags, interruptible energy schedules, and mixed class wheelthroughs. As a result, we have assembled examples of how to accomplish these transactions.

(1) Ricochet Energy Schedules
(2) Loss eTags
(3) Interruptible Energy Schedules
(4) Mixed Class Wheelthroughs

NW Oasis Site Off-line for Specified Time on Thursday, 11 October 2001

Posted on October 10 , 4:24 p.m.

BPA has notified us that the NW OASIS site will be off-line from 5:00 a.m. to 6:30 a.m on Thursday, 11 October 2001. During this time period, the system will be upgraded wherein several imperfections will be rectified and various new features will be added.

The scheduled outage will affect Real-time operations. Therefore, customers must follow the official Backup Procedures for an OASIS Outage located in Section 12.2(b) of our Scheduling Business Practices. That is, The Real-time Office will accept telephone requests for ATC during the outage, but customers must follow up by faxing the Transmission Service Fax Request Form to the Real-time Office fax number at (604) 473-2738. In addition, note that BC Hydro will be the default supplier for all Ancillary Services reservations including losses, and that, if required, BC Hydro will perform curtailments.

Thank you for your patience regarding this matter.

OASIS ONLINE

Posted on October 7 , 4:04 p.m.

We are please to announce that backup procedure that were in place for real time and preschedule now have been lifted as of 16:15 - October 7, 2001.

OASIS OFF LINE

Posted on October 7 , 1:43 p.m.

It appears that OASIS is not functioning properly in both Realtime and Preschedule as of 10:27am, October 7th, 2001. Backup procedures are now in place until further notice.

Supplementary Information re: SIS for 311567

Posted on September 26 , 2:28 p.m.

Supplementary Information re: SIS for 311567 (PDF)

Daily Prices on OASIS - RESOLVED

Posted on September 5 , 4:38 p.m.

Further to the bulletin posted on August 22, 2001 @ 16:12 we are pleased to announce that the interim procedures established for the posting of hourly Firm and Non-Firm prices no longer apply. Please refer to OASIS September 06, 2001 for day ahead prices for September 07, 2001. Thank you for your patience regarding this matter.