The Southwest Power Pool (SPP) has taken a major step in its ongoing effort to address gigawatt-scale demand growth from data centers, crypto operations, and new industrial loads.
At a special meeting of the Markets and Operations Policy Committee (MOPC), stakeholders approved a revised version of RR 696—but not the one that sparked intense debate earlier this summer.
Source: SPP
What Changed
The new version strips out the most controversial elements:
CHILLS (Conditional High Impact Large Load Service) has been removed entirely—for now. It will come back as a separate revision request this fall, with dedicated stakeholder sessions running through October and November.
HILLGA Path 3 (Deliverability Area) is gone. Critics argued it risked undermining SPP’s interconnection process and shifting costs to existing customers.
What remains is a narrower, more targeted design focused on High Impact Large Loads (HILLs) and High Impact Large Load Generation Assessments (HILLGA) under two defined paths.
Source: SPP
The Revised HILL/HILLGA Framework
HILL Definition:
A new industrial or commercial load ≥10 MW at ≤69 kV, or ≥50 MW at >69 kV. Storage resources are explicitly excluded.Study Process:
Results due in 90 days, provided all data and agreements are in place.
Includes load forecasting requirements and still requires ride-through capability, though standards remain undefined.
HILLGA Pathways:
Path 1 (Common Bus): Load and generation behind the same POI, no injection to the grid.
Path 2 (Local Area): Load and generation within five substations / two lines, capped at accredited MW + PRM × 1.25, with a five-year interim service term before transitioning into the consolidated planning process.
Cost Allocation:
Attachment AQ: Delivery Point studies, base plan funded.
Attachment AX (pending FERC approval): Provisional load studies, direct assignment until firm service is secured.
HILLGA: Limited GIAs, upgrades directly assigned.
Why This Matters
This is a strategic pivot by SPP staff and stakeholders:
Public Interest Organizations (Earthjustice, NRDC, Sierra Club) pushed hard for elimination of Path 3 and cautioned against CHILLS. Their concerns carried the day.
Google and other prospective large loads wanted fairness in queue treatment and cost allocation. Path 3’s removal addresses part of that, though questions about ride-through and fee structures remain.
SPP’s Board now gets a cleaner, narrower package to consider at its September 4 special meeting, while reserving time this fall to hash out CHILLS.
Looking Ahead
By splitting RR 696, SPP has avoided a stalemate. The core HILL/HILLGA design can move forward, while the thornier CHILLS policy undergoes more deliberate stakeholder review.
Source: SPP
The decision underscores a central reality: large load growth isn’t slowing down, but getting the integration rules right is more important than moving too fast.
As data centers, hydrogen hubs, and AI workloads continue to reshape the demand frontier, SPP’s experience will serve as a national test case. How it balances speed, fairness, and reliability will shape not just its own footprint, but the broader conversation across all RTOs.
Hah! I called it!