OASIS
This page contains information about the development of the Open Access Same-time Information System (OASIS).
Background
First came the National Energy Policy Act of 1992, in October of that year. This law established many changes for the gas and electric utility industries, and also directed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to require disclosure of electric utility transmission planning criteria, analysis methods, and system engineering and economic data. FERC did this by the creation of a new "Form 715" and modification of the "Form 714". These annual filing requirements began in 1994.
In the spring of 1995, FERC issued its so-called "Mega-NOPR", its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding open wholesale transmission access and stranded costs. After many technical conferences and working group and committee meetings throughout the year since the "Mega-NOPR", in April 1996, FERC issued Orders 888 and 889. These orders are intended to bring about wholesale electricity competition by posting the following on the Internet:
- open and uniform tariffs and standard contracts;
- transmission service products and prices;
- application forms for service;
- transmission system studies;
- standards of conduct for transmission provider employees; and
- transmission capacity and utilization information.
Order 888 required "Transmission Providers" to file Open Access Pro-Forma Transmission Tariffs. Order 889 requires "Transmission Providers" to create an Open Access Same-time Information System (OASIS) bulletin board system on the Internet, and requires Transmission Providers to functionally separate their transmission employees from wholesale energy sales and purchase employees.
The most comprehensive archive and up-to-date information on OASIS topics and issues can be found at the TSIN news site. FERC and Working Group Documents can be downloaded through the TSIN documents page.
Other OASIS sites around the country are listed on the TSIN node page. FERC has ordered all Transmission Providers to register their OASIS nodes with TSIN.
Other related sites of interest are: