Category — NERC News

On December 31, 2012, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) filed with FERC a new reliability standard, EOP-004-2, that would require certain entities to report any event that impacts or could impact the reliability of the power grid.  Among other requirements, the proposed standard would require responsible entities to establish both an operating plan and a timeframe for reporting the events. [Read more →]

On October 18, 2012, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) proposing to approve the revised reliability standard FAC-003-002 regarding vegetation management submitted by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”).  Generally, the NOPR states that the revised reliability standard FAC-003-002 would, among other things: (1) expand the applicability of the current standard; (2) add a new minimum annual vegetation inspection requirement; and (3) include a minimum vegetation clearance distance (“MVCD”) into the standard. [Read more →]

On October 18, 2012, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) directing the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) to submit for FERC approval reliability standards that address and mitigate the effects of geomagnetic disturbances (“GMDs”) on the bulk-power system.  This NOPR is the first step in developing reliability standards to mitigate the effects of GMDs. [Read more →]

On September 20, 2012, FERC announced that it has created a new Office of Energy Infrastructure and Security (“OEIS”).  FERC stated that OEIS will collaborate with the Office of Electric Reliability (“OER”) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation in order to identify and mitigate potential cyber and physical security risks to FERC-jurisdictional facilities.     [Read more →]

At the annual Western Electricity Coordinating Council (“WECC”) Strategic Planning Session, held on September 6-7, 2012, the WECC Board of Directors took a first step towards separating WECC into two companies.  The proposed bifurcation would likely separate WECC’s North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”)-delegated governance functions from its functions on behalf of member entities, such as reliability coordination efforts and system planning.  The move is intended to address criticisms levied at WECC by both the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) and NERC. [Read more →]

On July 19, 2012, FERC upheld the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (“NERC”) proposed penalty against the Southwestern Power Administration (“SWPA”), an entity within the Department of Energy (“DOE”), for violating certain mandatory Reliability Standards.  FERC held that section 215 of the Federal Power Act (“FPA”) authorizes NERC to assess monetary penalties against federal agencies that are users, owners, or operators of the Bulk-Power System for violating mandatory Reliability Standards.  [Read more →]

On June 4, 2012, FERC issued an order adopting a paper hearing process to address audit recommendations and factual findings in an ongoing dispute between FERC Staff and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) over a financial performance audit (see June 4, 2012 edition of the WER). [Read more →]

On May 15, 2012, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) filed a request for rehearing of a May 4, 2012 letter order issued by the Director of FERC’s Office of Enforcement accepting a contested audit report critical of NERC (“May 4 Letter Order”).  NERC noted that the FERC audit report contained “so many errors that it is difficult to understand the Office of Enforcement’s position on a wide range of matters.” [Read more →]

On May 1, 2012, FERC and NERC released a joint report detailing the events that led to the 2011 blackout in the Southwestern United States that left 2.7 million customers without power.  The report called for transmission operators and balancing authorities to improve coordination and planning. [Read more →]

On May 4, 2012, the FERC Office of Enforcement released a delegated letter order accepting the results and recommendations of an audit of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”).  The audit report, critical of NERC in many ways, prompted NERC to issue a strongly-worded statement criticizing FERC Staff for releasing the report while negotiations regarding some of the audit results and recommendations were ongoing. [Read more →]