Market Access Regulation – Monitoring and Reporting Data ...

Market Access Regulation Monitoring and Reporting Data

Monitoring Electric Utility Performance

June 19, 2014

Peter Baker

Section Chief in the Reliability and Service Analysis Division Service Monitoring & Enforcement Department

These are the agenda items that I will address

• Required reporting of utility performance (SAIFI, CAIDI, and other measures)

• Analysis to determine compliance and identify issues

• Ensuring data validity and authenticity

The PUCO Staff reviews utility reports to monitor:

• Compliance with Reliability Standards

• Improvement of Worst-Performing Circuits

• Sufficiency of Construction and Maintenance Expenditures

• Compliance with Inspection Requirements

• Compliance with Maintenance Programs

Monitoring Compliance with Reliability Standards

• Each electric utility is required to file an annual report of its reliability performance compared to reliability standards.

• If the utility misses one of its reliability standards, it must submit an action plan to improve performance.

• If the utility misses the same performance standard two years in a row, it is considered out of compliance with the rule.

The annual reliability report must contain the following information:

• The utility’s performance compared to standards

• Additional supporting data

• A listing of outages excluded from the report

• An analysis of outages by cause

Measuring Reliability

• The PUCO measures reliability using SAIFI and CAIDI

• SAIFI represents the average number of interruptions per customer

• CAIDI represents the average time to restore service to interrupted customers

• SAIFI and CAIDI calculations are based on sustained interruptions, which involve a complete loss of power for over five minutes

• SAIFI and CAIDI calculations exclude data for major events and transmission outages

Excluding Major Events

• Previously, utilities were required to exclude “major storms” from performance data, and each utility was allowed to develop its own “major storm” definition.

• As a result, there were variations among utilities on how their major storm exclusions affected their respective performance.

• To address this problem, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) developed the “2.5 Beta” methodology for establishing a standardized “major event” threshold.

• The 2.5 Beta method is a statistical methodology which excludes any day when the average duration of interruptions across a utility’s system is more than 2-1/2 standard deviations above the mean for the past five years.

• The current PUCO rules adopt the IEEE methodology

Reliability Standards

• The PUCO has established reliability standards for each utility

• Standards are based mostly on historical system performance, but can also be influenced by:

– System design

– Technological advancements

– Service area geography

– Customer perception surveys

Reliability Surveys

• Each electric utility is required to conduct periodic survey to measure customers’ reliability perceptions and expectations

• The survey is paid for by the utility, and is developed and conducted under Staff supervision

• The survey results are considered in the establishment of performance standards

Establishing Reliability Standards

The electric utility must file an application that includes:

• A methodology for establishing reliability standards

• The proposed standards resulting from that methodology

• Justification supporting the proposed standard

The legal process to establish the standards includes the following steps:

• A technical conference is convened to explain the utility’s application

• Interested parties file comments on the application

• Staff files comments on the application

• Utilities and interested parties file reply comments

• The commission may order a hearing

• Interested parties may participate in the hearing after they file a motion to intervene

Analysis to Determine Compliance and Identify Issues

• PUCO Staff monitors performance by analyzing the utilities’ annual reliability reports

• If the utility meets its reliability standards, Staff would look for any adverse performance trends

• If performance misses the standard, Staff would assess the sufficiency of the utility’s action plan for improving performance

• If the utility misses a standard two years in a row, Staff would investigate the circumstances and recommend any needed enforcement action, which could include:

– Corrective action to return to compliance

– Restitution to customers

– Fines up to $10,000 per day

Ensuring the Validity and Authenticity of the Reported Reliability Data

• The annual reliability report must include the factors used in the formula to calculate performance

• The report also includes an analysis of outages by cause and a listing of excluded outages, which must be consistent with the data used to calculate reliability performance

• Staff also has audited the utilities’ exclusion of major events to ensure its accuracy

Sample Reliability Report

Sample Reliability Report

Monitoring Improvement of Worst-Performing Circuits

• A distribution circuit extends from the distribution substation to each of the customers on that circuit

• Each electric utility is required to submit to Staff (for review and acceptance) a method for measuring the performance of its distribution circuits

• That method must include SAIFI and CAIDI, but may also include other factors as well

• Once the method is accepted, the utility must use it to rank its circuits in terms of their performance

• The utility must include the eight-percent worst-performing circuits in an annual report to Staff

The annual report must include the following:

• The circuit ID number, location, and number of customers

• The circuit ranking value

• The circuit’s SAIFI, SAIDI, and CAIDI performance

• The number of safety and reliability complaints

• The number of critical customers on the circuit

• A listing of circuit lock-outs with associated cause and duration

• A listing of outages by cause with associated frequency and customer minutes interrupted

• Identification of major factors causing the circuit to be reported

• An action plan to remove the circuit from the report within the next two reporting periods


• Staff identifies those circuits that appear on the report in consecutive years

• For those circuits, Staff analyzes outage causes and the utility’s remedial action plans to see if they are sufficient to remove the circuit

• If a circuit remains on the report for three consecutive years, it is considered out of compliance

• For those circuits, Staff would investigate the circumstances and recommend any needed enforcement action

Ensuring the Validity and Authenticity of the Reported Circuit Data

• Staff reviews the reported data for consistency

• For example, the worst-ranking circuit in the report should also have a high SAIFI or CAIDI value (and vice-versa)

• Also, if we received many more customer complaints about a given circuit compared to other circuits, we would expect to see that circuited listed in the annual report of worst-performing circuits.

• Staff also tracks the utility’s completion of remedial actions and preforms field audits to verify such completion on a sample of circuits

Monitoring Construction and Maintenance Expenditures

• Each utility is required to annually report its expenditures for distribution maintenance and construction

• The report includes the following ratios: – Total maintenance expenditures / total distribution

investment

– Total construction expenditures / total distribution investment

• The report also includes a comparison of actual expenditures to budget with an explanation for any budget variances exceeding 10 percent


• Staff trends the each utility’s spending ratios from year to year to identify adverse trends

• Staff also reviews the utility’s variance explanations for reasonableness

• Staff considers spending levels in combination with other indicators such as missed reliability standards and repeated worst circuits to identify systemic problems

Ensuring Data Validity and Authenticity of Reported Expenditure Data

• Utility expenditure data is also reported in fiscal reports to the PUCO and in annual reports to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

• This reporting should be consistent, and this data is audited in the context of proceedings to adjust utility rates

Monitoring Compliance of Inspection Requirements

Each electric utility is required to: – Inspect each of its distribution circuits at least once every

five years

– Inspect each of its substations at least 12 times a year, and the interval between inspections must not exceed 40 calendar days

Monitoring Compliance of Inspection Requirements (Cont.)

The utility is also required to submit an annual report, which shall include: • A list of circuits inspected during the year and the date of

inspection for each

• A list of substations inspected during the year and the inspection dates for each


• If the report indicates that the utility does not meet an inspection requirement, Staff investigates the circumstances and recommends any needed enforcement action

• Staff also reviews sample inspection and repair reports to see if repairs are made in a timely fashion

• Finally, Staff performs follow-up field audits to verify that deficiencies were actually corrected

Ensuring Data Validity and Authenticity of Reported Inspection Data

• Staff maintains a database of prior-year circuit inspections and compares current reports with prior-year data to verify the five-year inspection requirement has been met

• Staff also samples individual inspection reports that document the inspections performed

Monitoring Compliance of Maintenance Programs

Each electric utility is required to file proposed maintenance programs for: • Poles and towers

• Circuit inspections

• Primary and secondary enclosures (e.g., pad-mounted transformers, switch gear, pedestals)

• Line reclosers

• Line capacitors

• Right-of-way vegetation control

• Substations

Monitoring Compliance of Maintenance Programs (Cont.)

• Once the programs are approved, the utility is required to annually report its performance against each maintenance program’s goals, and explain why any goals were not met

• As an example, a utility might have a goal to trim trees on circuits totaling a given number of miles. The utility would report:

– The mileage goal,

– The actual mileage trimmed,

– The percent of goal achieved, and

– An explanation if the goal were missed.


• Staff reviews the utility’s reported achievement of its maintenance goals to assess the utility’s compliance with its approved maintenance programs

• If Staff believes utility’s performance is unsatisfactory, it will investigate the circumstances to determine if it should recommend further action

Ensuring Data Validity and Authenticity of Reported Goal-Achievement Data

• Staff reviews the reported program goals to ensure they are consistent with the approved maintenance program

• Staff also reviews documentation supporting the reported performance against maintenance program goals

• Finally, Staff performs field audits to verify reported performance on a sample of program activities

This concludes the presentation about Monitoring Electric Utility Performance

Are there any other questions?

Market Access Regulation – Monitoring and Reporting Data ...

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