NERC Policies

NERC Policies

Introduction

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What is NERC?

• Northeast U.S. blackout of 1965

• Electric Power Reliability Act of 1967

• Ten regional councils

• Organizational objectives– Define and measure reliability– Influence and interpret legislation regarding

the power industry– Study interregional connections

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NERC Regions

WSCC

NPCC

MAAC

FRCC

SERC

ERCOT

MAPP

SPPMAIN

ECAR

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NERC Organization

• Board of Trustees

• Engineering Committee

• Operating Committee

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NERC Operating Committee

Mission

• To promote the reliability of the electricity supply for North America,

• To establish Policies,

• To monitor compliance,

• To provide a forum for dealing with issues.

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NERC Standards Development

Players

• Standards Committee– Operating Committee– Engineering Committee

• Subgroup

• Due Process Appeals Committee

• Technical Appeals Committee

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Standards Development Process 1. Request to revise or develop standard

2. Assignment to subgroup

3. Drafting phase and Internet announcement

4. Draft standard posted for comment

5. Subgroup deliberates on comments

6. Draft standard submitted to Standards Committee

7. Standards Committee votes on recommendation to Board

8. Appeals processes

9. Board approves

10. Standard implementation or further appeals

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Waivers to NERC Operating Policies

• Instances when an entity cannot comply with a NERC Operating Policy

• Requested from the Operating Committee

• Waiver request must include an alternative plan

• Temporary

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Waivers in Effect

1. Scheduling Agent• Alliance RTO• Midwest ISO• Southwest Power Pool• GridSouth

2. Financial Inadvertent Settlement• Alliance RTO• Midwest ISO• Southwest Power Pool

3. Control Performance Standard 2• ERCOT

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Personnel Subcommittee

• Responsible for support materials• Promotes sharing of knowledge• Periodically reviews NERC Operating Policies

pertaining to System Operator training and certification and recommends revisions

• Establishes policies and standards for NERC System Operator Certification

• Serves as the interim governance body for the NERC System Operator Certification Program

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Introduction to the Operating Policies

NERC Doctrine• Policies -- Place responsibility for operating

reliability on the Control Areas

• Standards -- Requirements that are measurable and may be audited with surveys

• Requirements -- Describe the obligations of a Control Area

• Guides -- Operating practices to be considered

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Interconnections

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Control Area

• An electrical system bounded by interconnection (tie-line) metering and telemetry

• Two requirements:– Directly controls its generation to balance

its actual and scheduled interchange– Helps regulate and stabilize the

Interconnection’s alternating-current frequency

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Control Area Obligations

• Interchange balance

• Interconnection frequency

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Interchange Balance

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Generation & Load Balancing

Control Area Atie line flow =

100 -150 + 100 - 50 =

0

100 MW 150 MW

50 MW

100 MW

Control Area D

Control Area C Control Area E

Control Area B

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Interconnection Frequency

• Automatic Generation Control (AGC)

• Generator governors

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Compliance

Control Areas are obligated to adhere to all NERC Operating Requirements and

Standards.

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Control Area Reporting

• Inadvertent Interchange Accounting• Control Performance Surveys• Area Interchange Error Surveys• Frequency Response Characteristic Surveys• Frequency Bias Settings• Allowable Limit of Average Deviation

Survey

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Security Coordinators

• Established in 1996

• Established the requirements for sharing of data and information about the “health” of the Interconnection

• Established the Interregional Security Network for each Interconnection

• Required every Region, subregion, or interregional coordinating group to establish a Security Coordinator

• Required that each Region develop a security plan

• Rely on common operating terminology, criteria and standards

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Operating Policy Layout

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NERC Operating Policy Terms

• Several pages of terms and definitions are located in the Operating Manual

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Confirmation as a Control Area

To be recognized as a NERC-Certified CONTROL AREA, the entity must be

reviewed by the REGIONAL COUNCIL in which the entity is a member and and

confirmed that it meets the requirements of the specified Criteria.

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Control Area Criteria

• Generation• Metering• Communications• Transmission

Arrangements• System Operators• E-tag Services

• Performance Surveys• Back-up Control Center• Coordination• System Restoration• Compliance with NERC

Operating Policies and Standards

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Security Coordinator

Standards of

Conduct

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Security Coordinator Standards of Conduct

• Independent of employees/persons who engage in retail or wholesale merchant functions

• Abide by rules governing employee conduct

• Written procedures publicly available and provided to all Security Coordinator employees

Questions?