Agenda

Operating Committee

December 12, 2012 | 1:00–5:00 p.m. (EST)

December 13, 2012 | 8:00 a.m.–noon (EST)

Westin Buckhead Atlanta Hotel

3391 Peachtree Rd NE

Atlanta, Georgia

Introductions and Chair’s Remarks

NERC Antitrust Compliance Guidelines and Public Announcement

Agenda

  1. Administrative - Secretary
  1. Arrangements
  2. Announcement of Quorum
  3. Background Information*
  4. Operating Committee (OC) Membership
  5. OC Roster
  6. OC Organizational Chart
  7. OC Charter
  8. Parliamentary Procedures
  9. OC Action Items*
  10. Future Meetings
  11. March5–6, 2013 – Albuquerque, NM (Confirmed, details available on the NERC Calendar)
  12. June 11–12, 2013 – To be announced
  13. September 17–18, 2013 – To be announced
  14. December 10–11, 2013 – To be announced
  1. Consent Agenda – Chair Bowe
  1. September 18–19, 2012 Draft OC Meeting Minutes*
  2. October 10, 2012 Draft OC Webinar and Conference Call Meeting Minutes*
  3. Event Analysis Subcommittee Roster*
  1. Conditions Driven Index White Paper
  1. Chair’s Remarks
  2. Report on November6–7, 2012 Member Representatives Committee and Board of Trustees Meetings
  3. Subgroup Reports

OC Action / Presentation
a. / Operating Reliability Subcommittee / Status Report* / Vice Chair Joel Wise
b. / Resources Subcommittee / Status Report* / Vice Chair Gerry Beckerle
c. / Interchange Subcommittee / Status Report* / Chair Joe Gardner
d. / Events Analysis Subcommittee / Status Report* / Vice Chair Hassan Hamdar
e. / Personnel Subcommittee / Status Report* / Chair Neil Lindgren
  1. Committee Matters

a.Approve – Draft Reliability Guideline: ACE Diversity Interchange* – Gerry Beckerle, Resources Subcommittee Vice Chair

  1. Response to Comments*

b.Review – OC Comments on the Cold Weather Preparedness Standard Authorization Request – Chair Bowe

  1. OC Comments on Project 2013-01: Cold Weather Preparedness SAR*
  2. All comments received are posted at Industry Comments

c.Reliability Guideline: Extreme Cold Weather Preparedness* –J.C. Culberson, ERCOT

Objective:The ultimate objective for the OC is to approve the draft reliability guideline.

Background:In response to the February 2, 2011 cold weather event (February 2011 Southwest Cold Weather Event)), J.C. Culberson is leading a sub team of the Cold Weather Review Team to assess next steps in developing a proposal for the recommendation to the OC at its December 2012 meeting regarding the need for a Cold Weather (possibly extreme weather) Reliability Guideline.

Additionally, the RISC tasked the OC with the completion of such a guideline (see attached letter dated October 24, 2012). The creation of such a guideline may eliminate the need to pursue a reliability standard to address this operational concern.

The 2011 Southwest Cold Weather Event report mentions six previous similar events. NERC staff will make these event reports available to the EAS and the subordinate Trend Analysis Working Group to conduct a comprehensive review and provide comparisons and contrasts for these events. This analysis should inform not just the reliability guideline but also any potential decision to develop a standard.

  1. Reliability Issues Steering Committee (RISC) Letter to OC, dated October 24, 2012*

d.Discussion – Electric Transmission Performance Improvement Initiatives – Disturbance Investigation System –Brian Starling, Dominion Virginia Power

e.Reliability Risk Management – Vision, Goals, Objectives, and Priorities – Mike Moon

Objective: Provide an update to the OC on: 1) the vision and valued outcomes for RRM, 2) the development of goals and measures for 2013 that relate to reliability matters, 3) the state of the event analysis program, support to the EAS and efforts to enhance it and 4) an initial assessment of collaboration and coordination around Hurricane Sandy. Superb responsiveness from the RCs and their REs; ISONE/NPCC, NYISO/NPCC and PJM/RFC; information flow to federal agencies reduced anxiety.

f.RISC Status and Reliability Conference Update – Vice Chair Castle

g.Discussion – PRC-001 (System Protection Coordination) – Requirement 1 – Chair Bowe

  1. Orlando Public Utilities Commission – Relay Spreadsheet – Richard Kinas
  2. Northeast Power Coordinating Council’sRegional Reliability Reference Directory number 7 Special Protection Systems*– Jerry Mosier
  1. FRCC’s Relay Coordination, Outage Analysis and Approval Process – Ron Donahey
  2. Entergy’s On-line Training Program – Jim Case

h.Approve – Retirement of IDC Related Reference Documents – Joel Wise, ORS Vice Chair

  1. Parallel Flow Calculation Procedures Reference Document (Approved by the Operating Committee on November 16, 2000)*
  2. Flowgate Administration Reference Document (Approved by the Operating Committee on March 13, 2008)*
  1. Reliability Coordinator Reference Document (Approved by the Operating Committee on March 15, 2006)*

i.Coordinated Action Plan (Phase 2) – Implementing the High-Impact, Low-Frequency (HILF) Task Force Recommendations – Stuart Brindley

Objective: Using the list of HILF recommendations reviewed during its September meeting, the OC will further discuss its future activities to complete these recommendations. The recommendations and actions discussed at the last meeting included:

  1. Recommendation 1 - Consider which entities would take the independent actions and the tools needed to stabilize islands when communications capability is severely disrupted or unavailable (Possible OC Action – Develop rules of thumb)
  2. Recommendation 5 – Consider if or how variable generation would be dispatched through restoration and islanded operation (Possible OC Action – Review Variable Generation Report to identify challenges of variable generation during a severe event)
  3. Recommendation 6 – Consider enhancing regular restoration drills and exercises to train staff on communication protocols and independent control actions in the event of loss of or degraded telecommunications (Possible OC Actions – Develop a guideline for operating with limited communication and review, update and publish the NERC Constant Frequency Operations Guide)
  4. Recommendation 7 – Consider using more extreme exercise scenarios that involve simulated rotating blackouts and islanded operations on a larger scale and for extended periods of time (Possible OC Action – Develop extreme yet credible exercise scenarios that would also involve senior leaders in industry and government to address challenges associated with an emergency event lasting weeks)
  5. Recommendation 20 – Consider working with communications service providers to identify which of their facilities are critical to BPS operations. Determine which BPS and distribution facilities supply them and what backup power capacity is in-place (e.g., batteries, standby generators). (Possible OC Action – Develop a guideline or template to facilitate a study involving individual entities, local communications service providers, and state/provincial emergency management agencies. Topics could include 1) roles and knowledge required to study participants, 2) lexicon of terms used during electricity and communications emergencies and 3) criteria to identify critical facilities.)
  1. Discussion – HILF Next Steps – National Incident Management System – Jim Case

k.Information – Balancing Authority Reliability-based Control Standard Drafting Team – Glenn Stephens, Santee Cooper

  1. Excerpts from FERC Order 693 Regarding Continent-Wide Contingency Reserve Policy*
  2. If the ballot for BAL-001-1 is affirmative, 1) do the entities that are participating in the field trial continue to receive a waiver for the CPS2 requirement and 2) what is the process for new entities for beginning to operate under BAAL (i.e., CPS2 waiver)?
  3. If the ballot for BAL-001-1 fails, what is the present NERC process for the continuation of the project?
  4. In addition, does the OC support the drafting team’s approach on BAL-012 for fulfilling the FERC order requirements for a continent-wide policy on (contingency) reserves? (Note: BAL-012 was posted on November 30, 2012 for a 45-day formal comment period. This standard will address the FERC Order 693 Directive for development of a continent wide Contingency Reserve standard. The standard also proposes to require development of a policy for Regulating and Frequency Responsive Reserves.)
  5. Finally, what does the OC think of the 500 MW requirements in BAL-002-2 and BAL-013?

l.Approve – Integration of Variable Generation Task Force’s Balancing Authority Communications Task Team Draft Report* – Bill Grant, Xcel Energy

Objective: Discuss and possibly approve recommendations of the IVGTF. If approved, the OC will map out next steps in completing the work. .

Abstract: In brief the IVGTF’s recommendations are intended to ensure that Balancing Areas have sufficient communications for monitoring and sending dispatch instructions to variable resources. Adequate communication of data from variable generation is not only a vital reliability requirement, but also such communications are necessary to support the data analysis posed by other recommended actions. The NERC OC should undertake a review of COM-002, FAC-001, and registry criteria to ensure adequate communications are in place. Further, as NERC Standards’ Project 2006-06 is reviewing COM-002, input to this review should be provided. If these standards are found to be inadequate, action should be initiated to remedy the situation (e.g., a SAR).

m.Discussion – Arizona-Southern California Outages on September 8, 2011 – Causes and Recommendations – Chair Bowe

  1. Report Link:Arizona-Southern California Outage Report
  2. Summary of Regional Entities Responses to NERC June 5, 2012 Letter on Follow-Up Actions Related to September 8, 2011 Outage Recommendations – Ed Schwerdt, NPCC
  3. Response to the “Arizona-Southern California Outages on September 8, 2011” Report – WECC Staff, dated September 28, 2012* – Steve Ashbaker

September 8 Event Recommendations - Monthly Progress Dashboard

  1. Follow-Up Actions for September 8, 2011 Southwestern Blackout – David Nevius Letter to Regional Entity Executives, dated June 5, 2012*

Objective:Review of the Regional Responses will provide the OC a perspective of whether there are reliability gaps and if those gaps are ones the OC or some other process should pursue.

*Background materials included.

Operating Committee Draft Agenda

December 12-13, 2012