NERC Posts Three New Lessons Learned Headlines NERC Files Physical Security Standard with FERC Prior to 90 Day Deadline Bulk Electric System Definition Becomes Effective July 1, 2014 Brian Harrell Receives Gov30 Security Award Board Adopts Three Standards; Applauds Physical Security Efforts Personnel Certification and Continuing Education How to Get Your Course Request Approved Reliability Assessment and Performance Analysis State of Reliability Report Finds Bulk Power System Performance Level Remains High Assessment Identifies Adequate Generation, Transmission System Resources for Summer Reliability Risk Management Standards Reliability Standards Development Plan and Enhanced Periodic Review Template Standards Balloting System Update Standards Staffing Changes Resources Posted and Upcoming Events NERC Filings Documents Filed with FERC and/or Canada during the Month Careers NERC Seeks Talented Professionals NERC News May 2014
Transcript
NERC Posts Three New Lessons Learned
Headlines
NERC Files Physical Security Standard with FERC Prior to 90 Day Deadline Bulk Electric System Definition Becomes Effective July 1, 2014 Brian Harrell Receives Gov30 Security Award Board Adopts Three Standards; Applauds Physical Security Efforts
Personnel Certification and Continuing Education How to Get Your Course Request Approved
Reliability Assessment and Performance Analysis State of Reliability Report Finds Bulk Power System Performance Level Remains High
Assessment Identifies Adequate Generation, Transmission System Resources for Summer
Reliability Risk Management Standards Reliability Standards Development Plan and Enhanced Periodic Review Template Standards Balloting System Update Standards Staffing Changes Resources Posted and Upcoming Events
NERC Filings Documents Filed with FERC and/or Canada during the Month
Careers NERC Seeks Talented Professionals
NERC News May 2014
NERC News | May 2014 2
Headlines NERC Files Physical Security Standard with FERC Prior to 90 Day Deadline The North American Electric Reliability Corporation filed the proposed CIP-014-1 – Physical Security Reliability Standard with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on May 23. The filing highlights the culmination of collaboration between NERC and stakeholders to develop and file a standard on or before June 5 that addressed physical security threats and vulnerabilities to the bulk power system, as ordered by FERC. The physical security standard final ballot closed on May 5 with 86 percent approval from the ballot body. The NERC Board of Trustees adopted the proposed standard on May 13. “The industry has long been engaged in physical security efforts, and FERC’s order outlined an approach that provides for comprehensive integration between existing and new efforts,” said Gerry Cauley, president and chief executive officer. “This approach enhances physical security measures for the most critical facilities and lessens the overall vulnerability of the bulk power system.” The proposed CIP-014-1 standard addresses the requirements of FERC’s March 7 order and, as is the case for all cyber and physical security standards, is deliberately dynamic and adaptable to the constantly changing threat environment. The proposed standard enhances NERC’s foundational physical security efforts and helps ensure that owners and operators of the bulk power system take the necessary steps to protect the grid from physical attacks. Specifically, the proposed standard requires transmission owners and operators to identify and protect critical transmission stations and substations, and their associated primary control centers that, if rendered inoperable or damaged as a result of a physical attack, could result in widespread instability, uncontrolled separation or cascading within an interconnection.
Reliability and security of the bulk power system are key priorities and NERC will continue working closely with FERC, stakeholders and our federal partners to enhance efforts in these areas. NERC Filing | FERC Order
Bulk Electric System Definition Becomes Effective July 1, 2014 NERC’s efforts to establish a common understanding of what facilities are considered part of the Bulk Electric System (BES) are moving into the initial phase of implementation. On March 20, 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved NERC’s revised definition of Bulk Electric System, as envisioned in Order Nos. 743, 773 and 773-A. The definition includes bright-line core criteria with various enumerated inclusions and exclusions. FERC also approved NERC’s processes for reviewing elements on a case-by-case basis to allow for exceptions from the definition, and for entities to notify Regions of their respective self-determinations of BES elements.
At the beginning of May, NERC alerted registered entities that a new electric reliability organization enterprise-wide software application to support implementation of the definition was online and available to start accepting account requests for Entity Administrator access. The application, the BES Notification and Exceptions Tool (BESnet), is the way in which entities notify Regional Entities of their application of the BES definition to their facilities, as well as how those entities may request exceptions to the definition. NERC began accepting requests for Entity Administrator access on May 12; once Entity Administrators have been established, additional accounts can be requested beginning on May 30. Submission of self-determined notifications and exceptions request will begin on July 1, 2014. In some cases, entities that have not been subject to NERC’s standards in the past may find themselves now required to register and become compliant with those rules. In other cases, facilities or organizations previously required to be in compliance with NERC standards may no longer be required. NERC is
encouraging all entities, regardless of registration status, to review and understand the Bulk Electric System definition and how it applies to the facilities they use, own or operate. Each Entity that owns or operates Facilities and Elements should apply the revised BES definition to those Facilities and Elements to determine if they are included in or excluded from the BES.
For more information about applying the BES definition, requesting an exception or submitting notifications, entities should contact their Regional Entities. Contact information for Regional BESnet Administrators is provided below. For email questions, please include the word “BES” in the subject line of your email.
FRCC [email protected] MRO [email protected] NPCC [email protected] RF Online https://www.rfirst.org/Pages/ContactUs.aspx SERC [email protected] SPP [email protected] TRE [email protected] WECC [email protected] NERC is offering a number of resources and training opportunities to help ensure the implementation of the BES definition is successful. Go to the Bulk Electric System Project Information web page to access these resources and learn more about the BES Project http://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/Pages/BES.aspx
Brian Harrell Receives Gov30 Security Award Brian Harrell received a Gov30 award for his contributions on projects that have a significant impact to the government security community May 13 at the Washington Convention Center. Harrell is director of operations of the Electricity Sector Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ES-ISAC) at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. The Gov30 recognizes 30 leaders for the difference they have made in the way the nation’s critical infrastructure, key assets and the homeland are secured.
“Brian brings a wealth of security expertise to NERC, and I am happy to see him recognized for his efforts in this area,” said Gerry Cauley, president and chief executive officer at NERC. “I look forward to his continued work on ensuring the reliability and security of the North American grid.” At NERC, Harrell was instrumental in developing the industry’s first grid security exercise, GridEx. The exercise includes stakeholders, the federal government and representatives from Canada and Mexico in is designed to review industry’s readiness to respond to a physical or cybersecurity incident. The exercise took place in November 2011 and November 2013. The next exercise is scheduled for November 2015. Among his work on security standards and training, Harrell also helped established NERC’s grid security conference, GridSecCon, which focuses on cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities, lessons learned, and risk mitigation and awareness discussions led by senior industry and government leaders. The conference promotes bulk power system reliability through training and education in an open forum. The next GridSecCon is October 14-16 in San Antonio, Texas.
Board Adopts Three Standards; Applauds Physical Security Efforts The North American Electric Reliability Corporation Board of Trustees adopted three standards at its May 7 quarterly meeting in Philadelphia. Commissioner John Norris from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission offered opening remarks and Denis O’Brien, chief executive officer of Exelon Utilities, delivered the keynote address. NERC’s President and Chief Executive Officer Gerry Cauley opened the meeting with remarks on the maturation and improved performance of the standards development process. “We are in a good place with our standards process and have seen a great amount of maturity in the past years. We are receiving good orders from FERC and the exceptional quality of stakeholders’ expertise is ensuring that standards are technically sound,” Cauley said. “We are able to design standards with more
efficient evidence requirements so people understand how these concepts integrate with the Reliability Assurance Initiative and compliance approach. There will always be tension between stakeholders, the Board and FERC, but we have an effective model that works well due to our common goal of ensuring reliability of the grid.” The Board received an update on the physical security standard final ballot, which closed on May 5 with 86 percent approval from the ballot body. Cauley complimented the efforts of everyone involved in the process, noting that FERC issued a good order, which allowed everyone to move forward in a coordinated matter on a compressed schedule. The standard will be presented to the Board for review and adoption on May 13. In addition, the Board received an informational overview of the 2014 State of Reliability report and the 2014 Summer Reliability Assessment. The 2014 State of Reliability report represents NERC’s independent view of ongoing bulk power system trends to objectively analyze the state of reliability and provide an integrated view of reliability performance. Key findings from this report serve as technical input to NERC’s risk assessment and prioritization, reliability standards project development efforts, compliance improvement, event analysis, reliability assessment and critical infrastructure protection. The 2014 Summer Reliability Assessment identifies areas of concern regarding the reliability of the North American bulk power system for the summer and makes recommendations if actions are needed. The assessment identifies potential summer resource deficiencies and operating reliability concerns, determines peak electricity demand and supply changes, and highlights unique regional challenges. Both reports will be presented to the Board for approval at a May 13 meeting and released later in the month. Board actions included the adoption of three standards, 11 revisions and approval of the electric reliability organization metrics:
MOD-031-1- Demand Data (MOD C). This standard establishes consistency in data requirements and reporting procedures and provides the authority for applicable entities to collect demand, energy and related data to support reliability studies and data.
VAR-002-3 – Voltage and Reactive Control. This standard ensures generators provide reactive support and voltage control within generating facility capabilities to protect equipment and maintain reliable operation of the interconnection.
COM-002-4 – Operating Personnel Communications Protocols. This standard ensures that reliability-related information is conveyed effectively, accurately and consistently in a timely manner toward mutual understanding by key parties when issuing or receiving emergency and non-emergency operating instructions. The new standard combines COM-002-3 and the draft COM-003-1 in a single standard. The Board also voted to rescind approval of the current COM-002-2 interpretation with the implementation of COM-002-4.
Violation Risk Factor/Violation Severity Level Revisions. FERC directed changes to the VRF/VSLs, which addresses 12 directives. Revisions were adopted in the following standards: TPL-001-4; CIP Version 5 – CIP-003-5; CIP-004-5.1; CIP-006-5; CIP-008-5; CIP-009-5; MOD-026-1 and MOD—027-1; PRC-005-2 and PRC-005-3; and BAL-003-1.
Electric Reliability Organization Enterprise Strategic Plan 2014-2017 metrics. The strategic plan, which was approved by the Board on February 6, 2014, summarizes the ERO mission and vision, and provides strategic direction for the ERO in the coming years. The performance metrics are for NERC staff compensation purposes and will be used to assess the overall effectiveness of the ERO in addressing risk to the bulk power system.
Board presentations may be found by clicking here. The next Board meeting is scheduled for August 14 in Vancouver, Canada. ■■■
Personnel Certification and Continuing Education How to Get Your Course Request Approved Individual Learning Activity (ILA) providers should submit course requests up to three months prior to delivery to ensure adequate time for review and approval. NERC-approved providers must submit their course requests within 30 days of the first delivery. Providers must ensure learning activities adhere to all program criteria, including these timeframes for submission, and verify the accuracy of their documentation in order to be considered for NERC continuing education hours. The NERC Continuing Education Program is committed to promoting excellence in system operator training. The requirements for learning activities and providers of NERC approved learning activities are developed by the Personnel Subcommittee and can be found in the Continuing Education Administrative Manual. Send questions to [email protected] or call 404-446-9759. ■■■
Reliability Assessment and Performance Analysis State of Reliability Report Finds Bulk Power System Performance level Remains High The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s State of Reliability 2014 report, released May 21, represents an independent review of bulk power system trends to analyze the state of reliability and provide an integrated view of reliability performance. The report’s findings serve as input to NERC’s risk assessment and reliability standards project prioritization of specific actions that can be taken to manage risks to reliability of the bulk power system. “The ability to extract insights, trends, and performance behavior depends on sophisticated analysis of extensive databases of reliability information,” said Howard Gugel, director of
Performance Analysis. “This year’s report presents the coordinated activities across NERC to address identified risks to reliability.” Key findings and recommendations include:
Sustained high performance for bulk power system reliability. In 2013, there were no high-stress days, including weather events. During the 2008-2013 period, the majority of high-stress days were weather-initiated or weather-exacerbated.
Frequency response remains stable. All interconnections have shown steady frequency response performance, trending above the recommended obligation at all times during the study period. Recommendations: NERC will examine incidents in 2013 where frequency response was less than interconnection frequency response obligation and determine actions to maintain and improve frequency response performance.
Protection system misoperations cause transmission events. Protection system misoperations continue to be a significant contributor to automatic transmission outage severity and more impactful than other events in 2013. This also was highlighted in the 2013 State of Reliability report. Recommendations: NERC will complete development of standard PRC-004-3 – Protection System Misoperation Identification and Correction and develop actions to address the three most common causes of protection system misoperations.
Substation equipment failures impact transmission event severity. AC substation equipment failures can exacerbate the severity of transmission outages. In response to 2013 State of Reliability recommendations, the AC Substation Equipment Task Force was formed and gathered equipment failure data to analyze with a report expected by year-end 2014. Recommendations: NERC will assess the effectiveness of NERC advisory that addressed 345 kV breaker failures and develop a plan to address the causes of substation equipment failures.
Use of Energy Emergency Alert Level 3 declines. In 2013, there were seven Energy Emergency Alert Level 3 events declared – only one of the seven required firm load to be shed to preserve grid reliability. Recommendations: Analyze system events that resulted in firm load shed to determine any common causes, trends.
The State of Reliability reports quantify risk and performance, highlight areas for improvement and reinforce and measure success in controlling these risks. To that end, NERC continues to review standards to improve reliability performance, develop solutions to ever-evolving threats and examine impacts of the changing resource mix. NERC continues to focus its efforts on initiatives that help ensure the reliability of the bulk power system.
Assessment Identifies Adequate Generation, Transmission System Resources for Summer As part of its ongoing efforts to identify reliability challenges and make recommendations as needed, the North American Electric Corporation released its independent summer assessment May 14. The assessment provides a high-level perspective on the adequacy of the generation resources and transmission systems to meet projected summer peak demands. While the 2014 Summer Reliability Assessment finds peak demand forecasts have remained flat from last year, NERC remains concerned with the ongoing resource mix changes, the changing operational characteristics of resources, and the continued retirement of generation across the bulk power system. “Reserve margins across North America appear to be sufficient for the upcoming summer,” said John Moura, director of Reliability Assessment at NERC. “In ERCOT, new capacity resources coming online in early August will significantly improve the declining reserve margin trend observed over the last several years.”
The assessment identified three key findings for this summer:
Summer reference margin levels are met. However, areas of potential challenges exist in the Electric Reliability Corporation of Texas (ERCOT) and Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) assessment areas:
ERCOT anticipates that four combined-cycle plants will be added in early August to support peak summer demand. ERCOT may face challenges in maintaining sufficient reserves if the summer peak occurs before this new capacity is available.
MISO’s anticipated reserve margin is slightly above the NERC Reference Margin Level of 14.8 percent for the summer and lower than last year’s assessment (18.1 percent). The reduction is attributed to generation retirements and suspensions, as well as the inclusion of the MISO-South region and the associated transfer limitations.
Baseload retirement impacts. Since January 2011, the introduction and implementation of several environmental regulations, combined with natural gas availability, have contributed to the closure of 43 GW of generation capacity.
Gas-electric coordination. Natural gas now represents approximately 40 percent of on-peak capacity. Fuel supply and pipeline transportation risks are more pronounced during the winter months; however, pipeline maintenance and storage refills that occur during the summer months can limit the availability of natural gas for those generators that do not have firm service.
Other report highlights include attention to potential reliability impacts from the MISO-South integration and the effectiveness of associated measures designed to lessen potential impacts in neighboring areas. The drought conditions in the southwest appear to be sustained this summer season, even though certain areas have seen improved reservoir conditions. Finally, NERC is continuing to monitor potential coal supply impacts caused by constrained rail service.
Reliability Risk Management NERC Posts Three New Lessons Learned Sharing lessons learned with industry is important so actions may be taken to reduce the possibility of repeating undesirable events. Detailed lessons learned lead to the identification of issues and communicate them back to the industry, in turn helping to prevent recurrences of undesired events. NERC will continue to publish additional lessons learned throughout the year. Three new lessons learned were published in this month, which brings the total published in 2014 to seven. They are:
• LL20140201 - Relaying and Protection Systems - Identify Relay Programming Errors to Prevent Unintended Operations.
• LL20140202 - Generation Facilities - A Generating Station Ground Mat Problem Led to the Trip of Two Generating Units (2000 MW).
• LL20140302 - Verification of Alternating Current Quantities during Protection System Commissioning.
• LL20140501 - High AC Voltage can lead to Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) Failures.
• LL20140502 - Circuit Breaker Modification Leads to Inadvertent Trips.
• LL20140503 - Improved Contractor Oversight. Click Lessons Learned to view all NERC’s postings.
Standards Reliability Standards Development Plan and Enhanced Periodic Review Template The 2015-2017 Reliability Standards Development Plan, which outlines planned standards development work for the next three years, and an Enhanced Periodic Review Template will be posted as companion documents for industry comment soon. This posting will be earlier than in prior years to provide visibility into the future roadmap for standards development.
The NERC Reliability Standards are approaching steady state thanks to hard work by stakeholders and the Standards Committee over the last two years. As defined in the plan, steady state Reliability Standards are a stable set of clear, concise, high‐quality, and technically sound Reliability Standards that are results‐based, absent of requirements that did little to promote reliability. The plan for reaching steady state and completing other future work will be outlined in both documents. The plan will also be presented to the Reliability Issues Steering Committee at its June 17 meeting. Following the presentation to RISC, both documents will be posted for industry comment.
Standards Balloting System Update Since launching the new Standards Balloting System on April 1, NERC has received new registrations for membership in the NERC Registered Balloting Body. The vetting process takes a few days and if you have not already done so, complete early registration so that you will be ready to participate once new projects are posted. Staff has noted additional items to be addressed and improved, and will therefore be holding off posting new projects in the new system until a smooth implementation can be ensured. For now, projects will continue to be posted in the original balloting system. Helpful Tools:
Standards Balloting and Commenting System
Login, Registration, Validation and Permissions
Standards Balloting and Commenting System
Webinar
Frequently Asked Questions
Register for the NEW Registered Ballot Body
Standards Staffing Changes In April, Mark Lauby, former vice president and director of standards, was promoted to senior vice president and chief reliability officer. In this role, Lauby will
oversee the operations of four departments: Standards, Reliability Assessment and Performance Analysis, Reliability Risk Management, and Registration/Certifications/Investigations. On May 1, Valerie Agnew assumed the role of director of Standards. Agnew will continue to report to Lauby. Director of standards development Laura Hussey and associate director of standards development Steven Noess will report to Agnew. On May 19, Katherine Street joined NERC as a standards developer on Laura Hussey’s team. A recent graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Law, Street previously worked as the operations manager of the North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency for ElectriCities of North Carolina, and as a distribution design engineer for the Reliability and Power Quality department of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division in Memphis, Tenn. Street earned her Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Memphis while working with UPS in Memphis after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps as an avionics instructor and technician.
webinar: 3-5 p.m. Eastern | June 19 | Register. While this webinar will focus on the Reliability Assurance Initiative, it will contain some examples that pertain to the revisions to the Version 5 Critical Infrastructure Protection Standards. ■■■
Filings NERC Filings to FERC (click on the link for full filing) May 9, 2014
Supplemental Information to Petition of NERC for Approval of Reliability Standard BAL-001-2 (Real Power Balancing Control Performance) NERC submits supplemental information to its April 2, 2014 petition for approval of proposed Reliability Standard BAL-001-2 (Real Power Balancing Control Performance). May 12, 2014 Petition of NERC for Approval of Proposed Reliability Standard MOD-031-1 and Retirement of Reliability Standards MOD-016-1.1, MOD-017-0.1, MOD-018-0, MOD-019-0.1, and MOD-021-1 NERC submits a petition for approval of proposed Reliability Standard MOD-031-1 (Demand and Energy Data) and the retirement of currently effective Reliability Standards MOD-016-1.1, MOD-017-0.1, MOD-018-0, MOD-019-0.1, and MOD-021-1. May 13, 2014 Petition of NERC for Approval of Proposed Reliability Standards COM-001-2 and COM-002-4 NERC submits a petition for approval of proposed Reliability Standards COM-001-2-Communications and COM-002-4-Operating Personnel Communications Protocols. May 14, 2014 Petition of NERC for Approval of Proposed Reliability Standards COM-001-2 and COM-002-4 NERC submits a petition for approval of proposed Reliability Standards COM-001-2-Communications and COM-002-4-Operating Personnel Communications Protocols. May 15, 2014 Compliance Filling in Response to January 16 Order NERC submits an unaudited report of NERC’s budget-to-actual variance information for the first quarter of 2014. This compliance filing is in accordance with the January 16, 2013 Order, which approved a Settlement Agreement between the FERC Office of Enforcement and NERC, related to findings and recommendations arising out of its 2012 performance audit of NERC. Errata to Petition of NERC for Approval of Proposed Reliability Standards COM-001-2 and COM-002-4 NERC submits an errata to the petition of NERC for Approval of Proposed Reliability Standards COM-001-2 and COM-002-4. The Petition incorrectly noted that Requirement R1 of Reliability Standard EOP-008-1 is proposed for Retirement. The implementation plans referenced in the petition list the correct proposed retirements for approval.
NERC Revisions to the Violation Risk Factors and Violation Severity Levels Assigned to Certain Critical Infrastructure Protection Reliability Standards NERC submits proposed revisions to certain Violation Risk Factors ("VRFs") and Violation Severity Levels ("VSLs") assigned to certain Critical Infrastructure Protection ("CIP") Reliability Standards for FERC approval. May 23, 2014 Petition of NERC for Approval of Proposed Reliability Standard CIP-014-1 NERC submits a petition for approval of proposed Reliability Standard CIP-014-1-Physical Security. May 30, 2014 NERC Motion to Discontinue Obligation in Response to Paragraph 629 of Order No. 693 NERC submits a motion requesting to discontinue obligations to (i) collect data and (ii) provide quarterly informational filings pursuanat to the Commision's directive in Paragraph 629 of Order No. 693. First Quarter 2014 Compliance Filing of NERC in Response to Paragraph 629 of Order No. 693 NERC submits the First Quarter 2014 compliance filing in response to Paragraph 629 of Order No. 693. Order No. 693 requires that NERC provide a quarterly informational filing regarding the timeframe to restore power to the auxiliary power systems of U.S. nuclear power plants following a blackout as determined during simulations and drills of system restoration plans. This filing contains the referenced material pertaining to the first quarter of 2014.
NERC Filings in Canada, click here (click on the link above for full filing) May 6, 2014 Notice of Filing of Revisions to the BES Definition in the NERC Rules of Procedure (Alberta) Notice of Filing of NERC of Revisions to the Definition of "Bulk Electric System" (Alberta) May 13, 2014 Notice of Filing of NERC of Reliability Standard BAL-001-2-Real Power Balancing Control Performance (Alberta) May 20, 2014 Notice of Filing of NERC of Proposed Reliability Standard MOD-031-1 and Retirement of Reliability Standards MOD-016-1.1, MOD-017-0.1, MOD-018-0, MOD-019-0.1 and MOD-021-1 (Alberta) May 29, 2014 Notice of Filing of NERC of Proposed Reliability Standards COM-001-
2 and COM-002-4 (Alberta) ■■■
Careers at NERC Director Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Location: Washington, DC Details Communications Coordinator Location: Washington, DC Details CIP Physical Security Manager Location: Washington, DC Details ES-ISAC Cyber Security Specialist Location: Washington, DC Details Senior Reliability Engineer Location: Atlanta Details Senior Web Developer Location: Atlanta Details Senior Technical Project Manager-PMO Location: Atlanta Details Manager Reliability Assessments Location: Atlanta Details Senior Engineer Location: Atlanta Details Compliance Auditor Location: Atlanta Details Event Investigator Location: Atlanta Details
