RD11-8 (order approving regional reliability standard)

Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 25, 2011 / Notices
recordkeeping requirements (collections
of information) imposed by an agency.14
The information contained here is also
subject to review under section 3507(d)
of the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995.15
16. The Commission approved
Reliability Standard TOP–002–2, the
subject of this order, in Order No. 693.16
This order proposes to approve the
interpretation of the previously
approved Reliability Standard, which
was developed by NERC as the ERO.
The interpretation relates to an existing
Reliability Standard, and the
Commission does not expect it to affect
entities’ current reporting burden.17
Accordingly, we will submit this Final
Rule to OMB for informational purposes
only.
The Commission Orders:
(A) NERC’s interpretation is hereby
approved, as discussed in the body of
this order.
By the Commission. Commissioner Spitzer
is not participating.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011–27566 Filed 10–24–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. RD11–8–000; 137 FERC ¶
61,043]

North American Electric Reliability
Corporation; Order Approving
Regional Reliability Standard
Issued October 20, 2011.

sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

Before Commissioners: Jon Wellinghoff,
Chairman; Philip D. Moeller, John R. Norris,
and Cheryl A. LaFleur.

1. On May 31, 2011, the North
American Electric Reliability
Corporation (NERC), the Commissioncertified Electric Reliability
Organization (ERO), submitted a
petition for Commission approval of the
Northeast Power Coordinating Council’s
(NPCC) Protection and Control (PRC)
regional Reliability Standard PRC–002–
NPCC–01 (Disturbance Monitoring) and
two associated new definitions. The
regional Reliability Standard requires
transmission owners and generator
owners to provide recording capability
necessary to monitor the response of the

Bulk-Power System to system
disturbances, including scheduled and
unscheduled outages; requires each
reliability coordinator to establish
requirements for its area’s dynamic
disturbance recording needs; and
establishes disturbance data reporting
requirements.
2. In this order, we approve regional
Reliability Standard PRC–002–NPCC–
01, finding that it is just, reasonable, not
unduly discriminatory or preferential,
and in the public interest. Also, we
approve NERC’s requested
implementation plan which provides
staggered effective dates, i.e., the date
on which applicable entities are subject
to mandatory compliance, with full
compliance required within four years
of regulatory approval.
I. Background
3. Section 215 of the Federal Power
Act (FPA) requires the ERO to develop
mandatory and enforceable Reliability
Standards, which provide for the
reliable operation of the Bulk-Power
System, subject to Commission review
and approval.1 Section 215(d)(2) of the
FPA states that the Commission may
approve, by rule or order, a proposed
Reliability Standard or modification to a
Reliability Standard if it determines that
the Reliability Standard is just,
reasonable, not unduly discriminatory
or preferential, and in the public
interest. Once approved, the Reliability
Standard may be enforced by the ERO,
subject to Commission oversight, or by
the Commission independently.2
4. Reliability Standards that the ERO
proposes to the Commission may
include Reliability Standards that are
developed by a Regional Entity.3 On
April 19, 2007, the Commission
approved delegation agreements
between NERC and eight Regional
Entities, including NPCC.4 In the
Delegation Agreement Order, the
Commission accepted NPCC as a
Regional Entity and accepted NPCC’s
Standards Development Manual, which
sets forth the process for NPCC’s
development of regional Reliability
Standards.5 The NPCC region is a less
than interconnection-wide region, and
its standards apply only to that part of
the Eastern Interconnection within the
NPCC geographical footprint.
5. In Order No. 672, the Commission
urged uniformity of Reliability
1 16

U.S.C. 824o(d) (2006).
16 U.S.C. 824o(e).
3 Id. § 824o(e)(4).
4 See North American Electric Reliability Corp.,
119 FERC ¶ 61,060, at P 316–350 (Delegation
Agreement Order), order on reh’g, 120 FERC
¶ 61,260 (2007).
5 Id. P 302.
2 See

14 5

CFR 1320.11 (2011).
U.S.C. 3507(d).
16 Order No. 693, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,242,
order on reh’g, Order No. 693–A, 120 FERC ¶
61,053 (2007).
17 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2).
15 44

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66057

Standards, but recognized a potential
need for regional
differences.6Accordingly, the
Commission stated that:
As a general matter, we will accept the
following two types of regional differences,
provided they are otherwise just, reasonable,
not unduly discriminatory or preferential and
in the public interest, as required under the
statute: (1) A regional difference that is more
stringent than the continent-wide Reliability
Standard, including a regional difference that
addresses matters that the continent-wide
Reliability Standard does not; and (2) a
regional Reliability Standard that is
necessitated by a physical difference in the
Bulk-Power System.7

6. On March 16, 2007, the
Commission issued Order No. 693,
approving 83 of the 107 Reliability
Standards filed by the ERO.8 In that
order, the Commission determined that
it would not take action on certain
proposed Reliability Standards that
required supplemental information from
regional reliability organizations. Such
Reliability Standards refer to regional
criteria or procedures that had not been
submitted to the Commission for
approval and, as such, are referred to as
‘‘fill-in-the-blank’’ standards. Pending
Reliability Standard PRC–002–1 (Define
Regional Disturbance Monitoring and
Reporting) is one such fill-in-the-blank
standard and, therefore, is not
enforceable. NERC’s continent-wide,
fill-in-the-blank standard PRC–002–1
would require regional reliability
organizations to establish: (i)
Installation requirements for sequence
of event recording, fault recording, and
dynamic disturbance recording, and (ii)
reporting requirements for recorded
disturbance data. Because PRC–002–1 is
an unenforceable and unapproved fillin-the-blank standard, NPCC’s proposed
regional Reliability Standard PRC–002–
NPCC–01 is intended to fill the
reliability gap related to disturbance
monitoring and reporting by
establishing enforceable disturbance
monitoring and reporting requirements
for the NPCC region.
6 Rules Concerning Certification of the Electric
Reliability Organization; Procedures for the
Establishment, Approval, and Enforcement of
Electric Reliability Standards, Order No. 672, FERC
Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,204, at P 290, order on reh’g,
Order No. 672–A, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,212
(2006).
7 Order No. 672, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,204 at
P 291.
8 Mandatory Reliability Standards for the BulkPower System, Order No. 693, FERC Stats. & Regs.
¶ 31,242, order on reh’g, Order No. 693–A, 120
FERC ¶ 61,053 (2007).

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 25, 2011 / Notices

II. NERC Petition and Notice of Filing
7. In its May 31, 2011 petition,9 NERC
requests Commission approval of
proposed regional Reliability Standard
PRC–002–NPCC–01 (Disturbance
Monitoring) and two associated new
definitions. NERC states that PRC–002–
NPCC–01 is intended to ensure that
adequate disturbance data is available to
facilitate bulk electric system event
analyses and thereby improve system
reliability by promoting improved
system design and operations.
8. The standard is applicable to
transmission owners, generator owners,
and reliability coordinators and
contains 17 requirements that identify
the proper locations for sequence of
events recorders, fault recorders, and
dynamic disturbance recorders within
the NPCC region and specify the data to
be captured and reported by this
equipment.
9. Sequence of events recorders
capture the sequences of events for
monitored changes of state in
equipment and protection systems
occurring in substations, switchyards, or
power plants. Requirement R1 requires
that each transmission owner and
generator owner provide sequence of
events recording capability at specified
locations either through installation of
sequence of events recorders or as part
of another device such as a remote
terminal unit or a generator plant digital
(or distributed) control system.
10. Fault recorders capture and store
power system waveforms that can be
used to analyze transients and
abnormalities in system frequency.
Requirement R2 requires each
transmission owner to provide fault
recording capability for specified
elements of the Bulk-Power System, and
Requirement R3 requires that each
transmission owner have fault recording
capability that determines the ‘‘Current
Zero Time’’ for loss of bulk electric
system transmission elements. ‘‘Current
Zero Time’’ is a new defined term used
in PRC–002–NPCC–01 to mean the
precise time of circuit interruption. It is
defined as ‘‘the time of the final current
zero on the last phase to interrupt.’’
11. Requirement R4 requires each
generator owner to provide fault
recording capability for ‘‘Generating
Plants’’ at and above 200 MVA and
connected through a generator step-up
transformer to a bulk electric system
element, unless such recording
capability is provided by the
transmission owner. ‘‘Generating
9 North American Electric Reliability Corp., May
31, 2011 Petition for Approval of Proposed NPCC
Regional Reliability Standard PRC–002–NPCC–01
— Disturbance Monitoring (NERC Petition).

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Plants’’ is a new term defined as ‘‘one
or more generators at a single physical
location whereby a single contingency
can affect all the generators at that
location.’’ The term appears in this
Requirement and in Requirement R1’s
description of where sequence of event
recording capability is to be located. It
is used to clarify that, for the sake of
efficiency, one sequence of event
recorder or a single fault recorder may
be used where it will capture all the
information from a single contingency
affecting all the generators at a single
location, and multiple recorders would
be redundant.
12. Because certain data are necessary
for post-event analysis, Requirement R5
requires each transmission owner and
generator owner to record for faults
sufficient electrical quantities for each
monitored bulk electric system element
to determine: (i) Three phase-to-neutral
voltages; (ii) three phase currents and
neutral currents; (iii) polarizing currents
and voltages, if used; (iv) frequency; and
(v) real and reactive power.
Requirement R6 sets out the recording
specifications required of the fault
recording equipment in order to ensure
the monitored data is captured in
sufficient detail for it to be meaningfully
used in analyses.
13. Dynamic disturbance recorders
monitor power system conditions when
the system experiences dynamic events
such as low frequency oscillations, or
frequency or voltage excursions.
Requirement R7 requires each reliability
coordinator to establish dynamic
disturbance recording needs for its area
in accordance with specified recording
requirements, and Requirement R8
requires that dynamic disturbance
recorders function continuously. To
capture system disturbance data with
sufficient detail for use in post-event
analyses, Requirement R9 specifies the
minimal recording duration, sample rate
and trigger events for dynamic
disturbance recorders. Requirement R10
requires each reliability coordinator to
establish requirements to ensure that
certain specified data are monitored or
derived where dynamic disturbance
recorders are installed.
14. Requirement R11 requires each
reliability coordinator to document
additional settings and deviations from
the required trigger settings described in
Requirement R9 and the required list of
monitored quantities described in
Requirement R10 and to report these
settings and deviations to the Regional
Entity upon request. Requirement R12
requires each reliability coordinator to
specify its dynamic disturbance
recording requirements, including

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trigger settings, to transmission owners
and generator owners.
15. Each transmission owner and
generator owner that receives a request
from its reliability coordinator to install
a dynamic disturbance recorder is
required, under Requirement R13, to
acquire and install the recorder in
accordance with an implementation
schedule agreed to with the reliability
coordinator. They also are required by
Requirement R14 to establish a
maintenance and testing program for
their stand alone disturbance
monitoring equipment (i.e., equipment
whose only purpose is disturbance
monitoring). The Requirement lists
elements of such a program.
16. Requirement R15 requires that
each reliability coordinator,
transmission owner, and generator
owner share data within 30 days upon
request, and each generator owner must
provide recorded disturbance data from
disturbance monitoring equipment
within 30 days of receipt of a request for
information from NERC, the Regional
Entity, the reliability coordinator, or
transmission or generator owners within
NPCC. Requirement R16 specifies the
format requirements for data files.
Requirement R17 requires each
reliability coordinator, transmission
owner and generator owner to maintain,
record and provide to the Regional
Entity, upon request, specified data
regarding the disturbance monitoring
equipment installed to meet regional
Reliability Standard PRC–002–NPCC–
01.
17. Notice of NERC’s filing was
published in the Federal Register, 76 FR
40,350 (2011), with interventions and
protests due on or before August 1,
2011. No motion to intervene or protest
was received.
III. Discussion
18. The Commission approves
regional Reliability Standard PRC–002–
NPCC–01 as just, reasonable, not unduly
discriminatory or preferential, and in
the public interest. To that end, the
Commission finds that PRC–002–NPCC–
01 satisfies the Order No. 672 factors on
how the Commission determines
whether a regional Reliability Standard
is just and reasonable in that PRC–002–
NPCC–01: (1) Is clear and unambiguous
regarding what is required and who is
required to comply (transmission
owners, generator owners, and
reliability coordinators within the NPCC
region); (2) has clear and objective
measures for compliance and achieves a
reliability goal (namely, ensuring that
adequate disturbance data is available to
facilitate bulk electric system event
analyses); and (3) is ‘‘more stringent’’

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 25, 2011 / Notices

sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

than NERC’s existing unapproved and
unenforceable continent-wide
disturbance monitoring and reporting
standard, PRC–002–1.
19. Regional Reliability Standard
PRC–002–NPCC–01 includes two new
defined terms that apply only to the
NPCC region: ‘‘Current Zero Time’’ and
‘‘Generating Plant.’’ The two proposed
regional terms do not conflict with any
existing terms in the NERC Glossary of
Terms. Accordingly, the Commission
approves the inclusion of the two
regional terms related to PRC–002–
NPCC–01 in the NERC Glossary
specifically as NPCC regional terms.
20. The Commission finds that the
NERC’s violation risk factors and
violation severity levels for regional
Reliability Standard PRC–002–NPCC–01
are consistent with the Commission’s
established guidelines.10 We therefore
approve the assigned violation risk
factors and violation severity levels.
21. As requested by NERC, the
Commission approves the
implementation plan for regional
Reliability Standard PRC–002–NPCC–
01.
IV. Information Collection Statement
22. The Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) regulations require
approval of certain information
collection requirements imposed by
agency actions.11 Upon approval of a
collection of information, OMB will
assign an OMB control number and
expiration date. Respondents subject to
the filing requirement of this order will
not be penalized for failing to respond
to these collections of information
unless the collections of information
display a valid OMB control number.
The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 12
requires each federal agency to seek and
obtain OMB approval before
undertaking a collection of information
directed to ten or more persons, or
continuing a collection for which OMB
approval and validity of the control
number are about to expire.13
23. The Commission will submit these
reporting and recordkeeping
requirements to OMB for its review and
approval under section 3507(d) of the
PRA.14 Comments are solicited within
sixty days of the date this order is
published in the Federal Register on the
Commission’s need for this information,
whether the information will have
practical utility, the accuracy of
10 See North American Electric Reliability Corp.,
119 FERC ¶ 61,145, order on reh’g, 120 FERC
¶ 61,145, at P 8–13 (2007); North American Electric
Reliability Corp., 123 FERC ¶ 61,284, at P 20–35,
order on reh’g & compliance, 125 FERC ¶ 61,212
(2008); North American Electric Reliability Corp.,
135 FERC ¶ 61,166 (2011).

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provided burden estimates, ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information to be collected, and
any suggested methods for minimizing
the respondent’s burden, including the
use of automated information
techniques. Comments should be
submitted following the Commission’s
submission guidelines at http://
www.ferc.gov/help/submissionguide.asp and should reference Docket
No. RD11–8–000.
24. This Order approves regional
Reliability Standard PRC–002–NPCC–01
(Disturbance Monitoring) which
introduces new mandatory and
enforceable requirements for the
applicable entities. It generally
identifies the evidence that will be used
to monitor compliance. NPCC presently
has criteria addressing monitoring
equipment and published guidance
addressing maintenance and testing of
such equipment. The Disturbance
Monitoring Equipment Criteria 15 seek
the same or equivalent information
identified in Reliability Standard PRC–
002–NPCC–01, and NPCC’s guidance
establishes maintenance and testing
expectations similar to those imposed
by the regional Reliability Standard.16
Thus, it is currently usual and
customary for affected entities within
NPCC to create, maintain and store
some of the same or equivalent
information identified in Reliability
Standard PRC–002–NPCC–01.
Therefore, many of the requirements
contained in PRC–002–NPCC–01 do not
impose new burdens on the affected
entities.17
25. Several requirements contained in
regional Reliability Standard PRC–002–
NPCC–01 do introduce entirely new
responsibilities for the applicable
entities. Each such requirement is
discussed below. Requirement R13
requires that each transmission owner
and generator owner retain evidence
that it acquired and installed dynamic
disturbance recorders in accordance
with the specifications requested by the
reliability coordinator, and that the
generator owner, transmission owner,
and reliability coordinator retain
evidence that they agreed on an
implementation schedule. Requirement
R14 requires that each transmission
owner and generator owner establish a
maintenance and testing program for
stand-alone disturbance monitoring
equipment. Sub-requirements 14.5
11 5

CFR 1320.10.
U.S.C . 3501–20.
13 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A)(i), 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(3).
14 44 U.S.C. 3507(d).
15 Disturbance Monitoring Equipment Criteria
(Aug. 2007), available at https://www.npcc.org/
12 44

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specifies that the program must require
active analog quantities to be verified
monthly, and Sub-requirement 14.7
requires that if failed units cannot be
returned to service within 90 days, the
owner must record its efforts to restore
the equipment to service. These
components of the program have not
been included in NPCC’s current
Disturbance Monitoring Criteria or
Application Guide. Requirement R17
requires each reliability coordinator,
transmission owner, and generator
owner to maintain and record specific
data on installed disturbance
monitoring equipment, and submit the
data to the Regional Entity upon
request. Under the Disturbance
Monitoring Criteria, the reliability
coordinator was not obligated to
maintain these records or provide the
records to the Regional Entity.
26. Public Reporting Burden: The
estimate below regarding the number of
respondents is based on the NERC
compliance registry as of August 29,
2011. According to the NERC
compliance registry, there are 35
transmission owners, 136 generation
owners, and five reliability coordinators
in the NPCC region. However, under
NERC’s compliance registration
program, entities may be registered for
multiple functions, so these numbers
incorporate some double counting. The
net number of entities responding will
be approximately 167 entities registered
as a transmission owner, generation
owner, or reliability coordinator. This
includes eight entities registered as both
a generation owner and transmission
owner, as well as one entity registered
as both a transmission owner and a
reliability coordinator.
27. We estimate that annually,
approximately one entity within NPCC
will have to procure dynamic
disturbance recording capability. Based
on Commission staff outreach and
analysis, we estimate the total
acquisition and installation cost will
range between $150,000 and $750,000.
We also estimate that an entity will
experience a unit failure greater than 90
days once every five years. Therefore, 20
percent of NPCC’s 163 generator owners
and transmission owners will
experience a unit failure of this duration
each year. The estimated burden for the
requirements in this Order follow:
Standards/Criteria/A-15.pdf (Disturbance
Monitoring Criteria).
16 Guide for Application of Disturbance
Recording Equipment (Sept. 2006), available at
https:/www.npcc.org/Standards/Guides/B-26.pdf
(Application Guide).
17 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2) (2011).

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PRC–002–NPCC–01

Number of
respondents
annually

Number of
responses
per
respondent

Average burden
hours per
response

Total annual
hours

(1)

(2)

(3)

(1 × 2 × 3)

R13: GO 18 and TO to document acquisition and installation of dynamic disturbance recorders. GO, TO,
and RC to develop and employ implementation
schedule.
R14.5: GO and TO maintenance and testing program
for stand-alone disturbance monitoring equipment includes monthly verification of active analog quantities.
R14.7: GO and TO requirement to return failed units to
service in 90 days. Record kept of efforts if greater
than 90 days.
R17: RC maintains data on equipment, and provide to
RE upon request.

Total ........................................................................

1

1

Record Retention

10

10

163

12

Record Retention

5

9,780

33

1

Reporting (assessment and
dist. of records).

10

330

........................
5

........................
1

Record Retention
Reporting (assessment and
dist. of data).

10
5

330
25

........................
........................

........................
........................

Record Retention
Reporting (assessment and
dist).

10
........................

50
355

........................

........................

Record Retention

........................

10,170

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18 For purposes of this chart, generation owner is abbreviated to GO, transmission owner is abbreviated to TO, and reliability coordinator is abbreviated to RC.

Information Collection Costs: The
Commission seeks comments on the
costs to comply with these requirements
and recordkeeping burden associated
with regional Reliability Standard PRC–
002–NPCC–01.
• Total Annual Hours for Collection:
(Reporting and Record Retention) =
10,525 hours.
• Total Estimated Annual Record
Retention Cost 19 = 10,170 hours @ $28/
hour = $284,360
• Total Estimated Annual Reporting
Cost = 355 hours @ $120/hour = $42,600
• Total Estimated Annual
Compliance Cost (acquisition and
installation of dynamic disturbance
recorders) = $750,000
• Total Estimated Annual Cost =
$1,077,640
• Title: NPCC Regional Reliability
Standards
• Action: Proposed Collection FERC–
725I.
• OMB Control No: To be determined.
• Respondents: Business or other for
profit, and/or not for profit institutions.
• Frequency of Responses: On
occasion.
• Necessity of the Information: This
proposed rule would approve a new
regional Reliability Standard that
requires entities within the NPCC region
19 The hourly reporting cost is based on the
estimated cost of an engineer to implement the
requirements of the rule. The record retention cost
comes from Commission staff research on record
retention requirements.

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to identify the proper locations for
sequence of events recorders, fault
recorders, and dynamic disturbance
recorders and specify the data to be
captured and reported by this
equipment.
• Internal review: The Commission
has reviewed the requirements
pertaining to the proposed regional
Reliability Standard and determined
that the proposed requirements are
necessary to meet the statutory
provisions of the Energy Policy Act of
2005. These requirements conform to
the Commission’s plan for efficient
information collection, communication
and management within the energy
industry. The Commission has assured
itself, by means of internal review, that
there is specific objective support for
the burden estimates associated with the
information requirements.
28. Interested persons may obtain
information on the reporting
requirements by contacting: Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426
[Attention: Ellen Brown, Office of the
Executive Director, e-mail:
[email protected], Phone: (202)
502–8663, fax: (202) 273–0873].
The Commission orders:
Regional Reliability Standard PRC–
002–NPCC–01, its assigned VRFs and
VSLs, inclusion of the terms ‘‘Current
Zero Time’’ and ‘‘Generating Plant’’ in
the NERC Glossary of Terms Used in
Reliability Standards, and the

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implementation plan proposed by NERC
are herby approved, as discussed in this
order.
By the Commission. Commissioner Spitzer
is not participating.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011–27567 Filed 10–24–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
Notice of Commission Staff
Attendance
The Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission hereby gives notice that
members of the Commission’s staff may
attend the following meetings related to
the transmission planning activities of
the New York Independent System
Operator, Inc. (NYISO):
Electric System Planning Working
Group
October 24, 2011, 10 a.m.–4:00 p.m.,
Local Time
November 7, 2011, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.,
Local Time
November 21, 2011, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.,
Local Time

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