Bal-002-3

BAL-002-3 – Disturbance Control Standard – Contingency Reserve for Recovery from a
Balancing Contingency Event
A. Introduction
1.

Title: Disturbance Control Standard – Contingency Reserve for Recovery from a
Balancing Contingency Event

2.

Number:

3.

Purpose: To ensure the Balancing Authority or Reserve Sharing Group balances
resources and demand and returns the Balancing Authority's or Reserve Sharing
Group's Area Control Error to defined values (subject to applicable limits) following a
Reportable Balancing Contingency Event.

4.

Applicability:
4.1.

BAL-002-3

Responsible Entity
4.1.1. Balancing Authority
4.1.1.1.
A Balancing Authority that is a member of a Reserve
Sharing Group is the Responsible Entity only in periods during which the
Balancing Authority is not in active status under the applicable
agreement or governing rules for the Reserve Sharing Group.
4.1.2. Reserve Sharing Group

5.

Effective Date: See the Implementation Plan for BAL-002-3.

B. Requirements and Measures
R1.

The Responsible Entity experiencing a Reportable Balancing Contingency Event shall:
[Violation Risk Factor: High] [Time Horizon: Real-time Operations]
1.1.

within the Contingency Event Recovery Period, demonstrate recovery by
returning its Reporting ACE to at least the recovery value of:


zero (if its Pre-Reporting Contingency Event ACE Value was positive or
equal to zero); however, any Balancing Contingency Event that occurs
during the Contingency Event Recovery Period shall reduce the required
recovery: (i) beginning at the time of, and (ii) by the magnitude of, such
individual Balancing Contingency Event,

or,


1.2.

its Pre-Reporting Contingency Event ACE Value (if its Pre-Reporting
Contingency Event ACE Value was negative); however, any Balancing
Contingency Event that occurs during the Contingency Event Recovery
Period shall reduce the required recovery: (i) beginning at the time of, and
(ii) by the magnitude of, such individual Balancing Contingency Event.

document all Reportable Balancing Contingency Events using CR Form 1.

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BAL-002-3 – Disturbance Control Standard – Contingency Reserve for Recovery from a
Balancing Contingency Event
1.3.

deploy Contingency Reserve, within system constraints, to respond to all
Reportable Balancing Contingency Events, however, it is not subject to
compliance with Requirement R1 part 1.1 if the Responsible Entity:
1.3.1 is (i) a Balancing Authority or (ii) a Reserve Sharing Group with at least
one member that:


is experiencing a Reliability Coordinator declared Energy Emergency
Alert Level, and



is utilizing its Contingency Reserve to mitigate an operating
emergency in accordance with its emergency Operating Plan, and



has depleted its Contingency Reserve to a level below its Most Severe
Single Contingency, and



has, during communications with its Reliability Coordinator in
accordance with the Energy Emergency Alert procedures, (i) notified
the Reliability Coordinator of the conditions described in the
preceding two bullet points preventing the Responsible Entity from
complying with Requirement R1 part 1.1, and (ii) provided the
Reliability Coordinator with an ACE recovery plan, including target
recovery time

or,
1.3.2 the Responsible Entity experiences:


multiple Contingencies where the combined MW loss exceeds its
Most Severe Single Contingency and that are defined as a single
Balancing Contingency Event, or



multiple Balancing Contingency Events within the sum of the time
periods defined by the Contingency Event Recovery Period and
Contingency Reserve Restoration Period whose combined magnitude
exceeds the Responsible Entity's Most Severe Single Contingency.

M1. Each Responsible Entity shall have, and provide upon request, as evidence, a CR Form
1 with date and time of occurrence to show compliance with Requirement R1. If
Requirement R1 part 1.3 applies, then dated documentation that demonstrates
compliance with Requirement R1 part 1.3 must also be provided.
R2. Each Responsible Entity shall develop, review and maintain annually, and implement
an Operating Process as part of its Operating Plan to determine its Most Severe Single
Contingency and make preparations to have Contingency Reserve equal to, or greater
than the Responsible Entity’s Most Severe Single Contingency available for
maintaining system reliability. [Violation Risk Factor: High] [Time Horizon: Operations
Planning]

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BAL-002-3 – Disturbance Control Standard – Contingency Reserve for Recovery from a
Balancing Contingency Event
M2. Each Responsible Entity will have the following documentation to show compliance
with Requirement R2:


a dated Operating Process;



evidence to indicate that the Operating Process has been reviewed and
maintained annually; and,



evidence such as Operating Plans or other operator documentation that
demonstrate that the entity determines its Most Severe Single Contingency and
that Contingency Reserves equal to or greater than its Most Severe Single
Contingency are included in this process.

R3. Each Responsible Entity, following a Reportable Balancing Contingency Event, shall
restore its Contingency Reserve to at least its Most Severe Single Contingency, before
the end of the Contingency Reserve Restoration Period, but any Balancing
Contingency Event that occurs before the end of a Contingency Reserve Restoration
Period resets the beginning of the Contingency Event Recovery Period. [Violation Risk
Factor: Medium] [Time Horizon: Real-time Operations]
M3. Each Responsible Entity will have documentation demonstrating its Contingency
Reserve was restored within the Contingency Reserve Restoration Period, such as
historical data, computer logs or operator logs.
C. Compliance
1.

Compliance Monitoring Process
1.1.

Compliance Enforcement Authority
“Compliance Enforcement Authority” means NERC or the Regional Entity, or any
entity as otherwise designated by an Applicable Governmental Authority, in
their respective roles of monitoring and/or enforcing compliance with
mandatory and enforceable Reliability Standards in their respective
jurisdictions.

1.2.

Evidence Retention
The following evidence retention period(s) identify the period of time an entity
is required to retain specific evidence to demonstrate compliance. For instances
where the evidence retention period specified below is shorter than the time
since the last audit, the Compliance Enforcement Authority may ask an entity to
provide other evidence to show that it was compliant for the full-time period
since the last audit.
The Responsible Entity shall retain data or evidence to show compliance for the
current year, plus three previous calendar years, unless directed by its
Compliance Enforcement Authority to retain specific evidence for a longer
period of time as part of an investigation.

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BAL-002-3 – Disturbance Control Standard – Contingency Reserve for Recovery from a
Balancing Contingency Event
If a Responsible Entity is found noncompliant, it shall keep information related
to the noncompliance until found compliant, or for the time period specified
above, whichever is longer.
The Compliance Enforcement Authority shall keep the last audit records and all
subsequent requested and submitted records.
1.3.

Compliance Monitoring and Assessment Processes:
As defined in the NERC Rules of Procedure, “Compliance Monitoring and
Assessment Processes” refers to the identification of the processes that will be
used to evaluate data or information for the purpose of assessing performance
or outcomes with the associated Reliability Standard.

1.4.

Additional Compliance Information
The Responsible Entity may use Contingency Reserve for any Balancing
Contingency Event and as required for any other applicable standards.

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BAL-002-3 – Disturbance Control Standard – Contingency Reserve for Recovery from a Balancing Contingency Event
Table of Compliance Elements
R#

R1.

Violation Severity Levels

Lower VSL

Moderate VSL

High VSL

Severe VSL

The Responsible Entity
achieved less than 100% but
at least 90% of required
recovery from a Reportable
Balancing Contingency Event
during the Contingency
Event Recovery Period

The Responsible Entity
achieved less than 90% but
at least 80% of required
recovery from a Reportable
Balancing Contingency Event
during the Contingency
Event Recovery Period.

The Responsible Entity
achieved less than 80% but
at least 70% of required
recovery from a Reportable
Balancing Contingency Event
during the Contingency
Event Recovery Period.

The Responsible Entity
achieved less than 70% of
required recovery from a
Reportable Balancing
Contingency Event during
the Contingency Event
Recovery Period.

N/A

The Responsible Entity
developed an Operating
Process to determine its
Most Severe Single
Contingency and to have
Contingency Reserve equal
to, or greater than the
Responsible Entity’s Most
Severe Single Contingency
but failed to implement the
Operating Process.

The Responsible Entity failed
to develop an Operating
Process to determine its
Most Severe Single
Contingency and to have
Contingency Reserve equal
to, or greater than the
Responsible Entity’s Most
Severe Single Contingency.

OR
The Responsible Entity failed
to use CR Form 1 to
document a Reportable
Balancing Contingency
Event.
R2.

The Responsible Entity
developed and implemented
an Operating Process to
determine its Most Severe
Single Contingency and to
have Contingency Reserve
equal to, or greater than the
Responsible Entity’s Most
Severe Single Contingency
but failed to maintain

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BAL-002-3 – Disturbance Control Standard – Contingency Reserve for Recovery from a Balancing Contingency Event
annually the Operating
Process.
R3.

The Responsible Entity
restored less than 100% but
at least 90% of required
Contingency Reserve
following a Reportable
Balancing Contingency Event
during the Contingency
Event Restoration Period.

The Responsible Entity
restored less than 90% but
at least 80% of required
Contingency Reserve
following a Reportable
Balancing Contingency Event
during the Contingency
Event Restoration Period.

The Responsible Entity
restored less than 80% but
at least 70% of required
Contingency Reserve
following a Reportable
Balancing Contingency Event
during the Contingency
Event Restoration Period.

The Responsible Entity
restored less than 70% of
required Contingency
Reserve following a
Reportable Balancing
Contingency Event during
the Contingency Event
Restoration Period.

D. Regional Variances
None.
E. Interpretations
None.
F. Associated Documents
CR Form 1
BAL-002-3 Rationales

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Supplemental Material

Version History
Version

Date

Action

Change Tracking

0

April 1, 2005

Effective Date

New

0

August 8, 2005

Removed “Proposed” from
Effective Date

Errata

0

February 14,
2006

Revised graph on page 3, “10
min.” to “Recovery time.”
Removed fourth bullet.

Errata

1

September 9,
2010

Filed petition for revisions to BAL002 Version 1 with the
Commission

Revision

1

January 10, 2011

FERC letter ordered in Docket No.
RD10-15-00 approving BAL-002-1

1

April 1, 2012

Effective Date of BAL-002-1

1a

November 7,
2012

Interpretation adopted by the
NERC Board of Trustees

1a

February 12,
2013

Interpretation submitted to FERC

2

November 5,
2015

Adopted by NERC Board of
Trustees

2

January 19, 2017

FERC Order approved BAL-002-2.
Docket No. RM16-7-000

2

October 2, 2017

FERC letter Order issued
approving raising the VRF for
Requirement R1 and R2 from
Medium to High. Docket No.
RD17-6-000.

3

August 16, 2018

Adopted by NERC Board of
Trustees

3

September 25,
2018

FERC Order approving BAL-002-3.
Docket No. RD18-7-000

Complete revision

Revisions to address
two FERC directives
from Order No. 835

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