[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 131 (Monday, July 10, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38876-38877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-10698]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. RM06-16-000]


Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System; 
Supplemental Notice of Technical Conference

June 30, 2006.
    As announced in a Notice of Technical Conference issued on May 31, 
2006, in the above referenced proceeding, a technical conference will 
be held in the offices of the Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC on July 6, 2006, from approximately 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. 
(EST). All interested persons may attend and registration is not 
required.
    The conference will assist in developing a public record in 
anticipation of the Commission acting on a petition filed by the North 
American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) for approval of 
reliability standards. An agenda is included with this notice.
    Transcripts of the conference will be immediately available from 
Ace Reporting Company (202-347-3700 or 1-800-336-6646) for a fee. They 
will be available for the public on the Commission's eLibrary system 
seven calendar days after the Commission receives the transcript.
    A free Webcast of this event is available through http://www.ferc.gov. Anyone with Internet access who desires to view this 
event can do so by navigating to http://www.ferc.gov's Calendar of 
Events and locating this event in the Calendar. The event will contain 
a link to its Webcast. The Capitol Connection provides technical 
support for the Webcasts and offers access to the open meetings via 
television in the DC area and via phone bridge for a fee. If you have 
any questions, visit http://www.CapitolConnection.org or contact 
Danelle Perkowski or David Reininger at 703-993-3100.
    Commission conferences are accessible under section 508 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For accessibility accommodations please 
send an e-mail to [email protected] or call toll free 866-208-3372 
(voice) or 202-208-1659 (TTY), or send a fax to 202-208-2106 with the 
required accommodations.
    For more information about the conference, please contact Sarah 
McKinley at (202) 502-8004 ([email protected]).

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.

Review of the North American Electric Reliability Council's Proposed 
Reliability Standards Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Technical 
Conference

July 6, 2006, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

9:30 a.m.--Opening Remarks, Joseph T. Kelliher, FERC Chairman.
9:45 a.m.--Introductions, Joseph McClelland, Director, Division of 
Reliability, Office of Energy Markets and Reliability, FERC.
9:50 a.m.--Panel 1: Effectiveness of North American Electric 
Reliability Council's (NERC's) Proposed Reliability Standards.

    Panelists will provide their views on the proposed Reliability 
Standards in the context of the May 11, 2006 Staff Preliminary 
Assessment, focusing on the following questions:
     Do the proposed standards meet the criteria established in 
Order No. 672 \1\ for Commission approval?
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    \1\ Rules Concerning Certification of the Electric Reliability 
Organization; and Procedures for the Establishment, Approval, and 
Enforcement of Electric Reliability Standards, 114 FERC ] 61,104 
(2006).
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     To the extent some standards do not meet the criteria, 
which should be addressed first? Are there some that have a greater 
impact on reliability?
     Is it appropriate to focus on the Blackout Report 
recommendations that have not yet been addressed by the standards, or 
are there other standards that should receive a higher priority?
     Should all Reliability Standards have performance metrics 
to gauge the effectiveness of the standards? How quickly can such 
specific performance metrics be developed? Is there another process 
that could be used to develop metrics for existing standards?
     What are the implications of applying the EPAct definition 
of the Bulk Power System instead of the NERC definition of the Bulk 
Electric System?
     How do we define the ``Users, Owners, and Operators'' of 
the ``Bulk-Power System''?
     How should a work plan be developed that schedules 
standards for revision? What are the opportunities for participation in 
this process by the interested stakeholders?
     What coordination is necessary with other State, Federal, 
and/or international regulators to ensure a good transition to 
mandatory reliability standards?
     What process should the United States, Canada, and Mexico 
follow for review and approval of Reliability Standards to meet 
possible time constraints?
    Panelists:

Richard P. (Rick) Sergel, President and CEO, North American Electric
Reliability Council.
Michael Morris, President and CEO, American Electric Power, on behalf 
of Edison Electric Institute.
Charles Yeung, Executive Director, Interregional Affairs, Southwest 
Power Pool, on behalf of the ISO/RTO Council.
Scott M. Helyer, Vice President, Transmission, Tenaska, Inc., and 
Chairman, Energy Standards Working Group, Electric Power Supply 
Association.
Canadian Representative, to be announced.

[[Page 38877]]

12 p.m.--Lunch.
1 p.m.--Panel 2: What's Needed To Achieve the Goal.
    Panelists will address the questions listed above, providing a more 
in-depth assessment of the standards and appropriate priorities, 
processes, and metrics needed to ensure a reliable Bulk Power System.
    Panelists:
Steve Ruekert, Director, Standards and Compliance, Western Electric 
Coordinating Council.
Allen Mosher, Director of Policy Analysis, American Public Power 
Association.
Steven C. Cobb, Manager, Transmission Services, Salt River Project, on 
behalf of the Large Public Power Council.
David A. Whiteley, Senior Vice President, Energy Delivery Services, 
Ameren, on behalf of the Edison Electric Institute.
James C. Nixon, Director, Energy Markets, Alcoa Inc.
Canadian Representative, to be announced.
3 p.m.--Concluding Remarks, Joseph T. Kelliher, FERC Chairman.

 [FR Doc. E6-10698 Filed 7-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P