[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 27 (Monday, February 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7657-7659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01217]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. RD13-12-000]


Joint Petition of the North American Electric, Reliability 
Corporation, and Texas Reliability Entity, Inc. for Approval of 
Proposed Regional Reliability Standard BAL-001-TRE-01--Primary 
Frequency Response in the ERCOT Region

In Reply Refer To: North American Electric, Reliability Corporation, 
Docket No. RD13-12-000.
Holly A. Hawkins, Assistant General Counsel, North American Electric 
Reliability Corporation, 1325 G Street, NW., Suite 600, Washington, DC 
20005.
Tammy Cooper, General Counsel, Texas Reliability Entity, Inc., 805 Las 
Cimas Parkway, Suite 200, Austin, Texas 78746.

    Reference: Joint Petition of the North American Electric 
Reliability Corporation and Texas Reliability Entity, Inc. for approval 
of proposed regional Reliability Standard BAL-001-TRE-01--Primary 
Frequency Response in the ERCOT region.

Dear Mmes. Hawkins and Cooper:
    1. On September 18, 2013, the North American Electric Reliability 
Corporation (NERC) and the Texas Reliability Entity, Inc. (Texas RE) 
filed a joint petition (Petition) seeking approval of proposed regional 
Reliability Standard BAL-001-TRE-01 (Primary Frequency Response), 
implementation plan, and the associated violation risk factors and
    1. violation severity levels in response to the Order No. 693 
directive to develop a regional Reliability Standard for assuring 
frequency performance in the ERCOT Interconnection.\1\
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    \1\ Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System, 
Order No. 693, 72 FR 16416 (Apr. 4, 2007), FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 
31,242, at PP 313-15 (2007), order on reh'g, Order No. 693-A, 120 
FERC ] 61,053 (2007).
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    2. 2. The Petition states that the purpose of proposed regional 
Reliability Standard BAL-001-TRE-01 is to maintain ERCOT 
Interconnection steady-state frequency within defined limits by 
balancing real-power demand and supply in real-time. This reliability 
goal is accomplished by requiring prompt and sufficient frequency 
response from resources to stabilize frequency during changes in the 
system generation-demand balance.\2\ Pursuant to section 215(d) of the 
Federal Power Act, we approve regional Reliability Standard BAL-001-
TRE-01 as just, reasonable, not unduly discriminatory or preferential, 
and in the public interest.
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    \2\ Petition at 10.
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    3. On March 16, 2007, the Commission issued Order No. 693, 
approving 83 of the 107 Reliability Standards and associated 
definitions filed by NERC, including Reliability Standard BAL-001-0.\3\ 
In Order No. 693, the Commission approved a regional difference for the 
ERCOT Interconnection from Reliability Standard BAL-001-0, allowing 
ERCOT to be exempt from Requirement R2. In doing so, the Commission 
found that ERCOT's approach to frequency response under its own 
protocols appeared to be more stringent than Requirement R2. As with 
other new regional Reliability Standards, the Commission stated that it 
``expects that the ERCOT regional difference will include Requirements, 
Measures and Levels of Non-Compliance sections.''\4\
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    \3\ Order No. 693, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,242 at PP 313-315.
    \4\ Id. P 315.
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    4. On September 18, 2013, NERC and the Texas RE filed a joint 
petition (Petition) seeking approval of regional Reliability Standard 
BAL-001-TRE-01 (Primary Frequency Response), implementation plan, and 
the associated violation risk factors and violation severity levels. 
The Petition states that regional Reliability Standard BAL-001-TRE-01 
complies with the Commission's directive in Order No. 693. The Petition 
further states that, while the regional Reliability Standard requires 
individual generators to provide frequency response, it does not 
restrict the balancing authority from obtaining frequency response from 
other sources to meet the Interconnection's required level of 
performance.\5\
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    \5\ Petition at 11.
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    5. NERC states that the regional Reliability Standard was developed 
and approved by industry stakeholders using the Texas RE Texas 
Reliability Entity Standards Development Process, approved by the Texas 
RE Board of Directors on April 23, 2013, and subsequently approved by 
the NERC Board of Trustees on August 15, 2013. NERC states that the 
proposed regional Reliability Standard is applicable to balancing 
authorities, generator owners, and generator operators within the 
footprint of the Texas RE in the ERCOT Interconnection.
    6. NERC asserts that regional Reliability Standard BAL-001-TRE-01 
improves upon ERCOT's existing practices for frequency response, is 
necessitated by physical differences in the ERCOT system and represents 
an alternative, more stringent means of ensuring frequency response 
performance than the continent-wide NERC Reliability Standard.\6\
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    \6\ Id. at 3.
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    7. Regional Reliability Standard BAL-001-TRE-01 has ten 
requirements related to: (1) identifying and posting frequency 
measureable events (Requirement R1); (2) calculating the primary 
frequency response of each resource in the Interconnection (Requirement 
R2); (3) calculating the Interconnection minimum frequency response and 
monitoring the actual frequency response of the Interconnection 
(Requirements R3-R5); (4) requiring resources to operate in accordance 
with specified governor deadband and droop parameters and to promptly 
notify the balancing authority of any change in governor status 
(Requirements R6-R8); and (5) providing primary frequency response 
performance requirements for each generator (Requirements R9-R10). The 
requirements in BAL-001-TRE-01 work together to help ensure that 
generation and load remain balanced--or are quickly restored to 
balance--in the

[[Page 7658]]

ERCOT Interconnection so that system frequency is restored to stability 
and near normal frequency even after a significant event occurs on the 
system.
    8. NERC also seeks approval of the implementation plan for BAL-001-
TRE-01, as follows. On the first day of the first calendar quarter that 
is 12 months following the effective date of BAL-001-TRE-01, the 
balancing authority, i.e., ERCOT, and generator operators must be fully 
compliant with Requirements R1and R8, respectively. Further, the 
implementation plan mandates that at least 50 percent of each generator 
owner's generating units/generating facilities must be compliant with 
Requirements R6 and R7 the first calendar quarter that is 12 months 
following the effective date of BAL-001- TRE-01. The balancing 
authority must become fully compliant with Requirements R2, R3, R4 and 
R5 the first calendar quarter that is 18 months following the effective 
date of BAL-001-TRE-01, and 100 percent of the generator owner's 
generating units/generating facilities must be compliant with 
Requirement R7 within this same time period. Compliance with 
Requirements R9 and R10 on at least 50 percent of the generator owner's 
generating units/generating facilities is required the first calendar 
quarter that is 24 months following the effective date of BAL-001-TRE-
01. Similarly, 100 percent of the generator owner's units/generating 
facilities are required to be compliant with Requirements R9 and R10 
the first calendar quarter that is 30 months following the effective 
date of BAL-001-TRE-01.
    9. NERC's filing was noticed on September 23, 2013, with comments, 
interventions and protests due on or before October 15, 2013. No 
comments or protests were filed.
    10. We approve regional Reliability Standard BAL-001-TRE-01 and the 
associated implementation plan, violation severity levels and violation 
risk factors. We find that the regional Reliability Standard is just, 
reasonable, not unduly discriminatory or preferential, and in the 
public interest. Reliability Standard BAL-001-TRE-01 is a comprehensive 
frequency response standard that adequately addresses all applicable 
Commission directives and we believe it will protect and improve 
reliability in the ERCOT Interconnection by enabling entities to 
maintain sufficient frequency response that can be made quickly 
available to arrest possible frequency excursions. We concurrently have 
approved Reliability Standard BAL-003-1, which addresses frequency 
response on a continent-wide basis. \7\ As noted in the approval of 
BAL-003-1, the method of obtaining frequency response in BAL-001-TRE-01 
may provide balancing authorities the means to procure sufficient 
resources to satisfy their frequency response obligations if such 
challenges should occur. \8\ These are new Reliability Standards both 
nationally and for the ERCOT Interconnection. As with the national 
standard, because no regional standard existed previously, Reliability 
Standard BAL-001-TRE-01 represents a step forward in improving 
reliability of the Bulk-Power System in the ERCOT Interconnection.
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    \7\ See Frequency Response and Frequency Response Bias Setting 
Reliability Standard, Order No. 794, 146 FERC ] 61,024.
    \8\ Id.
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    11. The Commission also finds that NERC's proposed violation risk 
factors and violation severity levels for regional Reliability Standard 
BAL-001-TRE-01 are consistent with the Commission's established 
guidelines for review of proposed violation risk factors and violation 
severity levels, and find NERC's proposed implementation plan 
reasonable. Accordingly, we approve NERC's proposed violation risk 
factors, violation severity levels and implementation plan for 
Reliability Standard BAL-001-TRE-01.

Information Collection

    12. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations require 
approval of certain information collection requirements imposed by 
agency actions.\9\ 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 
Commission will submit these reporting and record keeping requirements 
to OMB for its review and approval under section 3507(d) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act.
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    \9\ 5 CFR 1320.10.
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    13. This order is effective immediately; however, the revised 
information collection requirements will not be effective or 
enforceable until OMB approves the information collection changes 
described in this order. Comments are solicited within 60 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 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. Submit 
comments following the Commission's submission guidelines at http://www.ferc.gov/help/submission-guide.asp and reference Docket No. RD13-
12.
    14. Regional Reliability Standard BAL-001-TRE-01 is more 
comprehensive than the existing continent-wide Reliability Standards 
addressing frequency response, BAL-001-0.1a and BAL-003-0.1b in that 
the regional standard includes additional requirements and applies to 
generator owners and generator operators as well as balancing 
authorities. The expanded applicability of the regional Reliability 
Standard, thus, increases the reporting burden for entities that 
operate within the ERCOT Interconnection.
    15. Burden Estimate: Our estimate below regarding the number of 
respondents is based on the NERC compliance registry as of October 
2013. According to the registry, the ERCOT region includes 40 generator 
owners, 14 generator operators, 75 generator owners that are also 
generator operators, and one balancing authority. Thus, we estimate 
that a total of 130 entities are potentially subject to the reporting 
requirements of BAL-001-TRE-01.
    16. The information collection requirements the setting or 
configuration of the Control System software, identification and 
recording of events, data retention and submitting a report as outlined 
in the table below.

[[Page 7659]]



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                                     Number of       Number of        Average
            FERC-725T               respondents    responses per   burden  hours   Total  annual   Total  annual
                                       \10\         respondent     per  response   burden  hours     cost \11\
                                             (1)             (2)             (3)     (1) x (2) x
                                                                                             (3)
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Maintain and submit Event Log     ..............               1                                            $960
 Data...........................
                                              BA               1              16              16       ($60/hr.)
Modification to Governor                     114                                                         $75,440
 Controller Setting/
 Configuration..................
                                              GO               1               8             920        One-time
                                                                                                       ($82/hr.)
Evidence Retention..............             130                                                          $8,320
                                       BA/GO/GOP               1               2             260       ($32/hr.)
                                                                                 -------------------------------
        TOTAL...................                                                           1,196         $84,720
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    Title: Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System
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    \10\ BA = Balancing Authority, GO = Generator Owner, GOP = 
Generator Operator.
    \11\ The estimates for cost per hour (rounded to the nearest 
dollar) are derived as follows:
     $60/hour, the average salary plus benefits per engineer 
(from Bureau of Labor Statistics at http://bls.gov/oes/current/naics3_221000.htm).
     $82/hour, the salary plus benefits per manager (from 
Bureau of Labor Statistics at http://bls.gov/oes/current/naics3_221000.htm).
     $32/hour, the salary plus benefits per information and 
record clerks (from Bureau of Labor Statistics at http://bls.gov/oes/current/naics3_221000.htm).
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    Action: Proposed revisions to FERC-725T.
    OMB Control No: To Be Determined
    Respondents: Businesses or other for-profit institutions; not-for-
profit institutions.
    Frequency of Responses: Modification to Governor Controller; once 
in the life of the equipment. Maintaining and Submitting Log Data; 
annually
    Necessity of the Information: Reliability Standard BAL-001-TRE-01 
satisfies certain prior directives of the Commission that include 
requirements concerning frequency response.
    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, email: [email protected], Phone: (202) 
502-8663, fax: (202) 273-0873].

    By the direction of the Commission.

    Dated: January 16, 2014.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
 Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-01217 Filed 2-7-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P