[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 27, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 4195-4201]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-01424]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 17 / Tuesday, January 27, 2015 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 4195]]
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
18 CFR Part 40
[Docket No. RM14-8-000; Order No. 803]
Protection System Maintenance Reliability Standard
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Energy.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Power Act, the Commission approves a
revised Reliability Standard, PRC-005-3 (Protection System and
Automatic Reclosing Maintenance), submitted by the North American
Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). In addition, the Commission
approves one new definition and six revised definitions referenced in
the Reliability Standard, the assigned violation risk factors and
violation severity levels, and NERC's implementation plan. Consistent
with Order No. 758, the Reliability Standard requires applicable
entities to test and maintain certain autoreclosing relays as part of a
protection system maintenance program. However, to ensure that proper
maintenance and testing is done for all parts of a reclosing relay
scheme that can affect the reliable operation of the Bulk-Power System,
the Commission directs that NERC develop a modification to the
Reliability Standard to include maintenance and testing of supervisory
relays.
DATES: This rule will become effective March 30, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tom Bradish (Technical Information), Office of Electric Reliability,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington,
DC 20426, (301) 665-1391, [email protected].
Julie Greenisen (Legal Information), Office of the General Counsel,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington,
DC 20426, (202) 502-6362, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Pursuant to section 215 of the Federal Power Act (FPA),\1\ the
Commission approves a revised Reliability Standard, PRC-005-3
(Protection System and Automatic Reclosing Maintenance), submitted by
the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). In
addition, the Commission approves one new definition and six revised
definitions referenced in the Reliability Standard, the assigned
violation risk factors and violation severity levels, and NERC's
implementation plan. Consistent with Order No. 758,\2\ the revised
Reliability Standard requires applicable entities to test and maintain
certain autoreclosing relays as part of a protection system maintenance
program. However, to ensure that proper maintenance and testing is done
for all parts of a reclosing relay scheme that can affect the reliable
operation of the Bulk-Power System, the Commission directs that NERC
develop a modification to the Reliability Standard to include
maintenance and testing of supervisory relays, as discussed below.\3\
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\1\ 16 U.S.C. 824o (2012).
\2\ Interpretation of Protection System Reliability Standard,
Order No. 758, 138 FERC ] 61,094, clarification denied, 139 FERC ]
61,227 (2012).
\3\ Supervisory devices, as applied to autoreclosing relays,
essentially ``supervise'' the actions of an autoreclosing scheme,
i.e., allow autoreclosing for desirable conditions or block
autoreclosing for undesirable conditions.
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I. Background
A. Regulatory Background
2. Section 215 of the FPA requires a Commission-certified Electric
Reliability Organization (ERO) to develop mandatory and enforceable
Reliability Standards, subject to Commission review and approval.\4\
Once approved, the Reliability Standards may be enforced by the ERO
subject to Commission oversight, or by the Commission independently.\5\
In 2006, the Commission certified NERC as the ERO.\6\
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\4\ 16 U.S.C. 824o(c) and (d).
\5\ See id. at 824o(e).
\6\ North American Electric Reliability Corp., 116 FERC ]
61,062, order on reh'g and compliance, 117 FERC ] 61,126 (2006),
order on compliance, 118 FERC ] 61,030, order on compliance, 118
FERC ] 61,190, order on reh'g, 119 FERC ] 61,046 (2007), rev. denied
sub nom. Alcoa, Inc. v. FERC, 564 F.3d 1342 (D.C. Cir. 2009).
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3. In 2007, in Order No. 693, the Commission approved an initial
set of Reliability Standards submitted by NERC, including initial
versions of four protection system and load-shedding-related
maintenance standards: PRC-005-1, PRC-008-0, PRC-011-0, and PRC-017-
0.\7\ In addition, the Commission directed that NERC develop a revision
to PRC-005-1 to incorporate a maximum time interval during which to
conduct maintenance and testing of protection systems, and to consider
combining into one standard the various maintenance and testing
requirements for all of the maintenance and testing-related Reliability
Standards for protection systems, underfrequency load shedding (UFLS)
equipment and undervoltage load shedding (UVLS) equipment.
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\7\ Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System,
Order No. 693, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,242 at PP 1474, 1492, 1497,
and 1514, order on reh'g, Order No. 693-A, 120 FERC ] 61,053 (2007).
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4. The Commission issued Order No. 758 in February 2012, in
response to NERC's request for approval of its interpretation of
Requirement R1 of the then-current version of the protection system
maintenance standard, PRC-005-1. The Commission accepted NERC's
proposed interpretation of PRC-005-1, which identified the types of
protection system equipment to which the Reliability Standard applied.
In addition, the Commission directed NERC to develop modifications to
the standard to address gaps highlighted by the proposed
interpretation, including the need to address reclosing relays that may
affect the reliability of the Bulk-Power System.\8\
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\8\ See Order No. 758, 138 FERC ] 61,094 at PP 7, 23-24.
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5. Prior to issuance of Order No. 758, NERC had begun developing
revisions to its initial maintenance standards for protection systems
and underfrequency and undervoltage load shedding equipment in response
to the Order No. 693 directives. Those revisions, reflected in a
consolidated Reliability Standard, PRC-005-2, were approved
[[Page 4196]]
by the Commission on December 24, 2013 in Order No. 793.\9\
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\9\ Protection System Maintenance Reliability Standard, Order
No. 793, 145 FERC ] 61,253 (2013).
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B. NERC Petition and Proposed Standard PRC-005-3
6. On February 14, 2014, NERC submitted a petition seeking approval
of proposed Reliability Standard PRC-005-3. In its petition, NERC
maintained that the standard promotes reliability by making certain
reclosing relays subject to a mandatory maintenance program, including
adding detailed tables of minimum maintenance activities and maximum
maintenance intervals for the reclosing relays. NERC explained that the
purpose of PRC-005-3 is to ``document and implement programs for the
maintenance of all Protection Systems and Automatic Reclosing affecting
the reliability of the Bulk Electric System so that they are kept in
working order.'' \10\
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\10\ NERC Petition at 8.
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7. NERC explained that the subset of reclosing applications
included in proposed PRC-005-3 is based on the findings of a technical
study performed, in response to Order No. 758, by NERC's System
Analysis and Modeling Subcommittee (SAMS) and System Protection and
Control Subcommittee (SPCS). The resulting study (the Joint Committee
Report), attached to NERC's petition as Exhibit D, examined both the
scope of reclosing relays that could affect the reliable operation of
the Bulk-Power System and appropriate maintenance intervals and
activities for those relays.
8. In its petition, NERC explained that reclosing relays are
``utilized on transmission systems to restore elements to service
following automatic circuit breaker tripping,'' and are ``typically
installed to lessen the burden on Transmission operators of manually
restoring transmission lines.'' \11\ NERC explained that ``while more
efficient restoration of transmission lines following temporary faults
does provide an inherent reliability benefit, certain applications of
reclosing relays can result in undesired relay operation or operation
not consistent with relay design, leading to adverse reliability
impacts.'' \12\ After examining these potential reliability impacts,
the Joint Committee Report recommended that the revised standard
should:
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\11\ Id. at 9 (citations to Joint Committee Report omitted).
\12\ Id.
(1) Explicitly address maintenance and testing of reclosing
relays applied as an integral part of a Special Protection System;
and (2) include maintenance and testing of reclosing relays at or in
proximity to generating plants at which the total installed capacity
is greater than the capacity of the largest generating unit within
the Balancing Authority Area.\13\
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\13\ Id. at 10.
In addition, NERC explained that the Joint Committee Report recommended
that ``proximity'' to these large generators be defined as
``substations one bus away if the substation is within 10 miles of the
plant.'' \14\
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\14\ Id. NERC staff conducted its own analysis of this
definition of ``proximity,'' ``to verify that the 10-mile threshold
provides adequate margin to ensure maintenance and testing of all
reclosing relays where failure could result in generating station
instability.'' Id. at 20. See Protection System Maintenance
Reliability Standard, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 79 FR 43987 at
43989 (July 29, 2013), 148 FERC ] 61,041, at PP 11-14 (2014) for
additional background on the Joint Committee Report and NERC staff
analysis.
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9. The Joint Committee Report recommendations are reflected in the
applicability section of PRC-005-3, which identifies, inter alia, the
following facilities:
4.2.6.1 Automatic Reclosing applied on terminals of Elements
connected to the BES bus located at generating plant substations
where the total installed gross generating plant capacity is greater
than the gross capacity of the largest BES generating unit within
the Balancing Authority Area.
4.2.6.2 Automatic Reclosing applied on the terminals of all BES
Elements at substations one bus away from generating plants
specified in Section 4.2.6.1 when the substation is less than 10
circuit-miles from the generating plant substation.
4.2.6.3 Automatic Reclosing applied as an integral part of an
SPS specified in Section 4.2.4.\15\
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\15\ NERC Petition, Ex. A at 1-2.
10. Further, NERC proposed modifications to the language of
Requirements R1, R3, and R4 of PRC-005-2 to reflect the inclusion of
automatic reclosing relays. NERC also proposed to include a new
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definition as part of the revised standard, as follows:
Automatic Reclosing--Includes the following Components:
Reclosing relay
Control circuitry associated with the reclosing relay.
NERC stated that the definition is intended for use within PRC-005-3
only, and would not be incorporated into the NERC Glossary of Terms. In
addition, NERC proposed modifications to four defined terms referenced
in PRC-005-2, Protection System Maintenance Plan, Component Type,
Component, and Countable Event, to reflect the inclusion of automatic
reclosing components. Finally, NERC proposed to revise the definitions
of Unresolved Maintenance Issue and Segment, also currently referenced
in PRC-005-2, to capitalize the reference to the defined term
``Component.''
11. NERC's implementation plan for PRC-005-3 incorporates the
phased-in implementation period approved for PRC-005-2, with the
addition of compliance dates for the new requirements for automatic
reclosing components. NERC explained that retirement of the legacy
Reliability Standards (PRC-005-1b, PRC-008-0, PRC-011-0, and PRC-017-0)
will continue to ``key off'' the regulatory approval date for PRC-005-
2, although PRC-005-2 itself will be retired in the United States
immediately prior to the effective date of PRC-005-3, on the first day
of the first calendar quarter twelve months following regulatory
approval.\16\ According to NERC, applicable entities will continue to
calculate compliance dates for Protection System Components by counting
forward from the Commission approval date of PRC-005-2, and for
Automatic Reclosing Components by counting forward from the effective
date of Commission approval of PRC-005-3. Finally, for newly-identified
Automatic Reclosing Components (e.g., resulting from the addition or
retirement of generating units), compliance would be required by the
end of the third calendar year following identification of those
Components.
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\16\ See id. at 22-24.
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12. NERC stated that the violation risk factors proposed in PRC-
005-3 track those in the currently approved standard PRC-005-2, and
that the violation severity levels now include the additional component
(Automatic Reclosing) in a manner consistent with the approach taken
for PRC-005-2.\17\
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\17\ On June 4, 2014, NERC submitted two additional filings: (1)
Proposed revisions to a violation severity level assigned to
Requirement R1 of PRC-005, consistent with a Commission directive in
Order No. 793; and (2) an errata to NERC's petition to reflect
proper capitalization of defined terms as used in the proposed
standard.
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C. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
13. On July 17, 2014, the Commission issued a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NOPR) proposing to approve Reliability Standard PRC-005-
3.\18\ While the NOPR acknowledged that NERC had provided technical
support for the proposed thresholds for identifying applicable
reclosing relays, the Commission noted that it ``nonetheless [had]
concerns whether the thresholds are too narrow.'' \19\ Based on those
concerns, the Commission proposed to require NERC to submit a report
[[Page 4197]]
examining the effectiveness of the revised standard in identifying
reclosing relay schemes that could affect the reliable operation of the
Bulk-Power System based on ``(1) actual operations data, and (2)
simulated system conditions from planning assessments.'' \20\
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\18\ Protection System Maintenance Reliability Standard, 148
FERC ] 61,041 (2014).
\19\ Id. P 22.
\20\ Id. P 23.
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14. With regard to actual operations data, the NOPR proposed that
NERC enhance the granularity of its existing misoperations database
``to gather relevant information regarding events that involve
autoreclosing relays, such as distance from the fault, whether the
relay reclosed into the fault, and whether that reclosure caused or
exacerbated an event.'' \21\ With regard to simulated system
conditions, the NOPR suggested that the contingency analyses generated
as part of planning assessments required under Reliability Standard
TPL-001-4 could provide an appropriate benchmark for assessing PRC-005-
3's applicability thresholds for reclosing relays.\22\
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\21\ Id.
\22\ See id. PP 24-27.
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15. The NOPR also proposed to direct modification of PRC-005-3 to
include supervisory devices associated with applicable reclosing relay
schemes. The Commission raised concerns that the failure of supervisory
devices could raise reliability concerns under certain conditions, such
as when static system angles are greater than designed and allow
autoreclosing into a fault. Finally, the NOPR requested that commenters
address the data retention obligations as proposed in PRC-005-3, which
require applicable entities to retain maintenance records for a minimum
of two maintenance cycles (up to 24 years).
16. Comments on the NOPR were filed by NERC; the Edison Electric
Institute (EEI); International Transmission Company (ITC); Associated
Electric Cooperative, Inc., Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. and
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. (together G&T
Cooperatives); and Idaho Power Company (Idaho Power).
II. Discussion
17. Pursuant to section 215(d)(2) of the FPA, we adopt our NOPR
proposal and approve Reliability Standard PRC-005-3, including the
associated definitions, violation risk factors and violation severity
levels, and implementation plan (including the proposed retirement of
identified ``legacy'' standards), as just, reasonable, not unduly
discriminatory or preferential and in the public interest. As discussed
above, NERC, EEI, ITC, and G&T Cooperatives support approval,
commenting that the modifications to PRC-005-3 ``address a known
reliability gap'' and address the directive in Order No. 758.\23\ We
agree with NERC and the commenters, and conclude that Reliability
Standard PRC-005-3 will enhance reliability by reducing the risk of
autoreclosing relay misoperations through the imposition of minimum
maintenance activities and maximum maintenance intervals for these
relays. We further determine that PRC-005-3 adequately addresses the
Commission directive from Order No. 758 with respect to the inclusion
of reclosing relays in an adequate protection system maintenance
program. In addition, as discussed below, we direct NERC to develop one
modification to PRC-005-3 pertaining to the inclusion of supervisory
relays for applicable reclosing relay schemes, and we clarify that
NERC's proposal set forth in its NOPR comments is an appropriate
approach to satisfy this directive.
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\23\ EEI Comments at 2. See also ITC Comments at 4; G&T
Cooperatives Comments at 2 (supporting approval of the Reliability
Standard).
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18. Below, we discuss the following matters: (A) Proposed reporting
on the effectiveness of PRC-005-3; (B) supervisory devices; and (C)
requested clarification on the applicability provisions of PRC-005-3.
A. Proposed Reporting on Effectiveness of PRC-005-3
NOPR
19. As noted above, the Commission proposed in the NOPR to direct
NERC to submit a report, two years after the effective date of PRC-005-
3, addressing the effectiveness of PRC-005-3 in identifying reclosing
relay schemes that could impact the reliable operation of the Bulk-
Power System. The Commission suggested that NERC submit such a report
to address the Commission's on-going concerns whether the standard's
applicability thresholds reasonably identify those types of reclosing
relays that can affect the reliability of the Bulk-Power System. The
NOPR proposed two means of evaluating the standard's scope, based on
(1) actual operations data and (2) simulated system conditions, such as
contingency analyses required as part of the requirements of
Reliability Standard TPL-001-4. The NOPR sought comment on the value of
these means to evaluate PRC-005-3.
Comments
20. NERC objects to additional reporting of any kind, contending
that it adequately supported the applicability thresholds in PRC-005-3
through the analysis provided in the Joint Committee Report. NERC
argues that the Commission did not adequately justify the need for
additional reporting or analysis, and did not provide a sufficiently
detailed description of its concerns to allow the industry to
``meaningfully comment'' on the Commission's reporting proposals.\24\
NERC also objects to the specific reporting benchmarks proposed in the
NOPR, arguing that the planning assessment information generated by
TPL-001-4 would not provide a meaningful benchmark for analyzing the
scope of PRC-005-3. According to NERC, the simulations of autoreclosing
in these planning assessments would not provide information relevant to
the Commission's concerns with PRC-005-3 because they only assess the
impact of (1) a successful autoreclosing, which is the ``desired
outcome,'' and (2) an unsuccessful autoreclosing into a fault, which
NERC claims ``will not provide information regarding the potential
impact of an autoreclosing failure that may result in premature
reclosing into a fault.'' \25\
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\24\ NERC Comments at 12.
\25\ Id. at 14.
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21. EEI supports the Commission's proposed directive to require
NERC to evaluate the effectiveness of PRC-005-3 through the submission
of a report. However, EEI maintains that the Commission should ``allow
NERC, with industry input and support, the latitude to develop'' the
methods and processes for such an evaluation.\26\ EEI contends that
this approach would appropriately give due weight to the technical
expertise of NERC, in recognition of the requirements of FPA section
215.
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\26\ EEI Comments at 3.
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22. EEI also asks the Commission to refrain from requiring changes
to NERC's existing Misoperations Database, stating that such a
directive could ``inadvertently change the purpose and intent of this
system.'' \27\ According to EEI, the Misoperations Database ``is
currently used to track misoperations, categorize the misoperation type
and assign cause,'' and ``was not intended to assess impact.'' \28\
Moreover, EEI does not support the use of the contingency analyses
required by TPL-001-4 to assess the scope of reclosing relays
encompassed by PRC-005-3, because the two standards were developed for
different purposes and should not necessarily be expected to align.
Finally,
[[Page 4198]]
EEI notes that considerable study has already been conducted to address
the Commission's identified concerns on the potential impact of
reclosing relay misoperations, and asks that the Commission ``allow
those recommendations to be applied, vetted, and studied before setting
a new set of criteria which may not be necessary to ensure BES
reliability.'' \29\
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\27\ Id. at 4.
\28\ Id.
\29\ Id. at 5.
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23. Idaho Power agrees with NERC and EEI that the misoperations
database enhanced reporting requirement as proposed in the NOPR is of
little value, and notes that the only autoreclosing relays that should
be subject to additional scrutiny are those relatively few reclosing
relays needed to ensure reliability.
24. By contrast, ITC does not generally oppose the proposed
directive on gathering additional misoperations data related to
reclosing relays, but asks for clarification about certain information
NERC would be required to collect. Specifically, ITC asks that the
Commission recognize that an entity may not be able to report the
distance from the fault without some allowable margin of specificity.
Commission Determination
25. Based on the comments received on this issue, we are persuaded
not to require NERC to submit a report on the effectiveness of PRC-005-
3 in identifying reclosing relay schemes that can have an impact on the
reliable operation of the Bulk-Power System, as we had proposed in the
NOPR. Instead, we direct NERC to obtain, maintain, and make available
to the Commission upon request, one year following the effective date
of the standard and on an annual basis thereafter, data sufficient to
analyze the effectiveness of PRC-005-3, whether it be through NERC's
Event Analysis process or other means. Specifically, NERC is to collect
relevant information regarding Bulk-Power System events that involve
high speed autoreclosing relays. Such information would include the
operations of autoreclosing relays and their supervisory
functionalities (e.g., time delays, synchronism check, voltages, etc.)
that caused or exacerbated the events, and any unintended consequences
of the events. The Commission encourages NERC and FERC staff to
collaborate on the specific data to be collected, which could include,
but is not limited to, the approximate distance from the fault and the
generation loss associated with the event. Further, the Commission is
also interested in knowing if those autoreclosing relays identified as
causing or exacerbating an event operated as designed, and if PRC-005-3
is applicable to the autoreclosing relays that were involved. We expect
NERC to share all appropriate data as needed to evaluate autoreclosing
relay performance, in accordance with our general expectation that NERC
will ``cooperate with and share all appropriate data and information
with Commission staff'' as needed ``to ensure that the ERO Enterprise
and the Commission are both able to effectively perform their duties
under section 215 of the FPA.'' \30\
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\30\ Order on the Electric Reliability Organization's Five-Year
Performance Assessment, 149 FERC ] 61,141 at P 38 (2014).
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26. Given our decision in this Final Rule, we need not address the
various arguments regarding the use of simulated contingency analyses
as a benchmark for determining whether PRC-005-3 encompasses an
adequate set of reclosing relays, and need not address ITC's request
for clarification about the data points potentially required under our
proposed revisions to NERC's misoperations database.
B. Supervisory Devices
NOPR
27. The NOPR proposed to require modification of PRC-005-3 to
include maintenance and testing of supervisory devices associated with
autoreclosing relay schemes otherwise covered by the standard, such as
sync-check and voltage relays that may be critical to the operation of
an autoreclosing scheme.\31\ In doing so, the Commission noted that
requiring the inclusion of supervisory devices within the scope of PRC-
005-3 is consistent with Commission orders on NERC's Transmission Relay
Loadability Reliability Standard.\32\ In addition, the Commission noted
that NERC had failed to explain how a failure of a sync-check relay for
undesirable conditions, such as when static system angles are greater
than designed, would not allow autoreclosing, thus leading to the
reliability concerns identified in Order No. 758.\33\
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\31\ NOPR, 148 FERC ] 61,041 at P 28.
\32\ Id. P 29 (citing Transmission Relay Loadability Reliability
Standard, Order No. 733, 130 FERC ] 61,221 (2010)).
\33\ Id. P 30.
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Comments
28. NERC states that it would support modification of PRC-005-3 to
include certain supervisory devices to address the Commission's
concerns as stated in the NOPR. Specifically, NERC suggests modifying
the Reliability Standard to include ``maintenance of supervision
functions for which a failure can result in autoreclosing into a fault
and potentially cause generating or plant instability.'' \34\
Accordingly, NERC states that it ``would support the addition of
voltage supervision, and where used, supervisory inputs associated with
selective autoreclosing in the coverage of PRC-005.'' \35\ While
asserting that ``synchronism check failures do not have the potential
to affect reliable operation of the Bulk-Power System,'' NERC also
acknowledges that ``including synchronism check supervision, as
suggested by the Commission, would provide a reliability benefit.''
\36\ Thus, NERC states that it supports the addition of synchronism
check supervision to the Reliability Standard's coverage.
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\34\ NERC Comments at 4.
\35\ Id.
\36\ Id. at 5.
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29. Idaho Power generally supports the inclusion of supervisory
devices as part of PRC-005-3, based on its position that ``any
component required for the successful operation of the reclosing system
at the identified critical location should be tested and maintained.''
\37\
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\37\ Idaho Power Comments at 3-4.
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30. Other commenters support modification of PRC-005-3 to include
supervisory devices with certain limitations. EEI asks that the
Commission limit the directive ``to only those supervisory relays,
which are directly associated with automatic reclosing schemes that
would be covered by the proposed Reliability Standard.'' \38\ G&T
Cooperatives ask that the Commission limit any directive on supervisory
devices to ``those supervisory sync-check relays that can reclose on
another transmission line,'' arguing that these are the only
supervisory devices where failure could lead to a reliability
concern.\39\
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\38\ EEI Comments at 5.
\39\ G&T Cooperatives Comments at 4.
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Commission Determination
31. For the reasons stated in the NOPR and based on the commenters'
general support, we adopt our NOPR proposal and direct that, pursuant
to section 215(d)(5) of the FPA, NERC develop modifications to PRC-005-
3 to include supervisory devices associated with autoreclosing relay
schemes to which the Reliability Standard applies. Further, we clarify
that NERC's proposal regarding the scope of supervisory devices is an
acceptable approach to satisfy the Commission directive. Specifically,
NERC proposed in its NOPR comments, and we find
[[Page 4199]]
acceptable, that the scope of the supervisory devices to be encompassed
in the Reliability Standard are those providing voltage supervision,
supervisory inputs associated with selective autoreclosing, and sync-
check relays that are part of a reclosing scheme covered by PRC-005-3.
C. Requested Clarification on Applicability Sections
Comments
32. ITC requests that the Commission clarify, or direct NERC to
clarify, two applicability provisions. First, ITC asks for
clarification that ``the largest BES generating unit within the
Balancing Authority Area'' under Applicability section 4.2.6.1 would be
determined using the NERC-defined term ``Balancing Authority,'' and not
the MISO-defined term ``Local Balancing Authority.'' In addition, ITC
requests that the Commission provide guidance on how to measure the
gross capacity of multi-unit generating plants that are connected to
electrically-isolated buses under section 4.2.6.2.
Commission Determination
33. We decline to provide the requested clarifications. Rather, we
expect that an applicable entity will consult with the relevant
Balancing Authority and/or Regional Entity, as appropriate, with
questions concerning identification of the largest generating unit
within the Balancing Authority Area, or the determination of gross
generating plant capacity under the applicability sections of
Reliability Standard PRC-005-3.
III. Information Collection Statement
34. The following collection of information contained in this rule
is subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under
section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.\40\ OMB's
regulations require approval of certain information collection
requirements imposed by agency rules.\41\ Upon approval of a
collection(s) of information, OMB will assign an OMB control number and
an expiration date. Respondents subject to the filing requirements of a
rule will not be penalized for failing to respond to these collections
of information unless the collections of information display a valid
OMB control number.
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\40\ 44 U.S.C. 3507(d) (2006).
\41\ 5 CFR 1320.11.
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35. The Commission solicited comments on the need for and purpose
of the information contained in Reliability Standard PRC-005-3 and the
corresponding burden to implement the standard. The Commission received
one comment on the reporting and information collection estimates.
Specifically, EEI recommends that the Commission revise the cost
estimate associated with the increase in information collection burdens
expected under the proposed standard. EEI states that the NOPR
underestimated the cost burden because it failed to take into account
the extent to which compliance ``will require significant coordination
with other entities, the modification of existing maintenance programs,
identification of affected plants as well as all affected
substations.'' \42\
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\42\ EEI Comments at 6.
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36. The Final Rule approves Reliability Standard PRC-005-3
(Protection System and Automatic Reclosing Maintenance), which will
replace PRC-005-2 (Protection System Maintenance). We decline to alter
the burden estimate as calculated in the NOPR, as the only party to
comment on the estimate (EEI) failed to point out any specific,
quantifiable errors in the NOPR's estimate or otherwise offered an
alternative quantification.
37. Further, in the NOPR, the Commission requested comment on the
data retention requirements, explaining that PRC-005-3 requires
applicable entities to maintain documentation of covered maintenance
activities performed since the last audit, or of the two most recent
maintenance cycles if the maintenance interval exceeds the normal audit
cycle. Because the longest maintenance interval for certain components
under PRC-005-3 is twelve years, an entity could be required to retain
records for up to 24 years.
38. EEI, Idaho Power, and G&T Cooperatives oppose continuation of
the data retention requirement, claiming that it is unnecessary and
burdensome to retain maintenance records for 24 years, and noting that
the record retention period far exceeds the normal audit cycle.
Likewise, NERC avers that there is no ``substantial need'' to maintain
the records for two full cycles. Further, NERC states that another
version of the standard is being developed (version 4) that will reduce
the data retention requirement so that records must only be maintained
for the length of the audit cycle if the maintenance interval is
shorter than the audit cycle, or for the length of the maintenance
interval if not.
39. We generally agree with NERC and other commenters that the
current data retention requirement, with a maximum retention period of
24 years, is unnecessarily long and burdensome. However, since the
issuance of the NOPR and subsequent comments, NERC has submitted a
petition for approval of the version 4 standard, PRC-005-4, which
includes a modified document retention requirement.\43\ Rather than
ruling in the immediate docket, we will address the data retention
issue in the context of NERC's version 4 standard. As a result, there
is no need to make corresponding adjustments to the NOPR's burden
estimate as part of this Final Rule.
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\43\ See December 18, 2014, NERC Petition for Approval of
Proposed Reliability Standard PRC-005-4, Docket No. RM15-9-000.
Nothing in this Final Rule prejudges the outcome in the separate
proceeding addressing the Version 4 standard.
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40. The approved Reliability Standard expands the applicability of
the existing standard to include reclosing schemes that meet certain
criteria, imposing mandatory minimum maintenance activities and maximum
maintenance intervals for the various reclosing scheme components.
Because the specific requirements were designed to reflect common
industry practice, entities are not expected generally to experience a
meaningful change in actual maintenance and documentation practices.
However, applicable entities will have to perform a one-time review of
their reclosing schemes to determine which ones fall under PRC-005-3,
and, if they have applicable reclosing schemes, review current
reclosing scheme maintenance programs to ensure that they meet the
requirements of PRC-005-3. Accordingly, all information collection
costs are expected to be limited to the first year of implementation of
the revised standard.
41. Public Reporting Burden: Our estimate below regarding the
number of respondents is based on an analysis of the generating plants
within the footprint of the PJM Interconnection, LLC (PJM) that meet
the inclusion criteria of the proposed standard. There are an estimated
23 generating plants in PJM that meet these criteria. These generating
plants represent approximately 47,000 MWs of the approximately 184,000
MWs within PJM. Based on 2012 data, total installed capacity in the
continental United States is 1,153,000 MWs.\44\ Applying the PJM ratio
to this total results in an estimated 144 plant sites nationwide to
which PRC-005-3 would be applicable. We also assume that a substation
will be located within 10 miles of each plant site, resulting in an
estimated total
[[Page 4200]]
number of entities that meet the inclusion criteria of 288.\45\
Finally, we assume that all generator owners and transmission owners
must review their existing plant and substation sites to determine
applicability under the proposed standard.
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\44\ See http://search.usa.gov/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&affiliate=eia.doe.gov&query=generation+capacity+all+states&search=Submit and http://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/html/epa_08_07_a.html.
\45\ This estimate conservatively assumes that the proximate
substation would be owned by a different entity than the generating
plant.
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42. Affected entities must perform a one-time review of their
existing reclosing scheme maintenance program to ensure that it
contains at a minimum the activities listed in Table 4 in Reliability
Standard PRC-005-3, and that the activities are performed within the
applicable maximum interval listed in Table 4. If the existing
reclosing scheme maintenance program does not meet the criteria in
Reliability Standard PRC-005-3, the entity will have to make certain
adjustments to the program.
RM14-8-000 (Mandatory Reliability Standards: Reliability Standard PRC-005-3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual number Average Total annual
Number of of responses Total number burden and burden hours Cost per
respondents per of responses cost per and total respondent ($)
respondent response \46\ annual cost
(1) (2) (1) * (2) = (4) (3) * (4) = (5) / (1)
(3) (5)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One-time review of existing plant and substation sites \47\ 937 1 937 2 1,874 $146
to determine which ones fall under PRC-005-3........... $146 $136,802
One-time review and adjustment of existing program...... \48\ 288 1 288 8 2,304 584
$584 $168,192
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Total............................................... .............. .............. 1,225 .............. 4,178 ..............
$304,994
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title: FERC-725P, Mandatory Reliability Standards: Reliability
Standard PRC-005-3.
Action: Final rule.
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\46\ The estimates for cost per response are derived using the
following formula: Average Burden Hours per Response * $73 per Hour
= Average Cost per Response. The hourly cost figure comes from the
average of the salary plus benefits for a manager and an engineer
(rounded to the nearest dollar). The figures are taken from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics at (http://bls.gov/oes/current/naics3_221000.htm).
\47\ This figure reflects the generator owners and transmission
owners identified in the NERC Compliance Registry as of May 28,
2014.
\48\ This figure is a subset of GOs and TOs, as discussed in P
41 and n. 44.
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OMB Control No: 1902-0269.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit and not-for-profit
institutions.
Frequency of Responses: One time.
Necessity of the Information: The approved Reliability Standard
PRC-005-3 will implement the Congressional mandate of the Energy Policy
Act of 2005 to develop mandatory and enforceable Reliability Standards
to better ensure the reliability of the nation's Bulk-Power System.
Specifically, the standard will ensure that transmission and generation
protection systems and reclosing relays affecting the reliability of
the bulk electric system are maintained and tested.
43. Internal review: The Commission has reviewed revised
Reliability Standard PRC-005-3 and made a determination that approval
of this standard is necessary to implement section 215 of the FPA. The
Commission has assured itself, by means of its internal review, that
there is specific, objective support for the burden estimates
associated with the information requirements.
44. Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting
requirements by contacting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
Office of the Executive Director, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC
20426 [Attention: Ellen Brown, email: [email protected], phone:
(202) 502-8663, fax: (202) 273-0873].
45. Comments concerning the information collections approved in
this Final Rule and the associated burden estimates should be sent to
the Commission in this docket and may also be sent to the Office of
Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
[Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission].
For security reasons, comments should be sent by email to OMB at the
following email address: [email protected]. Comments
submitted to OMB should reference the collection number (FERC-725P) and
OMB Control No. 1902-0269.
IV. Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis
46. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) \49\ generally
requires a description and analysis of final rules that will have
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
As shown in the information collection section, an estimated 288
entities are expected to have applicable reclosing relays under the
revised Reliability Standard. The proposed Reliability Standard
requires applicable entities to test and maintain certain autoreclosing
relays as part of a protection system maintenance program. More
specifically, affected entities must perform a one-time review of their
existing reclosing scheme maintenance program to ensure that it
contains at a minimum the activities listed in Table 4 in Reliability
Standard PRC-005-3. Comparison of the applicable entities with the
Commission's small business data indicates that approximately 197 are
small entities \50\ or 68.24 percent of the respondents affected by
this Final Rule.
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\49\ 5 U.S.C. 601-12.
\50\ The Small Business Administration sets the threshold for
what constitutes a small business. Public utilities may fall under
one of several different categories, each with a size threshold
based on the company's number of employees, including affiliates,
the parent company, and subsidiaries. For the analysis in this Final
Rule, we are using a 500 employee threshold for each affected
entity. Each entity is classified as Electric Bulk Power
Transmission and Control (NAICS code 221121).
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47. As discussed above, we estimate that Reliability Standard PRC-
005-3 will apply to 144 generating plant sites and 144 substations that
are located within 10 miles of the plant site. We therefore estimate
that 288 entities will have applicable reclosing relays subject to the
revised Reliability Standard's requirements, conservatively assuming
[[Page 4201]]
that the proximate substation would be owned by a different entity than
the generating plant. In addition, we estimate that all generator
owners and transmission owners will initially review plant and
substation sites to determine applicability with the proposed standard.
48. On average, each small entity affected may have a one-time cost
of $730 per site, representing a one-time review of the program for
each entity, consisting of 10 man-hours at $73/hour as explained above
in the information collection statement. We do not consider this cost
to be a significant economic impact for small entities. The Commission
certifies that Reliability Standard PRC-005-3 will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Accordingly, no regulatory flexibility analysis is required.
V. Environmental Analysis
49. The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental
Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement for any action that may
have a significant adverse effect on the human environment.\51\ The
Commission has categorically excluded certain actions from this
requirement as not having a significant effect on the human
environment. Included in the exclusion are rules that are clarifying,
corrective, or procedural or that do not substantially change the
effect of the regulations being amended.\52\ The actions taken herein
fall within this categorical exclusion in the Commission's regulations.
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\51\ Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, Order No. 486, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 30,783 (1987).
\52\ 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii).
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VI. Document Availability
50. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the
Internet through the Commission's Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov) and
in the Commission's Public Reference Room during normal business hours
(8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street NE., Room 2A,
Washington, DC 20426.
51. From the Commission's Home Page on the Internet, this
information is available on eLibrary. The full text of this document is
available on eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing,
printing, and/or downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type
the docket number excluding the last three digits of this document in
the docket number field.
52. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission's
Web site during normal business hours from the Commission's Online
Support at 202-502-6652 (toll free at 1-866-208-3676) or email at
[email protected], or the Public Reference Room at (202) 502-
8371, TTY (202) 502-8659. Email the Public Reference Room at
[email protected].
VII. Effective Date and Congressional Notification
53. This Final Rule is effective March 30, 2015.
54. The Commission has determined, with the concurrence of the
Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of
OMB, that this rule is not a ``major rule'' as defined in section 351
of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.\53\
The Commission will submit the Final Rule to both houses of Congress
and to the General Accountability Office.
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\53\ See 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
By direction of the Commission. Commissioner Honorable is voting
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present.
Issued: January 22, 2015.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-01424 Filed 1-26-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P