[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 12, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61593-61594]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22123]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[DOE Docket No. 202-22-1]
Emergency Order Issued to the California Independent System
Operator Corporation To Operate Power Generating Facilities Under
Limited Circumstances in California as a Result of Extreme Weather
AGENCY: Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency
Response; Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of emergency action.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) is
issuing this Notice to document emergency actions that it has taken
pursuant to the Federal Power Act. California experienced several
periods of extreme heat, drought conditions, and threat of wildfires.
California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation declaring a
state of emergency regarding increased electrical demand and
generation. Because the additional generation may result in a conflict
with environmental standards and requirements, the DOE authorized only
the necessary additional generation, allowing CAISO to sufficiently
supply the necessary amount of energy needed to prevent electrical
disruption.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on this
Notice, or for information on the emergency activities described
herein, contact Kenneth Buell, (202) 586-3362,
[email protected], or by mail to the attention of Kenneth Buell,
CR-30, 1000 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20585.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Order and all related information are
available here: https://www.energy.gov/ceser/federal-power-act-section-202c-caiso-september-2022.
Background
Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act
The U.S. Department of Energy is issuing this Notice pursuant to 10
CFR 1021.343(a) to document emergency actions taken in accordance with
section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act (FPA) (16 U.S.C. 824a(c)). FPA
section 202(c) provides that ``[d]uring the continuance of any war in
which the United States is engaged, or whenever the [Secretary of
Energy] determines that an emergency exists by reason of a sudden
increase in the demand for electric energy, or a shortage of electric
energy or of facilities for the generation or transmission of electric
energy, or of fuel or water for generating facilities, or other causes,
the [Secretary of Energy] shall have authority, either upon [her] own
motion or upon complaint, with or without notice, hearing ore report,
to require by order such temporary connections of facilities and
generation, delivery, interchange, or transmission of electric energy
as in [her] judgment will best meet the emergency and serve the public
interest.
1. Request for Emergency Order From the California Independent System
Operator Corporation
On September 1, 2022, the California Independent System Operator
Corporation (CAISO) submitted to the Department a Request for Emergency
Order under section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act (Application) with
the Department ``to preserve the reliability of bulk electric power
system in California.'' In its Application, CAISO cited extreme heat
and forecasted a supply deficiency to meet demand during peak demand
hours. CAISO requested the authority to direct the operation of three
natural gas-fired generating resources capable of providing 28
megawatts of additional generation supply (the Covered Resources).
CAISO stated that the emergency order it was requesting could result in
exceedances of National Ambient Air Quality Standards under the Clean
Air Act. Given the permit limits of the Covered Resources, CAISO
anticipated that the additional capacity could not be made available
absent an order under FPA section 202(c).
2. CAISO Order
On September 2, 2022, the Acting Under Secretary for
Infrastructure, acting pursuant to delegated authority, issued Order
No. 2022-22-1 (the CAISO Order). As set forth in the CAISO Order, the
Acting Under Secretary for Infrastructure found that an emergency
exists in California due to a shortage of
[[Page 61594]]
electric energy, a shortage of facilities for the generation of
electric energy, and other causes, and that the issuance of the CAISO
Order would meet the emergency and serve the public interest.
The CAISO Order authorized the CAISO to dispatch the Covered
Resources from September 2, 2022 to September 8, 2022, solely under the
following conditions: (i) the issuance and continuation of an Energy
Emergency Alert Level 2 (EEA2) condition or greater between the hours
of 14:00 Pacific Daylight Time and 22:00 Pacific Daylight Time; and
(ii) a transmission emergency that requires operation of a Covered
Resource to prevent or mitigate load curtailment during any operating
hour. Under the CAISO Order, the CAISO was required to exhaust all
reasonably and practically available resources prior to dispatching the
Covered Resources.
The CAISO Order requires that CAISO provide a report by October 10,
2022, to include all source-specific data for dates between September
2, 2022 and September 8, 2022, during which the Covered Resources
operated. The report must include, ``for each unit: (1) the hours of
operation, as well as the hours in which any permit limit was exceeded,
and (2) a preliminary description of each permit term that was exceeded
and the manner in which such exceedance occurred.'' The CAISO Order
also requires the CAISO to ``submit a final report by November 14,
2022, with any revisions to the information reported on December 12,
2022.'' The Department will prepare a special environmental analysis of
the potential impacts resulting from issuance of the CAISO Order,
including impacts on air quality and environmental justice. The CAISO
will be responsible for the reasonable third-party costs of the special
environmental analysis.
3. Amendment Number 1 to CAISO Order
On September 7, 2022, the CAISO submitted to the Department a
Request for Modification of Emergency Order Pursuant to section 202(c)
of the Federal Power Act (Request for Modification) in which it
requested that the CAISO Order be amended to add two units at Calpine's
Greenleaf Unit 1 site in Yuba City, California (the Greenleaf Units) as
additional Covered Resources and that the Greenleaf Units be permitted
to operate through September 9, 2022, and otherwise in accordance with
the terms of CAISO Order. In its Request for Modification, the CAISO
reported that the water injection pump failed at the Greenleaf Units on
September 6, 2022. Operation of the Greenleaf Units could cause
exceedance of permitted emissions limits, and thus could result in
suspension of their operation absent the issuance of an emergency order
permitting operation of the Greenleaf Units during specified
conditions.
On September 7, 2022, the Acting Under Secretary for Infrastructure
issued Amendment Number 1 to Order No. 202-22-1 (Amendment Number 1),
finding that the circumstances which led to her previous determination
that California was experiencing a shortage of electric energy was
continuing and that Amendment Number 1 would help meet the emergency
conditions in the CAISO control area and serve the public interest.
Amendment Number 1 added the Greenleaf Units as Covered Resources
subject to all of the terms of the CAISO Order, except that the
Greenleaf Units could be operated through September 9, 2022. All other
terms of CAISO Order remained in effect and applied to all of the
Covered Resources, including the Greenleaf Units. The CAISO Order as
amended by Amendment Number 1 is referred to herein as the Amended
CAISO Order.
4. Amendment Number 2 to the Amended CAISO Order
On September 7, 2022, the CAISO submitted to the Department a
Request for Extension of Emergency Order Pursuant to Section 202(c) of
the Federal Power Act (Extension Application) to the Department. In its
Extension Application, the CAISO requested an extension of the
expiration date of the Amended CAISO Order through September 12, 2022.
The CAISO stated that California was experiencing extreme heat, which
the CAISO forecasted to continue through at least September 9, 2022,
and the extended and excessive heat as well as wildfire risk could
``exacerbate electric grid reliability issues at any time.''
Consequently, the CAISO believed it prudent to ask that the expiration
date of the Amended CAISO Order be extended through September 12, 2022.
On September 8, 2022, the Acting Under Secretary for Infrastructure
issued Amendment Number 2 to Order No. 202-22-1 (Amendment Number 2),
finding that an emergency continued to exist in California due to a
shortage of electric energy and that issuance of the extension would
help to meet the emergency conditions and serve the public interest.
Amendment Number 2 extended the expiration date of the Amended CAISO
Order through September 12, 2022. All other terms of the Amended CAISO
Order remained in effect, including the obligation of the CAISO to
exhaust all reasonably and practically available resources prior to
dispatching the Covered Resource and the obligation to report
information regarding the environmental impacts of the operation of the
Covered Resources permitted by the CAISO Order. As required by FPA
section 202(c), the Department consulted with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) in considering the CAISO's request for an
extension of the Amended CAISO Order. The EPA did not request any
additional conditions be included in the Amended CAISO Order.
5. Further Information
The CAISO Order, Amendment Number 1, Amendment Number 2, and other
documents referenced herein can be found on the Department's website at
https://www.energy.gov/ceser/federal-power-act-section-202c-banc-september-2022. The reports required by the Amended CAISO Order will be
posted to the Department's website when they become available.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on October 1,
2022, by Puesh M. Kumar, Director for the Office of Cybersecurity,
Energy Security, and Emergency Response, pursuant to delegated
authority from the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original
signature and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes
only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal
Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been
authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for
publication, as an official document of the Department of Energy. This
administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this
document upon publication in the Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, on October 6, 2022.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2022-22123 Filed 10-11-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P