FERC Approves Amendment to Final Settlement Related to 2011 Southwest Blackout

On June 21, 2016 in Docket No. IN14-11, FERC issued an order approving an amendment of the Stipulation and Consent Agreement among the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, Peak Reliability (“Peak”), the Office of Enforcement, and NERC.  The amendment will require Peak to finalize any changes to its system operating limits methodology related to the 1,000 MW threshold consistent with the effective date of the Reliability Standards that result from NERC Project 2015-09.  It will also require Peak to report semi-annually to the Office of Enforcement and NERC on the progress of its compliance with the amendments until completely implemented. After the settlement agreement was initially approved by FERC in its May 26, 2015 order, NERC commenced Project 2015-09, which will provide industry-wide guidance on establishing and communicating system operating limits and interconnection reliability operating limits.