FERC Issues NOPR Related to WECC Regional Reliability Standard BAL-002-WECC-3

On October 15, 2020, in Docket No. RM19-20-000, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) proposing to: (1) approve proposed Regional Reliability Standard BAL-002-WECC-3 (Contingency Reserve); and (2) direct NERC and WECC to submit an informational filing 27 months following its implementation. Proposed regional Reliability Standard BAL-002-WECC-3 applies to balancing authorities and reserve sharing groups in the WECC Region, and it specifies the quantity and types of contingency reserve required to ensure reliability under normal and abnormal conditions. BAL-002-WECC-3 will eliminate Requirement R2 from the currently-effective Regional Reliability Standard BAL-002-WECC-2a. NERC believes Requirement R2 is redundant in the light of the implementation of the continent wide Reliability Standard BAL-003-1.1 (Frequency Response and Frequency Bias Setting). However, NERC also feels it is appropriate to monitor the potential impacts of retiring Requirement R2 on the adequacy of contingency reserves in the Western Interconnection. Therefore, the Commission proposes to direct NERC and WECC to submit an informational filing 27 months following implementation of regional Reliability Standard BAL-002-WECC-3 that addresses the adequacy of contingency reserves in the Western Interconnection

To view the NOPR, click here.