NERC Submits Motion to Intervene and Comment Regarding Mabee Cold Weather Complaint

On April 5, 2021, in Docket No. EL21-54-000, NERC and Texas RE submitted a Motion to Intervene and Comment regarding a complaint filed by Michael Mabee related to Reliability Standards under Docket No. EL21-54-000. The complaint, filed on March 1, 2021, claims that the recent cold weather event in Texas that led to power outages demonstrates that either: (1) “[t]he mandatory [R]eliability [S]tandards were not followed”; or (2) “[t]he mandatory [R]eliability [S]tandards were ineffective.” The Complaint requests the Commission (i) issue a public notice of the Complaint; (ii) direct NERC and Texas RE to conduct an investigation into whether Reliability Standards were followed by all entities registered with Texas RE who had involvement in the power outages; and (iii) if NERC and Texas RE determine violations did not contribute to the power outages, then FERC should direct NERC to revise the Reliability Standards to prevent such power outages resulting from cold weather events. The motion and comment state that NERC and Texas RE are currently pursuing several actions to address the cold weather event, including a joint inquiry and development of cold weather Reliability Standards. The motion and comment state that Mr. Mabee’s requested relief would duplicate and potentially hamper these efforts. Accordingly, NERC and Texas RE request that FERC dismiss the complaint.

To view NERC’s motion, click here.