NERC
NERC Citations Cut Backlog
The nation’s grid watchdog has issued a wide-ranging penalty notice citing 140 utilities and other entities with alleged violations of its reliability standards. Most were minor.
The North American Electric Reliability Corp.’s omnibus notice, filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Oct. 14, was intended to reduce a substantial backlog.
The document cited 564 alleged violations in six of NERC’s eight regional entities.
About 30 co-ops, mostly located in the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, were among those cited.
The alleged violations were largely minor matters discovered prior to July 31, 2008, and most involved documentation or lower-risk operational issues.
“Closing out these older, relatively minor cases will enable NERC and the regional entities to focus on more significant violations,” the watchdog said in its penalty notice.
NERC indicated that the alleged violations had only “minimal to moderate impact on the reliability of the bulk power system, [and] in all cases … did not pose a serious or substantial threat.”
The watchdog called for zero-dollar penalties in most cases, although 16 alleged violations, including one involving a generation and transmission co-op, carried financial sanctions. The G&T was fined $6,000.
Cited parties were required to complete mitigation plans and have their completion certified by their regional entity.
“Mitigation plans take money and time to implement,” noted Barry Lawson, NRECA manager of power delivery. “So while it may be a zero-dollar penalty, it does not have a zero-dollar impact.
“We expect to see a fairly aggressive attempt by NERC and the regional entities later this year and into 2010 to continue reducing the backlog,” Lawson said. “We want to reiterate that compliance with these standards is critical, and most important is having a culture of compliance at your co-op.”
He added that NRECA staff can help in providing resources on “strengthening a compliance culture.”