NERC
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Legal & Regulatory
Severe Solar Storm Could Shut Down U.S. Grid for Months, Study Says
A severe solar storm striking the continental U.S. could cause trillions of dollars in damage to the global economy and shut down portions of the U.S. grid for up to a year, according to a new study prepared by the Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies for insurance firm AIG. The study, Helios Solar Storm Scenario, […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Risk-Based NERC Compliance: Assessing Risk to Bulk Power System Generation
Ensuring the reliability of the power system is the responsibility of many industry participants. In this POWER exclusive, one regional reliability entity, the Midwest Reliability Organization, explains its role. In response to the 2003 Blackout—which affected parts of the U.S. Northeast and Midwest, plus portions of the Canadian province of Ontario—the U.S. Congress mandated adoption […]
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Nuclear
GAO Chides DHS for Not Doing Enough to Prepare for EMP, Solar Storm Threats to Grid
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) internally recognizes that a power grid failure resulting from an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) or a solar storm can pose great risk to the security of the nation, but it hasn’t prepared adequately, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a newly released report. The GAO’s 68-page report, “Federal Agencies […]
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Cybersecurity
U.S. Cybersecurity Super Team Reveals How Attackers Prompted Ukraine Blackouts
External malicious actors deployed a “synchronized and coordinated” cyberattack to prompt the large-scale blackout in Ukraine last December, a U.S. interagency team has confirmed. The event on December 23, 2015— the world’s first power blackout prompted by a cyberattack—saw a swathe of unscheduled power outages afflict three regional power distribution companies (called the “Oblenergos”) and cut […]
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Renewables
NERC: Unprecedented Changes to Power Mix, EPA Rules Pose Reliability Challenges
North America’s reserve margins are trending downward, even though electricity demand has generally fallen, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) warned in a new report. The international regulatory authority established to gauge and improve the reliability of North America’s bulk power system (BPS) said in its annual long-term report that electricity demand has dropped […]
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O&M
ISOs, RTOs Outline Winterization Efforts
In presentations to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the nation’s regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) on Sept. 17 outlined measures they are taking to prevent issues if faced with extreme weather this winter. The measures are to prevent widespread generation outages as occurred during the Jan. 6–7, 2014, polar vortex. […]
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Legal & Regulatory
NERC: EPA’s Clean Power Rule Could Transform Coal Power Use
Implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP) could change the use of the U.S. coal-fired generating fleet from baseload to seasonal peaking—and pose grave implications for plant economics and operating feasibility, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) suggests in new special assessment. The new report is the second […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Nuclear Plants on the Edge Could Benefit from Clean Power Plan
A couple of recently released reports offer some hope for the future of nuclear power plants operating on the fringe of profitability. Moody’s Investors Service suggests that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan “could increase the value of nuclear power as a non-carbon emitting generation source.” In its report, “Environmental Mandates and […]
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Legal & Regulatory
FERC Proposes to Approve NERC Physical Security Standards with Modifications
A standard to enhance physical security at critical power system facilities submitted by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) will need modifications before it can be approved, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said last week. FERC ordered NERC on March 7 to develop and submitnew reliability standards requiring owners and operators of the […]
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News
APS Agrees to Pay $3.25M Blackout Penalty
Arizona Public Service Co. (APS), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) reached a settlement on July 7 related to the Sept. 8, 2011 blackout that left more than 5 million people in the Southwest without power. As a result of the agreement, APS will pay a $3.25 […]
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