The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order on January 18 approving four Emergency Operations (EOP) reliability standards: EOP-004-4 (Event Reporting), EOP-005-3 (System Restoration from Blackstart Resources), EOP-006-3 (System Restoration Coordination), and EOP-008-2 (Loss of Control Center Functionality). The newly-approved standards are intended to enhance the requirements for system restoration and related personnel training.
- EOP-004-4 (Event Reporting) improves upon the quality of information that the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) receives concerning utilities' reporting of BES reliability related events by clarifying the entities responsible for submitting reports and the thresholds for reporting events to NERC.
- EOP-005-3 (System Restoration from Blackstart Resources) enhances the requirements for blackstart restoration plans by clarifying the responsibilities of entities involved in blackstart restoration.
- EOP-006-3 (System Restoration Coordination) focuses on coordination of the system restoration processes by reliability coordinators.
- EOP-008-2 (Loss of Control Center Functionality) improves the existing standard by ensuring continued reliable operations of the BES when a control center becomes inoperable by clarifying the required contents of backup control center operating plans.
The new standards will become effective on the first day of the first calendar quarter that is 12 calendar months after the effective date of FERC's order, which is itself effective 60 days after the order is published in the Federal Register.
This article is provided as a general informational service and it should not be construed as imparting legal advice on any specific matter.
