Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 24, 2010 / Proposed Rules 71613 

Category Test procedure Integrated average 

temperatures 

(i) Refrigerator with Solid Door(s) ..................................................... ARI Standard 1200–2010* 38 °F (±2 °F). 

(ii) Refrigerator with Transparent Door(s) ......................................... ARI Standard 1200–2010* 38 °F (±2 °F). 

(iii) Freezer with Solid Door(s) .......................................................... ARI Standard 1200–2010* 0 °F (±2 °F). 

(iv) Freezer with Transparent Door(s) .............................................. ARI Standard 1200–2010* 0 °F (±2 °F). 

(v) Refrigerator-Freezer with Solid Door(s) ...................................... ARI Standard 1200–2010* 38 °F (±2 °F) for refrigerator compartment. 

0 °F (±2 °F) for freezer compartment. 

(vi) Commercial Refrigerator with a Self-Contained Condensing 

Unit Designed for Pull-Down Temperature Applications and 

Transparent Doors.

ARI Standard 1200–2010* 38 °F (±2 °F). 

(vii) Ice-Cream Freezer ..................................................................... ARI Standard 1200–2010* ¥15.0 °F (±2 °F). 

(viii) Commercial Refrigerator, Freezer, and Refrigerator-Freezer 

with a Self-Contained Condensing Unit and without Doors.

ARI Standard 1200–2010* (A) For low temperature applications, the integrated average temperature of all test 

package averages shall be 0 °F (±2 °F). 

(B) For medium temperature applications, 

the integrated average temperature of all 

test package averages shall be 38.0 °F 

(±2 °F). 

(ix) Commercial Refrigerator, Freezer, and Refrigerator-Freezer 

with a Remote Condensing Unit.

ARI Standard 1200–2010* .... (A) For low temperature applications, the integrated average temperature of all test 

package averages shall be 0 °F (±2 °F). 

(B) For medium temperature applications, 

the integrated average temperature of all 

test package averages shall be 38.0 °F 

(±2 °F). 

* Incorporated by reference, see § 431.63. 

(4) Determine the volume of each 

covered commercial refrigerator, freezer, 

or refrigerator-freezer using the 

methodology set forth in the AHAM 

HRF–1–2008, ‘‘Energy and Internal 

Volume of Refrigerating Appliances,’’ 

(incorporated by reference, see § 431.63) 

section 3.30, ‘‘Volume,’’ and sections 4.1 

through 4.3, ‘‘Method for Computing 

Refrigerated Volume of Refrigerators, 

Refrigerator-Freezers, Wine Chillers and 

Freezers.’’ 

[FR Doc. 2010–29210 Filed 11–23–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

18 CFR Part 40 

[Docket No. RM10–15–000] 

Mandatory Reliability Standards for 

Interconnection Reliability Operating 

Limits 

November 18, 2010. 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: Under section 215 of the 

Federal Power Act, the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission proposes to 

approve three new Interconnection 

Reliability Operations and Coordination 

Reliability Standards and seven revised 

Reliability Standards related to 

Emergency Preparedness and 

Operations, Interconnection Reliability 

Operations and Coordination, and 

Transmission Operations. These 

proposed Reliability Standards were 

submitted to the Commission for 

approval by the North American Electric 

Reliability Corporation, which the 

Commission has certified as the Electric 

Reliability Organization responsible for 

developing and enforcing mandatory 

Reliability Standards. The proposed 

Reliability Standards were designed to 

prevent instability, uncontrolled 

separation, or cascading outages that 

adversely impact the reliability of the 

interconnection by ensuring prompt 

action to prevent or mitigate instances 

of exceeding Interconnection Reliability 

Operating Limits. The Commission also 

proposes to approve the addition of two 

new terms to the NERC Glossary of 

Terms. In addition, pursuant to section 

215(d)(5) of the Federal Power Act, the 

Commission proposes to direct NERC to 

develop a modification to the proposed 

term ‘‘Real-time Assessment’’ to address 

a specific concern identified by the 

Commission. The Commission raises 

some concerns with regard to certain 

aspects of NERC’s proposals and, based 

on the responses from NERC and 

industry, may choose to direct certain 

modifications to the proposed new and 

revised Reliability Standard, as well as 

the new Glossary Terms, as discussed 

below. 

DATES: Comments are due January 24, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number and in 

accordance with the requirements 

posted on the Commission’s Web site, 

http://www.ferc.gov. Comments may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Agency Web site: Documents 

created electronically using word 

processing software should be filed in 

native applications or print-to-PDF 

format, and not in a scanned format, at 

http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ 

efiling.asp. 

• Mail/Hand Delivery: Commenters 

unable to file comments electronically 

must mail or hand-deliver an original 

copy of their comments to: Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 

Secretary of the Commission, 888 First 

Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. 

These requirements can be found on the 

Commission’s Web site, see, e.g., the 

‘‘Quick Reference Guide for Paper 

Submissions,’’ available at 

http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ 

efiling.asp or via phone from FERC 

Online Support at (202) 502–6652 or 

toll-free at 1–866–208–3676. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Darrell Piatt (Technical Information), 

Office of Electric Reliability, Division 

of Reliability Standards, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20426, Telephone: (202) 502–6687; 

A. Cory Lankford (Legal Information), 

Office of the General Counsel, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street, NE. Washington, DC 

20426, Telephone: (202) 502–6711; 

William Edwards (Legal Information), 

Office of the General Counsel, Federal 


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71614 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 24, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

1 16 U.S.C. 824o. 

2North American Electric Reliability Corp., 116 

FERC ¶ 61,062, order on reh’g & compliance, 117 

FERC ¶ 61,126 (2006), aff’d sub nom. Alcoa, Inc. 

v. FERC, 564 F.3d 1342 (DC Cir. 2009). 

3NERC designates the version number of a 

Reliability Standard as the last digit of the 

Reliability Standard number. Therefore, original 

Reliability Standards end with ‘‘–0’’ and modified 

version one Reliability Standards end with ‘‘–1.’’ 

The NERC Board of Trustees approved the proposed 

IRO–010–1 Reliability Standard on October 17, 

2008. Subsequently, on August 5, 2009, the NERC 

Board of Trustees approved an interpretation to the 

proposed IRO–010–1 standard. Accordingly, NERC 

is requesting approval of both the proposed 

standard and the appended interpretation, and 

NERC has designated the proposed standard and 

appended interpretation as IRO–010–1a. 

4Concurrent with its filing in this Docket, NERC 

filed a petition in Docket No. RM10–16–000 seeking 

approval of certain Emergency Preparedness and 

Operations Reliability Standards. NERC, Petition for 

Approval of Three Emergency Preparedness and 

Operations Reliability Standards, Docket No. 

RM10–16–000 (filed Dec. 31, 2009). As part of its 

filing in RM10–16–000, NERC proposed to retire 

Requirement R3.4 of EOP–001–0. Each petition 

proposes unique changes to EOP–001–0 reflecting 

the distinct issues addressed by the respective 

Reliability Standards drafting teams. NERC 

indicated in both petitions that it could not 

anticipate the sequence in which the Commission 

would act and therefore included two sets of 

proposed amendments to EOP–001–0 in each 

petition. The Commission will clarify upon 

issuance of Final Rules in each proceeding which 

revised version of EOP–001–0 it is addressing in its 

determination. 

5The proposed new Reliability Standards and 

other modified Reliability Standards are not 

codified in the CFR and are not attached to the 

NOPR. They are, however, available on the 

Commission’s eLibrary document retrieval system 

in Docket No. RM10–15–000 and are available on 

the ERO’s Web site, http://www.nerc.com. 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20426, Telephone: (202) 502–6669. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

Paragraph 

numbers 

I. Background ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 3 

A. Mandatory Reliability Standards ................................................................................................................................................. 3 

B. Order No. 693 Directives .............................................................................................................................................................. 4 

II. Discussion ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 7 

A. System Operating Limits ............................................................................................................................................................. 10 

B. Proposed New Reliability Standards ........................................................................................................................................... 22 

1. IRO–008–1 .............................................................................................................................................................................. 22 

2. IRO–009–1 .............................................................................................................................................................................. 30 

3. IRO–010–1a ............................................................................................................................................................................ 33 

C. Proposed Revised Reliability Standards ...................................................................................................................................... 38 

1. EOP–001–1 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 38 

2. IRO–002–2 .............................................................................................................................................................................. 42 

3. IRO–004–2 .............................................................................................................................................................................. 47 

4. IRO–005–3 .............................................................................................................................................................................. 54 

5. TOP–003–1 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 58 

6. TOP–005–2 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 61 

7. TOP–006–2 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 66 

D. Violation Severity Levels and Violation Risk Factors ................................................................................................................ 69 

III. Information Collection Statement ...................................................................................................................................................... 77 

IV. Environmental Analysis ..................................................................................................................................................................... 82 

V. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification ............................................................................................................................................. 83 

VI. Comment Procedures ......................................................................................................................................................................... 84 

VII. Document Availability ...................................................................................................................................................................... 88 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

1. Under section 215 of the Federal 

Power Act (FPA),1 the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (Commission) 

proposes to approve three new 

Interconnection Reliability Operations 

and Coordination (IRO) Reliability 

Standards and seven revised Reliability 

Standards related to Emergency 

Preparedness and Operations (EOP), 

IRO, and Transmission Operations 

(TOP). The proposed Reliability 

Standards were submitted to the 

Commission for approval by the North 

American Electric Reliability 

Corporation (NERC), which the 

Commission has certified as the Electric 

Reliability Organization (ERO) 

responsible for developing and 

enforcing mandatory Reliability 

Standards.2 The proposed Reliability 

Standards were designed to prevent 

instability, uncontrolled separation, or 

cascading outages that adversely impact 

the reliability of the interconnection by 

ensuring prompt action to prevent or 

mitigate instances of exceeding 

interconnection reliability operating 

limits (IROL). The Commission also 

proposes to approve the addition of two 

new terms to the NERC Glossary of 

Terms (NERC Glossary). In addition, 

pursuant to section 215(d)(5) of the 

Federal Power Act, the Commission 

proposes to direct NERC to develop a 

modification to the proposed term 

‘‘Real-time Assessment’’ to address a 

specific concern identified by the 

Commission. The Commission raises 

some concerns with regard to certain 

aspects of these proposals and, based on 

the responses from NERC and from 

industry, may choose to direct certain 

modifications to the proposed new and 

revised Reliability Standard, as well as 

the new Glossary Terms, as discussed 

below. 

2. The three new Reliability Standards 

proposed by NERC are designated as 

IRO–008–1 (Reliability Coordinator 

Operational Analyses and Real-time 

Assessments), IRO–009–1 (Reliability 

Coordinator Actions to Operate Within 

IROLs), and IRO–010–1a 3 (Reliability 

Coordinator Data Specification and 

Collection). In preparing these new 

Reliability Standards, the standards 

drafting team determined that it was 

necessary to retire or modify certain 

requirements from several existing 

standards. Accordingly, NERC requests 

Commission approval of revised 

Reliability Standards EOP–001–2,4 IRO– 

002–2, IRO–004–2, IRO–005–3, and 

TOP–006–2. NERC also proposes to add 

the following new terms to the NERC 

Glossary: ‘‘Operational Planning 

Analysis’’ and ‘‘Real-time Assessment.’’ 5

I. Background 

A. Mandatory Reliability Standards 

3. Section 215 of the FPA requires a 

Commission-certified ERO to develop 

mandatory and enforceable Reliability 

Standards, which are subject to 

Commission review and approval. Once 

approved, the Reliability Standards are 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 24, 2010 / Proposed Rules 71615 

6 Mandatory Reliability Standards for the BulkPower System, Order No. 693, 72 FR 16416 (Apr. 

4, 2007), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,242, order on 

reh’g, Order No. 693–A, 120 FERC ¶ 61,053 (2007). 

7Order No. 693, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,242 at 

P 896. 

8 Id. P 908. 

9 Id. P 914. 

10 Id. P 935. NERC has subsequently replaced 

Levels of Non-Compliance with Violation Severity 

Levels. See Order on Violation Severity Levels 

Proposed by the Electric Reliability Organization, 

123 FERC ¶ 61,284 (Violation Severity Level Order), 

order on reh’g, 125 FERC ¶ 61,212 (2008). 

11 Id. P 951. 

12NERC, Compliance Filing, Docket No. RM06– 

16–006 (filed Oct. 31, 2008). 

13NERC, Compliance Filing, Docket No. RM06– 

16–006 (filed Feb. 8, 2009). 

14North American Electric Reliability Corp., Dec. 

31, 2009 Petition for Approval of Proposed New 

and Revised Reliability Standards for Operating 

Within Interconnection Operating Limits (NERC 

Petition). 

15See NERC Glossary, available at http:// 

www.nerc.com/docs/standards/rs/ 

Glossary_of_Terms_2010April20.pdf. 

16NERC, Reliability Functional Model, version 5, 

at 30 (Nov. 2009), available at http:// 

www.nerc.com/files/ 

Functional_Model_V5_Final_2009Dec1.pdf. 

17NERC Petition at 77. 

18 Id. at 78. 

19 Id. at 7–9. 

20 Id. at 8. 

enforced by the ERO, subject to 

Commission oversight, or by the 

Commission independently. 

B. Order No. 693 Directives 

4. On March 16, 2007, the 

Commission issued Order No. 693, 

approving 83 of the 107 initial 

Reliability Standards filed by NERC, 

including the existing IRO Reliability 

Standards.6 Under section 215(d)(5) of 

the FPA, the Commission directed 

NERC to develop modifications to the 

IRO Reliability Standards to address 

certain issues identified by the 

Commission. 

5. With respect to IRO–001–1, the 

Commission directed the ERO to 

develop modifications to eliminate the 

regional reliability organization as an 

applicable entity.7 The Commission also 

directed the ERO to modify IRO–002–1 

to require a minimum set of capabilities 

that must be made available to the 

reliability coordinator to ensure that a 

reliability coordinator has the 

capabilities it needs to perform its 

functions.8 With respect to IRO–003–2, 

the Commission directed the ERO to 

develop a modification to create criteria 

to define the term ‘‘critical facilities’’ in 

a reliability coordinator’s area and its 

adjacent systems.9 The Commission also 

directed the ERO to modify IRO–004–1 

to require the next-day analysis to 

identify control actions that can be 

implemented and effective within 30 

minutes after a contingency. In addition, 

the Commission directed the ERO to 

consider adding Measures and Levels of 

Non-Compliance to Reliability 

Standards IRO–004–1 and IRO–005–1 

that are commensurate with the 

magnitude, duration, frequency and 

causes of the violations and whether 

these occur during normal or 

contingency conditions.10

6. The Commission also directed the 

ERO to conduct a survey on IROL 

practices and actual operating 

experiences by requiring reliability 

coordinators to report any violations of 

IROLs, their causes, the date and time, 

the durations and magnitudes in which 

actual operations exceed IROLs to the 

ERO on a monthly basis for one year 

beginning two months after the effective 

date of Order No. 693.11 On October 31, 

2008, NERC filed the results of its yearlong survey with the Commission.12 On 

February 8, 2009, NERC supplemented 

those results in a second filing.13

II. Discussion 

7. In a December 31, 2009 filing 

(NERC Petition),14 NERC requests 

Commission approval of proposed 

Reliability Standards IRO–008–1, IRO– 

009–1, and IRO–010–1a. NERC contends 

that these new Reliability Standards 

would address certain Commission 

directives from Order No. 693. In 

developing the new IRO Reliability 

Standards, NERC determined that it was 

necessary to retire or modify certain 

requirements from several existing 

standards. Accordingly, NERC proposes 

revised Reliability Standards EOP–001– 

1, IRO–002–2, IRO–004–2, IRO–005–3, 

TOP–003–1, TOP–005–2, and TOP– 

006–2. NERC also requests approval of 

new definitions ‘‘Operational Planning 

Analysis’’ and ‘‘Real-time Assessment.’’ 

8. As discussed below, the 

Commission proposes to approve new 

Reliability Standards IRO–008–1, IRO– 

009–1, and IRO–010–1a. The 

Commission also proposes to approve 

revised Reliability Standards EOP–001– 

1, IRO–002–2, IRO–004–2, IRO–005–3, 

TOP–003–1, TOP–005–2, and TOP– 

006–2 as well as the two new NERC 

Glossary terms. 

9. In addition, the Commission seeks 

comment on specific concerns related to 

the proposed IRO Reliability Standards, 

as set forth below. 

A. System Operating Limits 

10. To maintain the reliable operation 

of the Bulk-Power System, reliability 

coordinators, balancing authorities, and 

transmission operators must be aware of 

the applicable system operating limits 

(SOLs) and interconnection reliability 

operating limits (IROLs) on their system. 

NERC defines SOLs as the value (such 

as MW, MVar, Amperes, Frequency or 

Volts) that satisfies the most limiting of 

the prescribed operating criteria for a 

specific system configuration to ensure 

operation within acceptable reliability 

criteria. These SOLs are based upon 

certain operating criteria. IROLs are, 

essentially, a subset of SOLs. NERC 

defines IROLs as the value (such as MW, 

MVar, Amperes, Frequency or Volts) 

derived from, or a subset of the SOLs, 

which if exceeded, could expose a 

widespread area of the bulk electric 

system to instability, uncontrolled 

separation, or cascading outages.15

NERC Proposal 

11. The proposed IRO Reliability 

Standards together with the proposed 

revisions to existing Reliability 

Standards would divide responsibility 

for SOLs and IROLs between reliability 

coordinators and transmission operators 

according to the Functional Model.16

NERC explains that having two entities 

with the same primary responsibility is 

not supported by the Functional Model. 

However, NERC notes that the proposed 

Reliability Standards should not imply 

that the reliability coordinator will not 

look at its future operations with respect 

to specific SOLs.17 NERC states that the 

reliability coordinator must look at its 

future operations with respect to 

specific SOLs to ensure that their 

transmission operators are taking 

actions at appropriate times, but the 

primary responsibility for SOLs rests 

with the transmission operators. NERC 

explains that, under the proposed 

Reliability Standards, the reliability 

coordinator retains overall visibility of 

all operations within its Wide-Area 

view, including some SOLs, although 

the transmission operator is primarily 

responsible for actions related to 

SOLs.18 NERC states that the IRO 

standards were developed in support of 

the authority and assignment of tasks in 

the Functional Model.19 NERC explains 

that under the Functional Model, while 

reliability coordinators will assign their 

transmission operators tasks associated 

with IROLs, the reliability coordinator 

has ultimate responsibility for these 

tasks, and the reliability coordinator is 

sanctioned if these tasks are not 

performed as required by the Reliability 

Standards.20

12. NERC explains that, under the 

Functional Model, the reliability 

coordinator is the functional entity with 

the highest level of responsibility and 

authority for real-time reliability of the 

Bulk-Power System. NERC states that 

the reliability coordinator is responsible 


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71616 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 24, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

21 Id. 

22 Id. at 9. 

23 Id. 24 Id. 25NERC identifies this as ‘‘Project 2007–03: Realtime Operations,’’ available at http:// 

www.nerc.com/filez/standards/Realtime_Operations_Project_2007-03.html. 

26Existing reliability standards that NERC does 

not propose to change here continue to require 

reliability coordinators to monitor SOLs. See 

Reliability Standard IRO–002–1 Requirement R6. 

for identifying the subset of SOLs that 

are known as IROLs, and may direct its 

transmission operators to take actions 

associated with IROLs. In assigning a 

single task to a single functional entity, 

under the Functional Model, the 

reliability coordinator is the sole 

functional entity responsible for 

developing IROLs and for actions to 

prevent/mitigate instances of exceeding 

IROLs. While the transmission operator 

has no ‘‘direct’’ responsibility for 

developing IROLs, the transmission 

operator may be assigned the task of 

developing some IROLs, monitoring 

real-time values against identified 

IROLs, and taking actions to prevent 

reaching an IROL or to mitigate an 

instance of exceeding an IROL. 

However, the transmission operator 

only performs these tasks when directed 

to do so by its reliability coordinator.21

13. NERC further explains that, in a 

similar fashion, the Functional Model 

assigns responsibility for SOLs that are 

not IROLs to the transmission operator. 

But, NERC states, this too is a shared 

responsibility.22 NERC states that where 

the Transmission Operator has primary 

responsibility for developing the SOLs 

within its transmission operator area, 

the transmission operator may request 

the assistance of its reliability 

coordinator in developing these SOLs. 

In addition, NERC states that it is the 

reliability coordinator that is held 

responsible for ensuring that 

transmission operators develop SOLs for 

its reliability coordinator area in 

accordance with a methodology 

developed by the reliability coordinator. 

NERC states that the transmission 

operator must share its SOLs with its 

reliability coordinator, and the 

reliability coordinator must share any 

SOLs it develops with its transmission 

operator. NERC also states that the 

reliability coordinator monitors the 

status of some, but not all, SOLs. 

14. According to NERC, the reliability 

coordinator’s visualization capabilities 

are not expected to display all SOLs 

within the Wide-Area that the reliability 

coordinator monitors because this 

would mix SOLs that have little impact 

on reliability with those SOLs that are 

associated with facilities that are 

important to the Bulk-Power System. 

NERC states that the reliability 

coordinator’s visualization capabilities 

are expected to display the real-time 

status of parameters against all IROLs 

that the reliability coordinator monitors 

and also display the subset of SOLs 

associated with facilities that are most 

critical to the portions of the BulkPower System that are monitored by the 

reliability coordinator. 

15. Under proposed new Reliability 

Standards, IRO–008–1, IRO–009–1, and 

IRO–010–1a, reliability coordinators 

must monitor and analyze IROLs within 

their Wide-Area to prevent instability, 

uncontrolled separation, or cascading 

outages that adversely impact the 

reliability of the interconnection. These 

Reliability Standards would not require 

the reliability coordinator to monitor 

and analyze SOLs other than IROLs 

within their reliability coordinator area. 

Similarly, NERC’s proposed revisions to 

Reliability Standards EOP–001–1, IRO– 

002–2, IRO–004–2, IRO–005–3, TOP– 

003–1, TOP–005–2, and TOP–006–2, 

inter alia, would remove requirements 

for the reliability coordinator to monitor 

and analyze SOLs other than IROLs. 

Discussion 

16. We believe that it is appropriate 

to develop requirements for Reliability 

Standards that offer a clear division of 

responsibilities among reliability 

coordinators and transmission 

operators. We, therefore, propose to 

approve NERC’s proposed division of 

responsibility for SOLs and IROLs 

among reliability coordinators and 

transmission operators. Although we 

support NERC’s proposal and propose 

here to approve it with only a limited 

directive regarding one proposed 

definition, we are also seeking 

comments from NERC and industry to 

obtain further information and ensure 

that there will not be gaps in the 

analysis of SOLs by reliability 

coordinators going forward, particularly 

those SOLs that could become IROLs. 

NERC acknowledges in its filing that the 

transmission operator must develop and 

share its SOLs with its reliability 

coordinator, and the reliability 

coordinator must develop and share any 

SOLs it develops with its transmission 

operator.23 NERC also states that the 

reliability coordinator monitors the 

status of some, but not all, SOLs.24 In 

addition, the Commission is aware that 

NERC is currently working on a project 

to identify a subset of SOLs, other than 

IROLs, that a reliability coordinator 

must continuously monitor and 

analyze.25 Taken together, NERC’s 

statements and its ongoing project 

indicate a need for reliability 

coordinators to continue to analyze 

certain SOLs. We, therefore, seek 

comment on whether there is a need for 

reliability coordinators to continue to 

analyze, in addition to continuing to 

monitor and coordinate data on,26 SOLs 

other than IROLs. 

17. Since the ERO has stated that 

responsibility for the SOLs is shared 

between the reliability coordinator and 

their transmission operators, we also 

believe it may be beneficial for the 

reliability coordinator to have a 

documented methodology for 

identifying the SOL information it needs 

to fulfill its responsibilities for 

monitoring, day ahead and real-time 

assessments, and operational control 

within the reliability coordinator’s area. 

We seek comment on this matter. 

18. In addition, we request comment 

from NERC, reliability coordinators, and 

other interested entities on the current 

practices of reliability coordinators and 

transmission operators with respect to 

coordinating operational responsibilities 

for monitoring, day ahead and real-time 

assessments; and operating SOLs and 

IROLs, the practical division of 

responsibilities for preventing and 

mitigating SOL and IROL violations, 

and the monitoring capabilities of the 

reliability coordinator with respect to 

IROLs as well as SOLs. The Commission 

further seeks comment as to whether a 

reliability coordinator can provide an 

accurate assessment of the Bulk-Power 

System to its transmission operators on 

a Wide-Area basis, without evaluating: 

(1) The operating environment on SOLs 

that will impact the transmission 

operators within the reliability 

coordinator’s areas; (2) SOLs that have 

the potential to become IROLs; and (3) 

the existing IROLs within the reliability 

coordinator area. In addition, the 

Commission seeks comments as to 

whether a transmission operator can 

provide reliable operating assessments 

or make reliable operating instructions 

on an SOL that is on the border between 

two different transmission operator’s 

areas. The Commission also requests 

comment on whether the reliability 

coordinator should have responsibility 

to monitor certain SOLs other than 

IROLs, and whether such a 

responsibility would place an 

unreasonable burden on reliability 

coordinators. If a reliability coordinator 

should monitor certain SOLs other than 

IROLs, comments should address in 

detail how reliability coordinators 

should determine which SOLs to 

monitor. 

19. The Commission has noted that 

NERC Standard IRO–006, Transmission 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 24, 2010 / Proposed Rules 71617 

27NERC, Reliability Functional Model, version 5 

at 30 (Nov. 2009), available at http:// 

www.nerc.com/files/ 

Functional_Model_V5_Final_2009Dec1.pdf. NERC 

developed the current version of the Functional 

Model after it developed the proposed Reliability 

Standards. 

28NERC Petition at 7. 

29 Id. at 7 n.9. 

30The term ‘‘Wide-Area’’ is defined in the NERC 

Glossary, approved by the Commission. As defined, 

Wide-Area includes not only the reliability 

coordinator’s Area, but also critical flow and status 

information from adjacent reliability Coordinator 

areas as determined by detailed system studies to 

allow the calculation of IROLs. See NERC Glossary 

available at http://www.nerc.com/docs/standards/ 

rs/Glossary_of_Terms_2010April20.pdf. 

Loading Relief (TLR), requires the 

reliability coordinators in the Eastern 

Interconnection to relieve overloads on 

the facilities modeled in the Interchange 

Distribution Calculator (IDC). IRO–006 

requires the reliability coordinator to 

model the SOLs and IROLs in the IDC 

to perform the TLR procedures. The 

Commission seeks comments on how 

the reliability coordinators in the 

Eastern Interconnections selects the 

SOLs for evaluation by the IDC and the 

extent of any burden this has caused the 

reliability coordinator. 

20. The NERC Functional Model is a 

reference document developed by NERC 

that outlines functions for each 

responsible entity in the NERC 

Reliability Standards.27 NERC explains 

in its filing that the NERC Functional 

Model was developed by first 

identifying all of the operating tasks 

necessary for reliability, and then 

assigning each of these operating tasks 

to a single functional entity.28 NERC 

states that this approach results in a 

clear identification of a single functional 

entity with responsibility for each 

reliability task. However, NERC also 

states that in later versions of the 

Functional Model, there are 

circumstances where the Functional 

Model assigns some activities to more 

than one planning entity.29 NERC 

explains that, under the Functional 

Model, the reliability coordinator is 

responsible for identifying the subset of 

SOLs known as IROLs and that the 

transmission operator is responsible for 

other SOLs. But the Functional Model 

assigns a much broader role to the 

reliability coordinator to maintain the 

real-time operating reliability of the 

bulk electric system within its area. The 

Commission seeks comments from 

NERC and the public as to how the 

current Functional Model represents the 

delineation of assessment and operating 

responsibilities between the reliability 

coordinator and transmission operator 

with respect to SOLs and IROLs. 

21. Based on the foregoing, the 

Commission proposes to approve the 

proposed new and revised Reliability 

Standards without modification (with 

the exception of the limited directive 

proposed below), as they appear to be 

an improvement over the existing 

Reliability Standards with respect to the 

division of responsibilities between 

reliability coordinators and 

transmission operators. Our intent in 

seeking comments from NERC and 

industry in this NOPR is to better 

understand the proposed division of 

responsibilities, as well as the future 

modifications to those responsibilities 

that NERC intends to pursue. 

B. Proposed New Reliability Standards 

1. IRO–008–1 

22. Proposed Reliability Standard 

IRO–008–1 has the stated purpose of 

preventing instability, uncontrolled 

separation, or cascading outages that 

adversely impact the reliability of the 

interconnection by ensuring that the 

Bulk Electric System is assessed during 

the operations horizon. The proposed 

Reliability Standard applies to 

reliability coordinators. IRO–008–1 

requires the reliability coordinator to 

use analyses and assessments as 

methods of achieving the stated goal. 

The Reliability Standard requires 

analysis of the reliability coordinator’s 

Wide-Area 30 ahead of time and during 

real-time. It also requires 

communication with the entities that 

need to take specific operational actions 

based on the analyses and assessments. 

23. Reliability Standard IRO–008–1 

contains three requirements. 

Requirement R1 requires each reliability 

coordinator to perform an Operational 

Planning Analysis to assess whether the 

planned operations for the next day 

within its Wide Area, will exceed any 

of its IROLs during anticipated normal 

and contingency event conditions. 

Requirement R2 requires the reliability 

coordinator to perform a Real-Time 

Assessment at least once every 30 

minutes to determine if its Wide Area is 

exceeding any IROLs or is expected to 

exceed any IROLs. Requirement R3 

requires a reliability coordinator to 

share the results of an Operational 

Planning Analysis or Real-Time 

Assessment that indicates the need for 

specific operational actions to prevent 

or mitigate an instance of exceeding an 

IROL with those entities that are 

expected to take those actions. 

24. NERC explains that IRO–008–1, 

Requirement R1 does not specify any 

single application program that all 

reliability coordinators must use 

because the Requirement assumes that 

the reliability coordinator has a suite of 

applications that it can use to conduct 

its assessment, verified as part of the 

certification process. NERC notes that 

having the ability to conduct a dayahead contingency analysis is a 

requirement for reliability coordinator 

certification. 

25. NERC also requests approval of 

two new terms that appear in IRO–008– 

1: ‘‘Operational Planning Analysis’’ and 

‘‘Real-time Assessment.’’ Operational 

Planning Analysis is defined as: 

An analysis of the expected system 

conditions for the next day’s operation. (That 

analysis may be performed either a day ahead 

or as much as 12 months ahead.) Expected 

system conditions include things such as 

load forecast(s), generation output levels, and 

known system constraints (transmission 

facility outages, generator outages, equipment 

limitations, etc.). 

NERC states that the definition was 

designed to provide greater specificity 

regarding the day-ahead study. NERC 

explains that the term ‘‘unique’’ used in 

the currently-effective IRO–004–1 

causes confusion. NERC states that in 

the event there are no changes to the 

expected conditions from one day to the 

next, the reliability coordinator would 

not be forced to conduct a new analysis 

of the expected system conditions solely 

to have documentation for compliance. 

26. The proposed term ‘‘Real-time 

Assessment’’ is defined as ‘‘[a]n 

examination of existing and expected 

system conditions, conducted by 

collecting and reviewing immediately 

available data.’’ The purpose of the new 

term is to assure that the reliability 

coordinator is required to conduct a 

real-time assessment, including 

situations when the reliability 

coordinator is operating without its 

primary control facilities, by collecting 

and reviewing available data. NERC 

explains that the definition of Real-Time 

Assessment is purposefully ambiguous 

to allow the assessment to be conducted 

either through the energy management 

system or manually. 

NOPR Proposal 

27. We agree with NERC that the 

proposed Reliability Standard IRO–008– 

1 would prevent instability, 

uncontrolled separation, or cascading 

outages that adversely impact the 

reliability of the interconnection by 

ensuring that the bulk electric system is 

assessed during the operations horizon. 

In addition, the Commission recognizes 

NERC’s effort to create a body of IRO 

Reliability Standards that clearly define 

which functional entity has the ultimate 

responsibility for SOLs and IROLs. 

Accordingly, pursuant to section 

215(d)(2) of the FPA, the Commission 

proposes to approve Reliability 


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31As discussed below, NERC proposes to revise 

IRO–002–1 by removing one provision, 

Requirement R2. Thus, Requirement R6 of proposed 

IRO–002–2 is the same as Requirement R7 of the 

existing version 1 Reliability Standard. 

32The NERC Glossary of Terms defines ‘‘IROL Tv’’ 

as: 

The maximum time that an Interconnection 

Reliability Operating Limit can be violated before 

the risk to the interconnection or other Reliability 

Coordinator Areas becomes greater than acceptable. 

Each Interconnection Reliability Operating Limit’s 

Tv shall be less than or equal to 30 minutes. 

33The requirements in the standard are 

specifically applicable to the following functional 

entities: (1) Reliability coordinator; (2) balancing 

authority; (3) generator owner; (4) generator 

operator; (5) interchange authority; (6) load-serving 

entity; (7) transmission operator; and (8) 

transmission owner. 

Standards IRO–008–1, as just, 

reasonable, not unduly discriminatory 

or preferential, and in the public 

interest. To ensure that the proposed 

changes are supported by the Functional 

Model, the Commission requests 

comment whether the proposed 

Reliability Standards, such as IRO–008– 

1, appropriately resolve the division of 

responsibilities for SOLs and IROLs or 

whether some level of sharing of 

responsibility needs to exist. 

28. The Commission also proposes to 

approve the addition of two new 

definitions to the NERC Glossary: 

‘‘Operational Planning Analysis’’ and 

‘‘Real-time Assessment’’ with limited 

modification, as discussed below. 

Although the proposed definition of 

Operational Planning Analysis would 

permit entities to use an analysis of the 

expected system conditions for the next 

day’s operation that was performed up 

to twelve months earlier, the discretion 

to use an existing analysis is limited to 

circumstances where the expected 

system conditions, such as load 

forecasts, generation output levels, and 

known system constraints are the same 

for both days. Nevertheless, the 

Commission requests comments from 

NERC and the public on the prudence 

of using an Operational Planning 

Analysis up to twelve months old. We 

request comment on whether this 

timeframe is reasonable or whether the 

timeframe should be shorter to ensure 

that the analysis is not outdated. In 

addition, the Commission also seeks 

comments from NERC and the public on 

whether the definition should include 

measurable criteria needed to determine 

whether it is appropriate to use an 

existing analysis. 

29. In addition, the Commission seeks 

comment on the meaning of 

‘‘immediately available data’’ within the 

proposed definition of Real-Time 

Assessment. Requirement R6 of 

proposed Reliability Standard IRO–002– 

2 would require reliability coordinators 

to have adequate analysis capabilities 

such as state estimation, pre- and postcontingency analysis capabilities 

(thermal, stability, and voltage), and 

wide-area overview displays.31 Thus, it 

appears that any immediately available 

data used by the reliability coordinator 

in the development of a Real-time 

Assessment should be data obtained 

from one of these analysis capabilities. 

We believe this could be clearer. 

Accordingly, under section 215(d)(5) of 

the FPA, the Commission proposes to 

direct NERC to modify the definition of 

‘‘Real-time Assessment’’ to specify that 

the type of data to be relied upon by a 

reliability coordinator in conducting a 

Real-time Assessment must be based on 

adequate analysis capabilities such as 

those referenced in Requirement R6 of 

IRO–002–2 when the tools are available. 

2. IRO–009–1 

30. As proposed, Reliability Standard 

IRO–009–1 is designed to prevent 

instability, uncontrolled separation, or 

cascading outages that adversely impact 

the reliability of the interconnection by 

‘‘ensuring prompt action to prevent or 

mitigate instances of exceeding 

[IROLs].’’ Proposed Reliability Standard 

IRO–009–1 applies only to reliability 

coordinators. 

31. For each IROL that the reliability 

coordinator identifies one or more days 

in advance, the reliability coordinator 

must, under Requirements R1 and R2, 

have one or more operating processes, 

procedures, or plans that identify 

actions it shall take that can be 

implemented in time to prevent 

exceeding those IROLs and to mitigate 

the magnitude and duration of 

exceeding that IROL such that the IROL 

is alleviated within the maximum time 

duration allowed for a violation of an 

IROL. Reliability Standard IRO–009–1 

refers to the maximum response period 

for alleviating an IROL as its ‘‘IROL 

Tv.’’ 32 Under Requirements R3 and R4, 

the reliability coordinator must use 

those operating processes, procedures, 

or plans to prevent and mitigate IROLs. 

If reliability coordinators cannot agree 

on the value for an IROL or its IROL Tv, 

Requirement R5 would require each 

reliability coordinator that monitors that 

facility to use the most conservative 

value. 

NOPR Proposal 

32. The Commission agrees that 

having action plans developed and 

implemented with respect to IROLs to 

prevent instability, uncontrolled 

separation, or cascading outages that 

adversely impact the reliability of the 

interconnection increases the likelihood 

that reliability coordinators will take 

appropriate action. Accordingly, under 

section 215(d)(2) of the FPA, the 

Commission proposes to approve 

Reliability Standard IRO–009–1, as just, 

reasonable, not unduly discriminatory 

or preferential, and in the public 

interest. However, as discussed above, 

the Commission requests comment on 

the extent that reliability coordinators 

should have action plans developed and 

implemented with respect to other SOLs 

apart from IROLs and if so, which SOLs. 

3. IRO–010–1a 

33. NERC proposes the addition of a 

new Reliability Standard, IRO–010–1a 

to the current suite of IRO Reliability 

Standards. IRO–010–1a is designed to 

prevent instability, uncontrolled 

separation, or cascading outages that 

adversely impact the reliability of the 

interconnection by mandating that the 

reliability coordinator have the data it 

needs to monitor and assess the 

operation of its reliability coordinator 

Area. 

34. The requirements in the 

Reliability Standard specify a formal 

request process for the reliability 

coordinator to explicitly identify the 

data and information it needs for 

reliability; and require the entities with 

the data to provide it as requested. The 

Reliability Standard applies to the 

reliability coordinator and to the other 

functional entities that must supply data 

to the reliability coordinator.33 This 

includes entities that have been 

identified as owners, users, or operators 

of the bulk-power system. 

35. Because the interpretation for 

IRO–010–1 was completed before the 

filing of IRO–010–1, NERC requests 

Commission approval of IRO–010–1a, 

which includes the standard as 

interpreted. The WECC Reliability 

Coordination Subcommittee requested 

clarification on: (1) The type of data to 

be supplied to the reliability 

coordinator; (2) which entities are 

ultimately responsible for ensuring data 

are provided; and (3) what actions are 

expected of the reliability coordinator 

regarding a ‘‘mutually acceptable 

format.’’ 

36. In response to the questions posed 

by the WECC Reliability Coordination 

Subcommittee, NERC’s interpretation 

team clarified that the data to be 

supplied in Requirement R3 applies to 

the documented specification for data 

and information referenced in 

Requirement R1. They also explained 

that the intent of Requirement R3 is for 

each responsible entity to ensure that its 

data and information (as stated in the 

documented specification in 


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34NERC Petition at 108. 

35Order No. 693, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,242 at 

P 548, 556, 566. 

36The Commission notes that the third and fourth 

directives listed in P 566 of Order No. 693 remain 

outstanding. Further, the Commission directed the 

ERO to consider a pilot program for implementing 

system states. Order No. 693, FERC Stats. & Regs. 

¶ 31,242 at P 566. 

Requirement R1) are provided to the 

reliability coordinator. NERC’s 

interpretation team stated that another 

entity may provide that data or 

information to the reliability 

coordinator on behalf of the responsible 

entity, but the responsibility remains 

with the responsible entity. Finally, 

they explained that Requirement R1.2 

mandates that the parties will reach a 

mutual agreement with respect to the 

format of the data and information. If 

the parties can not mutually agree on 

the format, it is expected that they will 

negotiate to reach agreement or enter 

into dispute resolution to resolve the 

disagreement.34

NOPR Proposal 

37. Under section 215(d)(2) of the 

FPA, the Commission proposes to 

approve Reliability Standard IRO–010– 

1a, including the proposed 

interpretation, as just, reasonable, not 

unduly discriminatory or preferential, 

and in the public interest. However, the 

Commission notes that the requirements 

of Reliability Standard IRO–010–1a do 

not require reliability coordinators to 

specify a list of minimum data needed 

for reliable operation of the Bulk-Power 

System. The Commission is concerned 

that, without such a minimum list, 

neighboring reliability coordinators 

could experience problems regarding 

compatibility and, therefore, common 

understanding of data. For example, if 

differing data requirements were 

specified by adjacent reliability 

coordinators, the analysis performed by 

one could indicate a more severe result 

from a possible contingency and result 

in conflicting operating procedures for 

mitigation of risk to the Bulk-Power 

System. Therefore, the Commission 

requests comments from the ERO and 

industry on whether a minimum list of 

data is necessary for the effective 

sharing of data between neighboring 

reliability coordinators and, if so, what 

data should be included. The 

Commission also requests comments 

from NERC and the industry on how 

compatibility of data between 

neighboring reliability coordinators can 

be assured absent a list of minimum 

data as part of this proposed Reliability 

Standard. 

C. Proposed Revised Reliability 

Standards 

1. EOP–001–1 

38. NERC proposes to retire 

Requirement R2 of Reliability Standard 

EOP–001–0. To implement this revision, 

NERC proposes a revised Reliability 

Standard EOP–001–1. The purpose of 

EOP–001–1 is to require each 

transmission operator and balancing 

authority to develop, maintain, and 

implement a set of plans to mitigate 

operating emergencies. These plans 

need to be coordinated with other 

transmission operators and balancing 

authorities, and the reliability 

coordinator. Revised Reliability 

Standard EOP–001–1 would apply only 

to balancing authorities and 

transmission operators. 

39. NERC contends that, upon IRO– 

009–1 becoming effective, Requirement 

R2 of EOP–001–0 should be retired. 

Under Requirement R2 transmission 

operators must have an emergency load 

reduction plan for all identified IROLs. 

NERC contends that this requirement 

would no longer be appropriate upon 

IRO–009–1 becoming effective because 

the reliability coordinator, not the 

transmission operator, is responsible for 

developing plans for mitigating IROLs. 

Accordingly, NERC requests approval of 

EOP–001–1, which is identical to 

existing Reliability Standard EOP–001– 

0 except for the retirement of 

Requirement R2. 

40. NERC contends that the proposed 

new Requirements R1 and R2 of IRO– 

009–1 combined with the revisions in 

proposed Reliability Standard EOP– 

001–1 address the Commission’s 

directives in Order No. 693 to modify 

EOP–001–0 to include the reliability 

coordinator as an applicable entity and 

to require the reliability coordinator to 

act to mitigate IROL violations within 

30 minutes.35 In developing IRO–009–1, 

NERC states that the drafting team 

determined that there are some IROLs 

that must be resolved in a time frame 

that is shorter than 30 minutes. 

Accordingly, Requirement R2 of IRO– 

009–1 requires that each action plan 

developed to resolve an IROL must be 

capable of being executed such that the 

IROL is relieved within its IROL Tv. In 

addition, Requirement R4 of IRO–009– 

1 requires the reliability coordinator to 

act, without delay, when actual system 

conditions show that there is an 

instance of exceeding an IROL. 

NOPR Proposal 

41. Under section 215(d)(2) of the 

FPA, the Commission proposes to 

approve Reliability Standard EOP–001– 

1 as just, reasonable, not unduly 

discriminatory or preferential, and in 

the public interest. The Commission 

also proposes to find that the ERO has 

satisfied the first and second directives 

from P 566 of Order No. 693.36

2. IRO–002–2 

42. NERC proposes to retire 

Requirement R2 of Reliability Standard 

IRO–002–1. To implement this revision, 

NERC requests Commission approval of 

revised Reliability standard IRO–002–2. 

The purpose of IRO–002–2 is to provide 

reliability coordinators with the 

information, tools and other capabilities 

that they need to perform their 

responsibilities. IRO–002–2 would 

apply only to reliability coordinators. 

43. Requirement R2 of IRO–002–1 

requires each reliability coordinator to 

determine the data requirements to 

support its reliability coordinator tasks 

and to request such data from its 

transmission operators, balancing 

authorities, transmission owners, 

generation owners, generation operators, 

and load-serving entities, or adjacent 

reliability coordinators. NERC explains 

that proposed Reliability Standard IRO– 

010–1a (discussed above) requires the 

reliability coordinator to develop and 

distribute a data specification to ensure 

that entities provide data as needed to 

support monitoring, analyses, and 

assessments. NERC contends that the 

proposed requirements are more explicit 

than the associated requirement in 

Reliability Standard IRO–002–1. 

44. Reliability Standard IRO–002–2 

continues to require each reliability 

coordinator to monitor SOLs other than 

IROLs both within its reliability 

coordinator area and in surrounding 

reliability coordinator areas. Under 

Requirement R4 of IRO–002–2, each 

reliability coordinator must have 

detailed real-time monitoring capability 

of its reliability coordinator area and 

sufficient monitoring capability of its 

surrounding reliability coordinator areas 

to ensure that potential or actual SOLs 

or IROL violations are identified. In 

addition, under Requirement R5, each 

reliability coordinator must monitor 

bulk electric system elements such as 

generators, transmission lines, buses, 

transformers and breakers that could 

result in SOL or IROL violations within 

its reliability coordinator area. 

45. In Order No. 693, the Commission 

directed the ERO to develop a 

modification to IRO–002–1 that requires 

a minimum set of capabilities that 

should be made available to reliability 

coordinators. NERC acknowledges that 

the proposed modification does not 


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37Reliability Standard IRO–004–1, Requirement 

R2. 

38See Reliability Standard TOP–008–1, requiring 

transmission operators to take action to prevent or 

mitigate violations of SOLs. 

address this directive. NERC states that 

this directive is being considered in 

Project 2009–02—Real-time Tools and 

Analysis Capabilities. 

NOPR Proposal 

46. Under section 215(d)(2) of the 

FPA, the Commission proposes to 

approve Reliability Standard IRO–002– 

2. The Commission proposes to find that 

the data specification requirements of 

proposed Reliability Standard IRO–001– 

1a are more explicit than the direction 

provided in Requirement R2 of IRO– 

002–1. In addition, the Commission 

accepts NERC’s commitment to develop 

a minimum set of capabilities that 

should be made available to reliability 

coordinators. 

3. IRO–004–2 

47. NERC proposes to revise IRO– 

004–1 by retiring Requirements R1 

through R6. To implement these 

revisions, NERC requests Commission 

approval of Reliability Standard IRO– 

004–2. The purpose of IRO–004–2 is to 

require each reliability coordinator to 

conduct next-day reliability analyses for 

its reliability coordinator area to ensure 

the bulk electric system can be operated 

reliably in anticipated normal and 

contingency conditions. IRO–004–2 

would apply to balancing authorities, 

transmission operators, and 

transmission service providers. 

48. NERC states that, upon approval 

of proposed IRO–008–1, Requirement 

R1 of the currently-effective IRO–004–1 

should be retired because the 

requirement only requires a next-day 

reliability analysis of its own reliability 

coordinator area as opposed to its WideArea, which also would include critical 

flow and status information from 

adjacent reliability coordinator areas to 

allow the calculation of IROLs. NERC 

explains that because proposed IRO– 

008–1 requires the reliability 

coordinator to assess a wider area than 

is currently required by IRO–004–1, the 

reliability coordinator is required to 

continuously look beyond its own area 

boundaries and assess a broader portion 

of the interconnected Bulk-Power 

System. NERC further states that the 

purpose of conducting a day-ahead 

analysis is not to ‘‘ensure’’ but to ‘‘assess’’ 

the system and, thus, Requirement R1 of 

currently-effective IRO–004–1 is 

inaccurate. 

49. NERC also seeks to retire 

Requirement R2 of IRO–004–1, which 

requires each reliability coordinator to 

‘‘pay particular attention to parallel 

flows to ensure one reliability 

coordinator area does not place an 

unacceptable or undue burden on an 

adjacent reliability coordinator area.’’ 37

NERC states that the phrase ‘‘to pay 

particular attention to’’ is neither clear 

nor measurable. NERC asserts that the 

requirements in currently-effective IRO– 

014, IRO–015, and IRO–016 are aimed at 

ensuring that reliability coordinators 

coordinate their actions with one 

another and act in the best interest of 

the interconnection as a whole. In 

addition, NERC explains that, under the 

Functional Model, the transmission 

operator is responsible for the real-time 

operation of the transmission system 

with the reliability coordinator 

providing oversight of the transmission 

operator’s actions, directing additional 

or alternate actions when needed. NERC 

states that the requirements proposed in 

the new IRO Reliability Standards focus 

specifically on IROLs and are inclusive 

of any reliability implications due to 

parallel flows. 

50. In support of retiring 

Requirements R1 and R2 of IRO–004–1, 

NERC posits that under the Functional 

Model, the reliability coordinator is the 

functional entity with primary 

responsibility for IROLs and the 

transmission operator is the functional 

entity with primary responsibility for 

SOLs. NERC states that, under certain 

circumstances, the transmission 

operator may request the assistance of 

its reliability coordinator in developing 

an SOL but the responsibility for 

addressing the SOL remains with the 

transmission operator.38 NERC explains 

that, under the Functional Model and 

Requirement R11 of Reliability Standard 

TOP–002–2, the transmission operator 

is responsible for conducting analyses to 

identify where there may be instances of 

exceeding SOLs. NERC also states that, 

under TOP–008–1, the transmission 

operator is responsible for taking actions 

to either prevent or mitigate instances of 

exceeding SOLs. NERC states that, by 

contrast, it is the reliability coordinator 

that is responsible for ensuring that 

IROLs are developed for its reliability 

coordinator area in accordance with a 

methodology developed by the 

reliability coordinator. Further, NERC 

states that the transmission operator 

must share its SOLs with its reliability 

coordinator, and the reliability 

coordinator must share any SOLs it 

develops with its transmission operator. 

NERC states that the reliability 

coordinator monitors the status of some, 

but not all, SOLs. 

51. NERC also contends that, upon 

proposed Reliability Standard IRO–009– 

1 becoming effective, Requirements R3 

and R6 of currently-effective IRO–004– 

0 should be retired. Under Requirement 

R3 of IRO–004–0, reliability 

coordinators must, in conjunction with 

its transmission operators and balancing 

authorities, develop action plans, 

including for reducing load to return 

transmission loading to within 

acceptable SOLs or IROLs. NERC states 

that the use of the phrase, ‘‘in 

conjunction with’’ is not supported by 

the responsibilities of the reliability 

coordinator in the Functional Model 

and would be inconsistent with the 

requirements of proposed Reliability 

Standard IRO–009–1. NERC also states 

that proposed Requirement R3 of IRO– 

009–1 includes language that is more 

explicit than the language in 

Requirement R6 of existing Reliability 

Standard IRO–004–1. 

52. Finally, NERC proposes to retire 

Requirements R4 and R5 from IRO–004– 

1. Requirement R4 requires each 

transmission operator, balancing 

authority, transmission owner, generator 

owner, generator operator, and loadserving entity in the reliability 

coordinator area to provide information 

required for system studies. NERC 

proposes to retire Requirement R4 

because it identifies only a fraction of 

the reliability-related data needed by the 

reliability coordinator. Requirement R5 

requires each reliability coordinator to 

share the results of its system studies 

with other reliability coordinators and 

transmission operators, balancing 

authorities, and transmission service 

providers within its reliability 

coordinator area. NERC states that 

proposed Reliability IRO–010–1a offers 

a suitable replacement for currentlyeffective Requirements R4 and R5 

because IRO–010–1a requires reliability 

coordinators to know, in advance, what 

data and information it needs and what 

data and information it needs to share 

with other reliability entities. In 

addition, requirement R3 of proposed 

Reliability Standard IRO–008–1 would 

require the reliability coordinator to 

share the results of its analyses with 

entities within its reliability coordinator 

area. 

NOPR Proposal 

53. Under section 215(d)(2) of the 

FPA, the Commission proposes to 

approve Reliability Standard IRO–004– 

2, as just, reasonable, not unduly 

discriminatory or preferential, and in 

the public interest. The Commission 

recognizes NERC’s efforts to more 

clearly define which functional entity 

has the ultimate responsibility for SOLs 


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and IROLs, and to synchronize existing 

standards with the proposed new IRO 

Reliability Standards. We propose to 

find that the requirements proposed for 

retirement from IRO–004–1 are 

appropriately addressed in new 

Reliability Standards IRO–008–1, IRO– 

009–1, and IRO–010–1a. 

4. IRO–005–3 

54. NERC proposes to retire 

Requirement R2, R3, R5, R16, and R17 

of currently-effective Reliability 

Standard IRO–005–2, and to modify 

Requirements R9, R13, and R14. To 

implement these revisions, NERC 

requests Commission approval of 

proposed Reliability Standard IRO–005– 

3. The purpose of proposed Reliability 

Standard IRO–005–3 is to require the 

reliability coordinator to be 

continuously aware of conditions 

within its reliability coordinator area 

and include this information in its 

reliability assessments. In addition, the 

reliability coordinator must monitor the 

bulk electric system parameters that 

may have significant impacts upon the 

reliability coordinator area and 

neighboring reliability coordinator 

areas. IRO–005–3 would apply to 

reliability coordinators, balancing 

authorities, transmission operators, 

transmission service providers, 

generator operators, load-serving 

entities, and purchasing-selling entities. 

55. NERC contends that, upon the 

new IRO Reliability Standards becoming 

effective, Requirements R2, R3, R5, R16, 

and R17 of IRO–005–2 should be retired 

and Requirements R9, R13, and R14 

should be modified. Except for 

Requirement R2, all of the requirements 

proposed for retirement set 

responsibilities for the reliability 

coordinator to be continuously aware of 

SOLs and IROLs within its reliability 

coordinator area and to identify the 

cause for each SOL and IROL. Similarly, 

all of the requirements proposed for 

modification include requirements for 

the reliability coordinator to address 

SOLs and for the transmission operator 

to address IROLs. NERC contends that 

these existing requirements should be 

retired or modified in light of the 

division of responsibilities between 

reliability coordinators and 

transmission operators expressed in 

new Reliability Standard IRO–009–1. 

56. Requirement R2 requires the 

reliability coordinator ‘‘to be aware of’’ 

all interchange transactions that wheel 

through its reliability coordinator area. 

NERC contends that it is not possible to 

measure how an entity is ‘‘aware of’’ 

specific information. In addition, NERC 

states that the e-tag system that has been 

implemented no longer requires the 

reliability coordinator to collect and 

relay interchange information to other 

entities. If a reliability coordinator 

needs this information, NERC states that 

the reliability coordinator can add this 

item to the list of data and information 

on its data specification under proposed 

Requirement R1 of IRO–010–1a. 

NOPR Proposal 

57. Under section 215(d)(2) of the 

FPA, the Commission proposes to 

approve Reliability Standard IRO–005– 

3, as just, reasonable, not unduly 

discriminatory or preferential, and in 

the public interest. The Commission 

recognizes NERC’s efforts to more 

clearly define which functional entity 

has the ultimate responsibility for SOLs 

and IROLs, and to synchronize existing 

standards with the proposed new IRO 

Reliability Standards. We propose to 

find that the requirements of IRO–005– 

2 proposed for retirement and 

modification are appropriately 

addressed in new Reliability Standards 

IRO–008–1, IRO–009–1, and IRO–010– 

1a. 

5. TOP–003–1 

58. NERC proposes to modify 

Requirement R1.2 of currently-effective 

Reliability Standard TOP–003–0. To 

implement this revision, NERC requests 

approval of proposed Reliability 

Standard TOP–003–1. The purpose of 

TOP–003–1 is to require balancing 

authorities, transmission operators, and 

reliability coordinators to plan and 

coordinate scheduled generator and 

transmission outages that may affect the 

reliability of interconnected operations. 

TOP–003–1 would apply to generator 

operators, transmission operators, 

balancing authorities, and reliability 

coordinators. 

59. NERC explains that Requirement 

R1.2 of TOP–003–0 includes two 

distinct activities—a requirement for the 

transmission operator to provide the 

reliability coordinator and other entities 

with daily outage information and a 

requirement for the reliability 

coordinator to establish outage reporting 

requirements. NERC contends that both 

elements of Requirement R1.2 are 

captured in proposed Reliability 

Standard IRO–010–1a. NERC proposes 

to remove the transmission operator’s 

obligation to provide daily outage 

information to reliability coordinators 

and strike the requirement for the 

reliability coordinator to establish 

outage reporting requirements. 

According to NERC, Requirement R1 

of proposed IRO–010–1a requires the 

reliability coordinator to specify what 

data and information it needs, as well as 

the frequency and format for providing 

that data and information. NERC states 

that, because the reliability coordinator 

needs outage data for modeling and 

analysis, the specification will include 

outage data. Requirement R3 of IRO– 

010–1a requires entities to provide data 

and information to the reliability 

coordinator in accordance with the 

reliability coordinator’s specifications. 

NERC states that if TOP–003–0 

Requirement R1.2 is not modified, it 

will be redundant with IRO–010–1a, 

Requirement R3. 

NOPR Proposal 

60. Under section 215(d)(2) of the 

FPA, we propose to approve Reliability 

Standard TOP–003–1, as just, 

reasonable, not unduly discriminatory 

or preferential, and in the public 

interest. We propose to find that the 

requirements of currently-effective 

Reliability Standard TOP–003–0 that 

NERC proposed for modification are 

appropriately addressed in new 

Reliability Standard IRO–010–1a. 

However, under Requirement R3, it is 

incumbent on the reliability coordinator 

to request sufficient scheduled outage 

data. The Commission is concerned that 

IRO–010–1a does not specify outage 

coordination data and the reliability 

coordinator may not receive adequate 

outage coordination data to support the 

Operational Planning Analysis. 

Therefore, the Commission seeks 

comments from NERC and the public on 

whether IRO–010–1a should specify the 

necessary outage coordination data. 

6. TOP–005–2 

61. NERC proposes to retire 

Requirements R1 and R1.1 of currentlyeffective Reliability Standard TOP–005– 

1 and modify Attachment 1 of the 

Reliability Standard. To implement 

these revisions, NERC requests approval 

of proposed Reliability Standard TOP– 

005–2. The purpose of TOP–005–2 is to 

ensure reliability entities have the 

operating data needed to monitor 

system conditions within their areas. 

TOP–005–2 would apply to 

transmission operators, balancing 

authorities, and purchasing selling 

entities. 

62. Requirement R1 of TOP–005–1 

requires transmission operators to 

provide the reliability coordinator with 

the data and information that the 

reliability coordinator needs to perform 

its reliability-related tasks. Requirement 

R1.1 of TOP–005–1 requires reliability 

coordinators to identify the data 

requirements, listed in Attachment 1 of 

TOP–005–1, and any additional 

operating information requirements 

relating to the operation of the BulkPower System with its reliability 


jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
71622 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 24, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

39Facilities Design, Connections and 

Maintenance Reliability Standards, Order No. 705, 

121 FERC ¶ 61,296, at P 137 (2007). 

40 Violation Severity Level Order, 123 FERC 

¶ 61,284. 

coordinator area. NERC states that 

Requirement R1 implies that the 

reliability coordinator will limit its use 

of the data and information it collects to 

operations within its reliability 

coordinator area. According to NERC, 

this does not support the Functional 

Model, which requires the reliability 

coordinator to monitor the Wide-Area. 

NERC states that, under other Reliability 

Standards such as IRO–014–1 and IRO– 

015–1, each reliability coordinator is 

expected to coordinate the activities 

within its reliability coordinator area 

with other reliability coordinators. 

63. NERC states that, under proposed 

Reliability Standard IRO–010–1a, each 

reliability coordinator must document 

what data and information it needs and 

which entities must provide that data. 

NERC explains that the reliability 

coordinator needs this data to perform 

reliability assessments and for real-time 

monitoring. Under the Functional 

Model, the reliability coordinator 

collects data and information not just 

from transmission operators and 

balancing authorities, but also from 

generator operators, load-serving 

entities, transmission owners, and 

generator owners. 

64. NERC also proposes conforming 

revisions to Attachment 1 to TOP–005– 

2. As currently written, Attachment 1 of 

TOP–005–1 lists the types of data that 

reliability coordinators, balancing 

authorities, and transmission operators 

are expected to provide, and are 

expected to share with each other. 

Consistent with the proposed revisions 

in Reliability Standard TOP–005–2, 

NERC proposes to remove references to 

the reliability coordinator from 

Attachment 1. 

NOPR Proposal 

65. Under section 215(d)(2) of the 

FPA, the Commission proposes to 

approve Reliability Standard TOP–005– 

2, as just, reasonable, not unduly 

discriminatory or preferential, and in 

the public interest. The Commission 

recognizes NERC’s efforts to more 

clearly define the reliability 

coordinator’s need to know, in advance, 

what data is needed, insure the timely 

availability of the data; and how that 

data will be communicated to other 

functional entities. We propose to find 

that the requirements of TOP–005–1 

that are proposed for retirement are 

appropriately addressed in new 

Reliability Standard IRO–010–1a. We 

are concerned, however, about whether 

the proposal adequately ensures the 

compatibility of data between 

neighboring reliability coordinators. 

Having compatible data allows for an 

essential level of interoperability. The 

Commission requests comment from the 

reliability coordinators and the industry 

on whether a list of minimum ‘‘Electric 

System Reliability Data,’’ such as shown 

in Attachment 1 of currently-effective 

Reliability Standard TOP–005–1, is 

beneficial for reliability coordinators to 

meet the requirements of IRO–008–1 

and IRO–009–1. 

7. TOP–006–2 

66. NERC proposes to modify 

Requirement R4 of currently-effective 

Reliability Standard TOP–006–1. To 

implement this revision, NERC requests 

approval of proposed Reliability 

Standard TOP–006–2. The purpose of 

TOP–006–2 is to ensure critical 

reliability parameters are monitored in 

real-time. Its requirements would be 

applicable to transmission operators, 

balancing authorities, generator 

operators, and reliability coordinators. 

67. Requirement R4 of TOP–006–1 

requires each reliability coordinator, 

transmission operator, and balancing 

authority to have information, including 

weather forecasts and past load patterns, 

available to predict the system’s nearterm load pattern. NERC proposes to 

modify Requirement R4 by removing the 

reference to reliability coordinators. 

NERC states that the information 

identified in existing Requirement R4 of 

TOP–006–1 is not inclusive, and is 

addressed more globally for the 

reliability coordinator in Requirements 

R1 and R3 of the proposed new 

Reliability Standard IRO–010–1a. 

Proposed Requirement R1 of IRO–010– 

1a requires each reliability coordinator 

to have a documented specification for 

data and information to build and 

maintain models to support real-time 

monitoring, operational planning 

analyses, and real-time assessments of 

its reliability coordinator area to prevent 

instability, uncontrolled separation, and 

cascading outages. Requirement R3 of 

IRO–010–1a requires each balancing 

authority, generator owner, generator 

operator, interchange authority, loadserving entity, reliability coordinator, 

transmission operator, and transmission 

owner to provide data and information, 

as specified, to their reliability 

coordinator. 

NOPR Proposal 

68. Under section 215(d)(2) of the 

FPA, the Commission proposes to 

approve Reliability Standard TOP–006– 

2, as just, reasonable, not unduly 

discriminatory or preferential, and in 

the public interest. The Commission 

recognizes NERC’s efforts to more 

clearly define the reliability 

coordinator’s need to know, in advance, 

what load forecast data is needed, the 

supporting data for the load forecast; 

and how that data will communicated to 

other functional entities. We propose to 

find that the reliability coordinator 

functions that are removed from 

Requirement R4 of TOP–006–2 are 

appropriately addressed in 

Requirements R1 and R3 of new 

Reliability Standard IRO–010–1a. 

D. Violation Severity Levels and 

Violation Risk Factors 

69. In the event of a violation of a 

Reliability Standard, NERC will 

establish the initial value range for the 

corresponding base penalty amount. To 

do so, NERC will assign a violation risk 

factor for each requirement of a 

Reliability Standard that relates to the 

expected or potential impact of a 

violation of the requirement on the 

reliability of the Bulk-Power System. In 

addition, NERC will define up to four 

violation severity levels—Lower, 

Moderate, High, and Severe—as 

measurements for the degree to which 

the requirement was violated in a 

specific circumstance. 

70. In Order No. 705, the Commission 

approved 63 of NERC’s 72 proposed 

violation risk factors for the version one 

FAC Reliability Standards and directed 

NERC to file violation severity level 

assignments before the version one FAC 

Reliability Standards become 

effective.39 Subsequently, NERC 

developed violation severity levels for 

each requirement of the Commissionapproved FAC Reliability Standards, as 

measurements for the degree to which 

the requirement was violated in a 

specific circumstance. 

71. On June 19, 2008, the Commission 

issued its Violation Severity Level Order 

approving the violation severity level 

assignments filed by NERC for the 83 

Reliability Standards approved in Order 

No. 693.40 In that order, the Commission 

offered four guidelines for evaluating 

the validity of violation severity levels, 

and ordered a number of reports and 

further compliance filing to bring the 

remainder of NERC’s violation severity 

levels into conformance with the 

Commission’s guidelines. The four 

guidelines are: (1) Violation severity 

level assignments should not have the 

unintended consequence of lowering 

the current level of compliance; (2) 

violation severity level assignments 

should ensure uniformity and 

consistency among all approved 

Reliability Standards in the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 24, 2010 / Proposed Rules 71623 

41 Guideline 2 contains two sub-parts: (a) The 

single violation severity level assignment category 

for binary requirements should be consistent and 

(b) violation severity levels assignments should not 

contain ambiguous language. 

42 Violation Severity Level Order, 123 FERC 

¶ 61,284 at P 17. 

43North American Reliability Corporation, Filing 

of the North American Electric Reliability 

Corporation regarding the Assignment of Violation 

Risk Factors and Violation Severity Levels, Docket 

No. RR08–4–005 (filed May 5, 2010). 

44 Id. 

45NERC, Informational Filing Regarding the 

Assignment of Violation Risk Factors and Violation 

Severity Levels, Docket Nos. RM08–11–000, RR07– 

9–000, and RR07–10–000, (filed Aug. 10, 2009). 

46 5 CFR 1320.11. 

47 44 U.S.C. 3501–20. 

48 44 U.S.C. 3502(3)(A)(i), 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(3). 

49Proposed Reliability Standard IRO–010–1a, 

Requirement R3. 

determination of penalties; 41 (3) 

violation severity level assignments 

should be consistent with the 

corresponding requirement; and (4) 

violation severity level assignments 

should be based on a single violation, 

not a cumulative number of 

violations.42 The Commission found 

that these guidelines will provide a 

consistent and objective means for 

assessing, inter alia, the consistency, 

fairness and potential consequences of 

violation severity level assignments. 

The Commission noted that these 

guidelines were not intended to replace 

NERC’s own guidance classifications, 

but rather, to provide an additional level 

of analysis to determine the validity of 

violation severity level assignments. 

72. On August 10, 2009, NERC 

submitted an informational filing setting 

forth a summary of revised guidelines 

that NERC intends to use in determining 

the assignment of violation risk factors 

and violation severity levels for 

Reliability Standards. NERC states that 

these revised guidelines were consistent 

with Commission’s guidelines. On May 

5, 2010, NERC submitted the subject 

informational filing as a supplement to 

its March 5, 2010 Violation Severity 

Level Order compliance filing.43

NERC Proposal 

73. NERC proposes a complete set of 

violation severity levels and violation 

risk factors for proposed new Reliability 

Standards IRO–008–1, IRO–009–1, and 

IRO–010–1a. In addition, NERC 

proposes to apply the existing set of 

violation severity levels and violation 

risk factors assigned to the proposed 

modified requirements. 

74. NERC states that it developed the 

violation severity levels for the new IRO 

Reliability Standards before the 

Commission issued its June 19, 2008 

order on violation severity levels.44

NERC also notes that the proposed 

violation severity levels were developed 

before NERC proposed a new 

methodology for assigning violation 

severity levels and violation risk 

factors.45 As a result, NERC states that 

some of the proposed violation severity 

levels do not comport with the 

Commission’s guidelines on violation 

severity levels and some do not comport 

with the NERC’s revised guidelines. 

NERC has identified differences and 

commits to propose revisions to the 

violation severity levels. 

NOPR Proposal 

75. The Commission proposes to 

accept the proposed violation risk 

factors and violation severity levels 

presented in NERC’s petition. In 

addition, we propose to accept NERC’s 

commitment to review the proposed 

violation risk factors and violation 

severity levels to ensure compliance 

with the Commission’s guidelines. 

Accordingly, we propose to direct NERC 

to submit a compliance filing within six 

months of the effective date of the final 

rule in this proceeding that would 

provide the results of NERC’s review 

including any modifications necessary 

to comply with the Commission’s 

guidelines on violation risk factors and 

violation severity levels. 

76. The violation risk factors and 

violation severity levels for proposed 

new Reliability Standards IRO–008–1, 

IRO–009–1, and IRO–010–1a, and the 

proposed modified requirements also 

would be impacted by NERC’s revised 

guidelines for assigning violation 

severity levels currently pending before 

the Commission in Docket No. RR08–4– 

005. Subject to Commission action on 

NERC’s revised guidelines, NERC may 

need to make additional revisions to the 

proposed violation risk factors and 

violation severity levels. 

III. Information Collection Statement 

77. The Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) regulations require 

approval of certain information 

collection requirements imposed by 

agency rules.46 Upon approval of a 

collection(s) of information, OMB will 

assign an OMB control number and an 

expiration date. Respondents subject to 

the filing requirements of this rule will 

not be penalized for failing to respond 

to these collections of information 

unless the collections of information 

display a valid OMB control number. 

The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 47

requires each federal agency to seek and 

obtain OMB approval before 

undertaking a collection of information 

directed to ten or more persons, or 

continuing a collection for which OMB 

approval and validity of the control 

number are about to expire.48

78. The Commission is submitting 

these reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements to OMB for its review and 

approval under section 3507(d) of the 

PRA. Comments are solicited on the 

Commission’s need for this information, 

whether the information will have 

practical utility, the accuracy of 

provided burden estimates, ways to 

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 

of the information to be collected, and 

any suggested methods for minimizing 

the respondent’s burden, including the 

use of automated information 

techniques. 

79. This NOPR proposes to approve 

three new Reliability Standards, IRO– 

008–1, IRO–009–1 and IRO–010–1a 

governing reliability coordinator 

analyses, operational actions and data 

collection, which standards will replace 

parts of the currently-effective 

Reliability Standards EOP–001–0, IRO– 

002–1, IRO–004–1, IRO–005–2, TOP– 

003–0, TOP–005–1 and TOP–006–1 

approved by the Commission in Order 

No. 693. Many of the proposed 

requirements are based requirements in 

currently-effective Reliability Standards 

and match common industry practice. 

Thus, this proposed rulemaking does 

not impose entirely new burdens on the 

effected entities. With the exception of 

the addition of Interchange Authority as 

an applicable entity in IRO–010–1a, the 

currently-effective standards EOP–001– 

0, IRO–002–1, IRO–004–1, IRO–005–2, 

TOP–003–0, TOP–005–1 and TOP–006– 

1 require actions by the same applicable 

group of entities. IRO–010–1a clarifies 

for balancing authorities, generator 

owners, generator operators, interchange 

authorities, load-serving entities, 

reliability coordinators, transmission 

operators, and transmission owners 

shall provide data and information, as 

specified, to the reliability 

coordinator(s) with which it has a 

reliability relationship.49 The 

requirements of IRO–008–1 and IRO– 

009–a provide clarification from 

existing requirements, dictating the 

analysis and operational roles of the 

reliability coordinator. 

80. Public Reporting Burden: Our 

estimate below regarding the number of 

respondents is based on the NERC 

compliance registry as of September 28, 

2010. According to the NERC 

compliance registry, there are 134 

balancing authorities, 824 generator 

owners, 773 generator operators, 61 

interchange authorities, 541 loadserving entities, 26 reliability 

coordinators, 178 transmission 

operators, and 332 transmission owners 


jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
71624 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 24, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

50Order No. 486, Regulations Implementing the 

National Environmental Policy Act, 52 FR 47897 

(Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 30,783 (1987). 

51 18 CFR 380.4(a)(5). 

52 5 U.S.C. 601–12. 

53The RFA definition of ‘‘small entity’’ refers to 

the definition provided in the Small Business Act 

(SBA), which defines a ‘‘small business concern’’ as 

a business that is independently owned and 

operated and that is not dominant in its field of 

operation. See 15 U.S.C. 632. According to the SBA, 

a small electric utility is defined as one that has a 

total electric output of less than four million MWh 

in the preceding year. 

that would be involved in providing 

information. However, under NERC’s 

compliance registration program, 

entities may be registered for multiple 

functions, and as such there is some 

duplication of functions regarding the 

number of registered entities that would 

be required to provide information. 

Given these parameters, the 

Commission estimates that the Public 

Reporting burden for the requirements 

contained in the NOPR is as follows: 

Data collection Number of 

respondents 

Number of 

annual 

responses 

Hours per 

respondent 

Total annual 

hours 

FERC–725A 

Reliability Coordinators distribution of data specification to entities 26 *1 8 208 

Balancing Authorities, Generator Owners, Generator Operators, 

Interchange Authorities, Load-serving Entities, Reliability Coordinators, Transmission Operators, and Transmission Owners 

reporting data to their Reliability Coordinator .............................. 1,501 *1 8 12,008 

Total .......................................................................................... ............................ ............................ ............................ 12,216 

* As needed. 

• Total Annual hours for Collection: 

(Reporting + recordkeeping) = hours. 

Information Collection Costs: The 

Commission seeks comments on the 

costs to comply with the reporting and 

recordkeeping burden associated with 

the proposed Reliability Standards. It 

has projected the average annualized 

cost to be the total annual hours 

Recordkeeping = 12,216 hours @ 

$120/hour = $1,465,920. 

• Total costs = $1,465,920. 

• Title: Mandatory Reliability 

Standards for the Bulk-Power System. 

• Action: Proposed Collection of 

Information. 

• OMB Control No: 1902–0244. 

• Respondents: Business or other for 

profit, and/or not for profit institutions. 

• Frequency of Responses: Annually, 

or as needed. 

• Necessity of the Information: This 

proposed rule would approve revised 

Reliability Standards that create new 

requirements for reliability coordinator 

responsibilities. The proposed 

Reliability Standards require entities to 

supply required data and information 

needed by the reliability coordinator. 

• Internal review: The Commission 

has reviewed the requirements 

pertaining to the proposed Reliability 

Standards for the Bulk-Power System 

and determined that the proposed 

requirements are necessary to meet the 

statutory provisions of the Energy Policy 

Act of 2005. These requirements 

conform to the Commission’s plan for 

efficient information collection, 

communication and management within 

the energy industry. The Commission 

has assured itself, by means of internal 

review, that there is specific, objective 

support for the burden estimates 

associated with the information 

requirements. 

81. Interested persons may obtain 

information on the reporting 

requirements by contacting: Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426 

[Attention: Ellen Brown, Office of the 

Executive Director, Phone: (202) 502– 

8663, fax: (202) 273–0873, e-mail: 

DataClearance@ferc.gov]. Comments on 

the requirements of this order may also 

be sent to the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget, Washington, 

DC 20503 [Attention: Desk Officer for 

the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission]. For security reasons, 

comments should be sent by e-mail to 

OMB at oira_submission@omb.eop.gov. 

Please reference docket number RM10– 

15–000 in your submission. 

IV. Environmental Analysis 

82. The Commission is required to 

prepare an Environmental Assessment 

or an Environmental Impact Statement 

for any action that may have a 

significant adverse effect on the human 

environment.50 The actions proposed 

here fall within the categorical 

exclusion in the Commission’s 

regulations for rules that are clarifying, 

corrective or procedural, for information 

gathering, analysis, and 

dissemination.51 Accordingly, neither 

an environmental impact statement nor 

environmental assessment is required. 

V. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Certification 

83. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 

1980 (RFA) 52 generally requires a 

description and analysis of final rules 

that will have significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The requirements of this rule 

would apply primarily to reliability 

coordinators, which do not fall within 

the definition of small entities.53

Moreover, the proposed Reliability 

Standards reflect a continuation of 

existing requirements for reliability 

coordinators and other entities to 

monitor, analyze, prevent, and mitigate 

the occurrence of operating limit 

violations on the Bulk-Power System. 

The one exception is the proposed new 

requirements in Reliability Standard 

IRO–010–1a for interchange authorities, 

which also do not fall within the 

definition of small entities. Based on the 

foregoing, the Commission certifies that 

this proposed rule will not have a 

significant impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. Accordingly, 

no regulatory flexibility analysis is 

required. 

VI. Comment Procedures 

84. The Commission invites interested 

persons to submit comments on the 

matters and issues proposed in this 

notice to be adopted, including any 

related matters or alternative proposals 

that commenters may wish to discuss. 

Comments are due January 24, 2011. 

Comments must refer to Docket No. 

RM10–15–000, and must include the 

commenter’s name, the organization 

they represent, if applicable, and their 

address in their comments. 

85. The Commission encourages 

comments to be filed electronically via 

the eFiling link on the Commission’s 

Web site at http://www.ferc.gov. The 

Commission accepts most standard 

word processing formats. Documents 

created electronically using word 

processing software should be filed in 

native applications or print-to-PDF 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 226 / Wednesday, November 24, 2010 / Proposed Rules 71625 

1 16 U.S.C. 824o (2006). 

format and not in a scanned format. 

Commenters filing electronically do not 

need to make a paper filing. 

86. Commenters unable to file 

comments electronically must mail or 

hand-deliver an original copy of their 

comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, Secretary of the 

Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20426. These 

requirements can be found on the 

Commission’s Web site, see, e.g., the 

‘‘Quick Reference Guide for Paper 

Submissions,’’ available at http:// 

www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp or 

via phone from FERC Online Support at 

(202) 502–6652 or toll-free at 1–866– 

208–3676. 

87. All comments will be placed in 

the Commission’s public files and may 

be viewed, printed, or downloaded 

remotely as described in the Document 

Availability section below. Commenters 

on this proposal are not required to 

serve copies of their comments on other 

commenters. 

VII. Document Availability 

88. In addition to publishing the full 

text of this document in the Federal 

Register, the Commission provides all 

interested persons an opportunity to 

view and/or print the contents of this 

document via the Internet through 

FERC’s Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov) 

and in FERC’s Public Reference Room 

during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. 

to 5 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First 

Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington DC 

20426. 

89. From FERC’s Home Page on the 

Internet, this information is available on 

eLibrary. The full text of this document 

is available on eLibrary in PDF and 

Microsoft Word format for viewing, 

printing, and/or downloading. To access 

this document in eLibrary, type the 

docket number excluding the last three 

digits of this document in the docket 

number field. 

90. User assistance is available for 

eLibrary and the FERC’s Web site during 

normal business hours from FERC 

Online Support at (202) 502–6652 (toll 

free at 1–866–208–3676) or e-mail at 

ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or the 

Public Reference Room at (202) 502– 

8371, TTY (202) 502–8659. E-mail the 

Public Reference Room at 

public.referenceroom@ferc.gov. 

By direction of the Commission. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2010–29575 Filed 11–23–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

18 CFR Part 40 

[Docket No. RM10–16–000] 

System Restoration Reliability 

Standards 

November 18, 2010. 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, DOE. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: Under section 215 of the 

Federal Power Act (FPA), the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission 

(Commission) proposes to approve 

Reliability Standards EOP–001–1 

(Emergency Operations Planning), EOP– 

005–2 (System Restoration from 

Blackstart Resources), and EOP–006–2 

(System Restoration Coordination) 

submitted to the Commission by the 

North American Electric Reliability 

Corporation, the Electric Reliability 

Organization (ERO) certified by the 

Commission. In addition, the 

Commission seeks comment from the 

ERO and other interested parties 

regarding specific concerns. The 

Commission may determine that, after 

considering such comments, it is 

appropriate to direct the ERO, under 

section 215(d)(5) of the FPA, to develop 

additional modifications to proposed 

EOP–005–2 and EOP–006–2. The 

proposed Reliability Standards require 

that plans, facilities and personnel are 

prepared to enable system restoration 

using designated blackstart resources. 

DATES: Comments are due January 24, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by Docket No. RM10–16–000 

and in accordance with the 

requirements posted on the 

Commission’s Web site, http:// 

www.ferc.gov. Comments may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Agency Web Site: Documents 

created electronically using word 

processing software should be filed in 

native applications or print-to-PDF 

format, and not in a scanned format, at 

http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ 

efiling.asp. 

• Mail/Hand Delivery: Commenters 

unable to file comments electronically 

must mail or hand deliver their 

comments to: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, Secretary of the 

Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20426. These 

requirements can be found on the 

Commission’s Web site, see, e.g., the 

‘‘Quick Reference Guide for Paper 

Submissions,’’ available at http:// 

www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp or 

via phone from FERC Online Support at 

202–502–6652 or toll-free at 1–866– 

208–3676. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David O’Connor (Technical 

Information), Office of Electric 

Reliability, Division of Reliability 

Standards, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502– 

6695. 

Nick Henery (Technical Information), 

Office of Electric Reliability, Division 

of Reliability Standards, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street, NE. Washington, DC 

20426, (202) 502–8636. 

Terence Burke (Legal Information), 

Office of the General Counsel, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20426, (202) 502–6498. 

Jonathan First (Legal Information), 

Office of the General Counsel, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20426, (202) 502–8529. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

1. Under section 215 of the Federal 

Power Act (FPA),1 the Commission 

proposes to approve three Reliability 

Standards, EOP–001–1 (Emergency 

Operations Planning), EOP–005–2 

(System Restoration from Blackstart 

Resources), and EOP–006–2 (System 

Restoration Coordination) developed by 

the North American Electric Reliability 

Corporation (NERC), the Commissioncertified Electric Reliability 

Organization (ERO), as well as the 

definition of the term ‘‘Blackstart 

Resource’’ to be added to the NERC 

Glossary of Terms. The proposed 

Reliability Standards were drafted to 

ensure plans, facilities and personnel 

are prepared to enable system 

restoration from blackstart resources in 

order that reliability is maintained 

during system restoration. The 

Commission also seeks comment from 

the ERO and other interested entities 

regarding the Commission’s specific 

concerns discussed below. The 

Commission may determine that, after 

considering such comments, it is 

appropriate to direct the ERO, under 

section 215(d)(5) of the FPA, to develop 

additional modifications to proposed 

EOP–005–2 and EOP–006–2. The 

Commission also proposes to approve 


jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with PROPOSALS-1