126 FERC ¶ 61,248 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 

18 CFR Part 38 

(Docket No. RM05-5-013) 

Standards for Business Practices and 

Communication Protocols for Public Utilities 

(March 19, 2009) 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes to 

incorporate by reference in its regulations at 18 CFR 38.2 the latest version (Version 

002.1) of certain business practice standards adopted by the Wholesale Electric Quadrant 

of the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB). NAESB’s Version 002.1 

Standards mainly modify NAESB’s Version 001 Standards in response to Order Nos. 

890, 890-A, and 890-B. 

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule are due [insert date 30 days after publication in 

the FEDERAL REGISTER]. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket No. RM05-5-013, by 

one of the following methods: 

• Agency Web Site: http://ferc.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting 

comments via the eFiling link found in the Comment Procedures Section of the 

preamble. 

• Mail: Commenters unable to file comments electronically must mail or 

hand deliver an original and 14 copies of their comments to the Federal Energy 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 ii

Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., 

Washington, DC 20426. Please refer to the Comment Procedures Section of 

the preamble for additional information on how to file paper comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ryan M. Irwin (technical issues) 

Office of Energy Market Regulation 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, DC 20426 

(202) 502-6454 

 

Valerie Roth (technical issues) 

Office of Energy Market Regulation 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, DC 20426 

(202) 502-8538 

Gary D. Cohen (legal issues) 

Office of the General Counsel 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, DC 20426 

(202) 502-8321 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

 
126 FERC ¶ 61,248 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 

Standards for Business Practices and 

Communication Protocols for Public Utilities Docket No. RM05-5-013 

NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING 

(March 19, 2009) 

1. In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR), the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (Commission) proposes to amend its regulations under the 

Federal Power Act1

 to incorporate by reference the latest version (Version 002.1) of 

certain business practice standards adopted by the Wholesale Electric Quadrant 

(WEQ) of the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB). These revised 

standards update earlier versions that the Commission previously incorporated by 

reference into its regulations at 18 CFR 38.2 in Order Nos. 676, 676-B, 698, and 

676-C,2

 as well as the Version 002.0 standards that NAESB filed with the 

Commission on September 2, 2008. The new and revised standards that NAESB 

 1

 16 U.S.C. 791a, et seq.

2 Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public 

Utilities, Order No. 676, 71 FR 26,199 (May 4, 2006), FERC Stats. & Regs., 

Regulations Preambles ¶ 31,216 (Apr. 25, 2006), reh’g denied, Order No. 676-A, 116 

FERC ¶ 61,255 (2006), Order No. 676-B, 72 FR 21,095 (Apr. 30, 2007), FERC Stats. 

& Regs., Regulations Preambles ¶ 31,246 (Apr. 19, 2007), Order No. 676-C, 73 FR 

43,848 (July 29, 2008), FERC Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles ¶ 31,274 (July 

21, 2008), Order No. 676-D, granting clarification and denying reh’g, 124 FERC 

¶ 61,317 (2008); Standards for Business Practices for Interstate Natural Gas 

Pipelines, Order No. 698, 72 FR 38,757 (July 16, 2007), FERC Stats. & Regs., 

Regulations Preambles ¶ 31,251 (June 25, 2007), order on clarification and reh’g, 

Order No. 698-A, 121 FERC ¶ 61,264 (2007). 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 2 -

adopted in its Version 002.0 and 002.1 standards implement requirements of Order 

Nos. 890, 890-A, and 890-B. 3

 In addition, NAESB developed standards to support 

the Commission’s eTariff program, modified the Commercial Timing Table (WEQ004 Appendix D) and Transmission Loading Relief Standards (WEQ-008) to provide 

clarity and align NAESB’s business practice standards with the reliability standards 

adopted by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), revised the 

Manual Time Error Correction Standards (WEQ-006) to maintain consistency with 

revised NERC Standard BAL-004, and amended certain ancillary services definitions 

appearing in the Open Access Same-Time Information Systems (OASIS) Standards 

(WEQ-001) relating to the inclusion of demand resources as part of ancillary services. 

I. Background

2. NAESB is a non-profit standards development organization established in 

January 2002 that serves as an industry forum for the development of business 

practice standards. These standards promote a seamless marketplace for wholesale 

and retail natural gas and electricity.4

 Since 1995, NAESB and its predecessor, the 

Gas Industry Standards Board, have been accredited members of the American 

 3 Preventing Undue Discrimination and Preference in Transmission Service, 

Order No. 890, 72 FR 12,266 (March 15 2007), FERC Stats. & Regs., Regulations 

Preambles ¶ 31,241 (2007) (Order No. 890); order on reh’g, Order No. 890-A, 73 FR 

2984 (Jan. 16, 2008), FERC Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles ¶ 31,261 (2007) 

(Order No. 890-A); order on reh’g and clarification, Order No. 890-B, 123 FERC 

¶ 61,299 (2008). 

4 See Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for 

Public Utilities, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 72 FR 8318 (Feb. 27, 2007), FERC 

Stats. & Regs., Proposed Regs. ¶ 32,612 at P 3 (Feb. 20, 2007). 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 3 -

National Standards Institute (ANSI), complying with ANSI’s requirements that its 

standards reflect a consensus of the affected industries.5

3. NAESB’s standards include business practices that streamline the transactional 

processes of the natural gas and electric industries, as well as communication 

protocols and related standards designed to improve the efficiency of communication 

within each industry. NAESB supports all four quadrants of the gas and electric 

industries – wholesale gas, wholesale electric, retail gas, and retail electric. All 

participants in the gas and electric industries are eligible to join NAESB and 

participate in standards development.6

 

4. NAESB develops its standards under a consensus process so that the standards 

draw support from a wide range of industry members. NAESB’s procedures are 

designed to ensure that all industry members can have input into the development of a 

standard, whether or not they are members of NAESB.7

 Furthermore, each standard 

the WEQ adopts is supported by a consensus of the six industry segments: 

transmission, generation, marketer/brokers, distribution/load serving entities, end 

users, and independent grid operators/planners. Under the WEQ process, for a 

standard to be approved, it must receive a super-majority vote of 67 percent of the 

members of the WEQ's Executive Committee with support from at least 40 percent of 

 5 Id.

6 Id. P 4. 

7 Id. P 5. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 4 -

each of the six industry segments. For final approval, 67 percent of the WEQ's 

general membership must ratify the standards.8

5. In a series of Orders,9

 the Commission has incorporated certain of NAESB’s 

standards into its regulations. These standards include standards for business 

practices as well as standards and protocols for electronic communication, and 

business practice standards related to reliability standards promulgated by NERC and 

approved by the Commission. In Order No. 698, the Commission also incorporated 

by reference into its regulations the NAESB Gas/Electric Coordination Standards 

(WEQ-011). These standards established communication protocols between 

interstate natural gas pipelines and electric power plant operators designed to enhance 

reliability by improving communication between the gas and electric industries 

relating to the scheduling of gas-fired generators. 

6. On September 2, 2008, NAESB reported to the Commission that its WEQ 

Executive Committee had approved Version 002.0 of its business practice 

standards.10 The standards were published on September 30, 2008. NAESB states 

that its leadership responded to Order Nos. 890, 890-A, and 890-B, by requesting that 

its Electronic Scheduling Subcommittee/Information Technology Subcommittee 

 8 Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public 

Utilities, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 70 FR 28,222 ((May 17, 2005), FERC 

Stats. & Regs., Proposed Regs. ¶ 32,582, P 13 (May 9, 2005). 

9 See n.2 supra. 

10 See NAESB supplemental report dated Nov. 14, 2008. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 5 -

(ESS/ITS) and its Business Practice Subcommittee (BPS) coordinate efforts to 

address the issues raised by those orders. NAESB also states that, in formulating its 

work schedule, it distinguished between the findings in Order No. 890 that called for 

a specific completion date and other tasks that were less time sensitive and developed 

a work schedule to allow completion of the more time-sensitive items earlier in the 

process. As part of this process, NAESB states that the ESS/ITS and BPS worked in 

close coordination with the pertinent NERC committees to draft business practice 

standards on Order No. 890 issues that complement NERC’s reliability standards 

related to these issues, so that the standards for both organizations will be 

consistent.11

7. While the majority of the revisions made in NAESB’s Version 002.0 

Standards were adopted in response to Order Nos. 890, 890-A, and 890-B, the 

Version 002.0 Standards also include: (1) the eTariff related standards developed by 

NAESB in coordination with Commission staff and the electric, gas, and oil 

industries; (2) modifications to WEQ’s existing interconnection time monitor 

standards in the Manual Time Error Corrections Standards (WEQ-006) to ensure the 

NAESB standards remain consistent with NERC’s BAL-004 standard; and (3) the 

explicit inclusion of demand resources in the definitions of certain ancillary services. 

 11 The Commission addresses the associated reliability standards proposed by 

NERC in a companion Notice of Proposed Rulemaking being issued in Docket No. 

RM08-19-000. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 6 -

8. On February 19, 2009, NAESB notified the Commission that the WEQ 

Executive Committee had approved its Version 002.1 standards, which include both 

new standards and modifications to existing Version 002.0 standards.12 The Version 

002.1 standards include new standards related to capacity benefit margin and rollover 

rights, and were developed in response to Order Nos. 890, 890-A, and 676. 

Additional modifications included in the Version 002.1 standards include: 

(1) modifications to existing standards pertaining to rollover rights; (2) modifications 

to the Coordinate Interchange Timing Tables contained in Appendix D of the 

Coordinate Interchange Standards (WEQ-004) to clarify the differences in timing 

requirements for the Western Electricity Coordinating Council and all other 

interconnections, complementary to the NERC reliability standards; and 

(3) modifications to the Transmission Loading Relief – Eastern Interconnection 

Standards (WEQ-008) to add clarity and ensure that the business practice standards 

are consistent with NERC reliability standard IRO-006. 

9. In total, NAESB’s WEQ Version 002.1 business practice standards include the 

following standards:

• Open Access Same-Time Information Systems (OASIS), Version 1.5 (WEQ001); 

• Open Access Same-Time Information Systems (OASIS) Standards & 

Communications Protocols, Version 1.5 (WEQ-002); 

 12 On March 12, 2009, NAESB submitted a report to the Commission 

documenting its ratification of the Version 002.1 standards. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 7 -

• Open Access Same-Time Information Systems (OASIS) Data Dictionary, 

Version 1.5 (WEQ-003); 

• Coordinate Interchange (WEQ-004); 

• Area Control Error (ACE) Equation Special Cases (WEQ-005); 

• Manual Time Error Correction (WEQ-006); 

• Inadvertent Interchange Payback (WEQ-007); 

• Transmission Loading Relief – Eastern Interconnection (WEQ-008); 

• Standards of Conduct for Electric Transmission Providers (WEQ-009); 

• Contracts Related Standards (WEQ-010); 

• Gas/Electric Coordination (WEQ-011); 

• Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) (WEQ-012); 

• Open Access Same-Time Information Systems (OASIS) Implementation 

Guide, Version 1.5 (WEQ-013); and 

• WEQ/WGQ eTariff Related Standards (WEQ-014). 

II. Discussion

10. We propose to incorporate by reference into the Commission’s regulations the 

NAESB WEQ Version 002.1 standards, with certain exceptions.13 The Version 

 

(continued) 

13 We do not propose to incorporate by reference in the Commission’s 

regulations the following standards: Standards of Conduct for Electric Transmission 

Providers (WEQ-009); Contracts Related Standards (WEQ-010); and WEQ/WGQ 

eTariff Related Standards (WEQ-014). We do not propose to incorporate WEQ-009 

into the Commission’s regulations because it contains no substantive standards and 

merely serves as a placeholder for future standards. We do not propose to incorporate 

WEQ-010 because this standard contains an optional NAESB contract regarding 

funds transfers and the Commission does not require utilities to use such contracts. 

In addition, we do not propose to incorporate WEQ-014, eTariff Related Standards, 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 8 -

002.1 standards will update the Version 001 standards currently incorporated by 

reference into the Commission’s regulations.14

11. NAESB adopted the majority of the changes in the Version 002.1 standards to 

support Order Nos. 890, 890-A, and 890-B, in which the Commission addressed and 

remedied opportunities for undue discrimination under the pro forma open access 

transmission tariff (OATT). While many of the Version 002.1 standards simply 

revise or update existing standards, some of these standards prescribe new business 

practices to accommodate the reforms adopted in Order No. 890. For example, 

NAESB has developed business practice and technical standards to support 

conditional firm service. Additionally, NAESB developed standards for the posting 

of narratives explaining changes in available transfer capability and total transfer 

 

because the Commission already has adopted standards and protocols for electronic 

tariff filing based on the NAESB standards. See Electronic Tariff Filings, 73 FR 

57,515 (Oct. 3, 2008), FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,276 (Sept. 19, 2008). Also, we do 

not propose to incorporate NAESB’s interpretation of its standards on Gas/Electric 

Coordination (WEQ-011) by reference in the regulations. While interpretations may 

provide useful guidance, they are not determinative and we will not require utilities to 

comply with interpretations. Lastly, as discussed more specifically in note 18, infra, 

we do not propose to incorporate by reference certain portions of WEQ-001. 

14 In this NOPR, the Commission is proposing to incorporate by reference into 

the Commission’s regulations Version 002.1 of NAESB’s business practice 

standards. These standards have been updated to include all revisions to the 

standards since Version 001. Thus, some of the revisions included in Version 002.1 

were made from the Version 002.0 standards and others were made from the Version 

001 standards. Given that NAESB’s Version 002.1 Standards represent the most upto-date version of NAESB’s business practice standards, we believe it is more 

productive for this NOPR to address this set of standards, rather than the Version 

002.0 standards. Given our proposals in this NOPR, we do not see the need to 

propose any separate action addressing NAESB’s Version 002.0 standards. 

Therefore, the proceeding in Docket No. RM05-5-007 is moot. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 9 -

capability, underlying load forecast assumptions for available transfer capability 

calculations and actual peak load, as well as metrics relating to the provision of 

transmission service and the completion of planning studies. Specific additions and 

revisions included in the NAESB WEQ Version 002.1 standards are discussed below. 

12. NAESB approved the Version 002.1 standards under its consensus 

procedures.15 Adoption of consensus standards is appropriate because the consensus 

process helps to ensure the reasonableness of the standards by requiring that the 

standards draw support from a broad spectrum of all segments of the industry. 

Moreover, since the industry itself has to conduct business under these standards, the 

Commission's regulations should reflect those standards that have the widest possible 

support. In section12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act 

of 1995 (NTT&AA), Congress affirmatively requires federal agencies to use 

technical standards developed by voluntary consensus standards organizations, like 

NAESB, as a means to carry out policy objectives or activities determined by the 

agencies unless use of such standards would be inconsistent with applicable law or 

otherwise impractical.16

13. We propose that, once the Commission incorporates these standards by 

reference into its regulations, public utilities must implement these standards even 

before they have updated their tariffs to incorporate these changes. The Commission 

 15 See P 4 supra. 

16 Pub L. No. 104-113, 12(d), 110 Stat. 775 (1996), 15 U.S.C. 272 note (1997). 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 10 -

is also proposing, consistent with our regulation at 18 CFR 35.28(c)(1)(vii), to require 

each public utility to revise its OATT to include the Version 002.1 WEQ standards 

that we are proposing to incorporate by reference herein. For standards that do not 

require implementing tariff provisions, the Commission is proposing to permit the 

public utility to incorporate the WEQ standard by reference in its OATT. We are not, 

however, proposing to require a separate tariff filing to accomplish this change. 

Consistent with our prior practice, we are proposing to give public utilities the option 

of including these changes as part of an unrelated tariff filing.17

A. OASIS Standards 

14. In the NAESB WEQ Version 002.1 standards, NAESB has developed new 

standards and revised existing standards relating to OASIS to ensure consistency with 

certain policies articulated by the Commission in Order Nos. 890, 890-A and 890-B. 

A number of standards that the Commission directed transmission providers to 

develop have been included by WEQ in the Version 002.1 OASIS Standards, which 

include: (1) Open Access Same-Time Information Systems (OASIS), Version 1.5 

(WEQ-001); (2) Open Access Same-Time Information Systems (OASIS) Standards 

& Communication Protocols, Version 1.5 (WEQ-002); (3) Open Access Same-Time 

Information Systems (OASIS) Data Dictionary, Version 1.5 (WEQ-003); and 

 17 See Order No. 676, P 100. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 11 -

(4) Open Access Same-Time Information Systems (OASIS) Implementation Guide, 

Version 1.5 (WEQ-013). In addition, NAESB’s WEQ Version 002.1 standards 

include various minor revisions to the OASIS Standards. 

15. In this NOPR, we propose to incorporate by reference into the Commission’s 

regulations the Version 002.1 OASIS Standards (i.e., WEQ-001, WEQ-002, WEQ003, and WEQ-013), with certain exceptions.18

16. We note that Standard 001-13.1.2, which requires the posting of Standards of 

Conduct-related information, contains references to various Commission regulations 

that were subsequently revised in Order No. 717.19 Thus, these references are no 

longer accurate and the information required to be posted by this standard does not 

conform, in some instances, to the Commission’s current requirements. We 

understand that NAESB is working on making a revision to this standard. Because 

the standard contains posting requirements that are still applicable, we propose to 

incorporate this standard by reference. However, we clarify that, until we adopt a 

revised standard, we do not propose to require public utilities to comply with any 

portion of the standard that requires information to be posted in a manner inconsistent 

with Order No. 717. 

 18 Consistent with the Commission’s determination in Order Nos. 676 and 

676-C, we are not proposing to incorporate by reference Standards 001-0.1, 001-0.9 

through 001-0.13, and 001-1.0 through 001-1.8 because these standards merely 

restate Commission regulations and Standard 001-9.7 because it is not consistent with 

the Commission’s policy on redirects. Order No. 676, P 51 & n.40. 

19 Standards of Conduct for Transmission Providers, Order No. 717, 73 FR 

63,796 (Oct. 27, 2008), FERC Stats. & Regs ¶ 31,280 (2008), reh’g pending. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 12 -

1. Conditional Firm Service 

17. In the OASIS Standards, NAESB has included a number of standards that 

support conditional firm service as envisioned by the Commission in Order Nos. 890 

and 890-A. NAESB has developed business practice standards to facilitate the 

implementation of conditional firm service, relying on the Commission’s description 

of the attributes of that service in Order No. 890.20 Specifically, NAESB developed 

Standards 001-21 through 001-21.5.5 on the Conditional Curtailment Option, the 

term that NAESB uses to describe conditional firm service. These standards address: 

(1) the limitations and conditions under which the Conditional Curtailment Option is 

offered; (2) the posting requirements for information concerning a Conditional 

Curtailment Option reservation and its curtailment criteria; (3) the process for 

performing the biennial reassessment; (4) the curtailment of a Conditional 

Curtailment Option reservation; and (5) the redirect, transfer, and resale of a 

Conditional Curtailment Option reservation. 

18. Additionally, NAESB has developed other standards related to conditional 

firm service in response to the Commission’s requests for the development of specific 

standards in Order Nos. 890 and 890-A.21 Specifically, NAESB has developed 

Standard 001-21.1.6, which requires that transmission providers offer short-term firm 

service to conditional firm customers as capacity (that would alleviate the constraints 

 20 Order No. 890, P 1043-47. 

21 Order No. 890, P 1078; Order No. 890-A, P 592. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 13 -

associated with a Conditional Curtailment Option reservation) becomes available. In 

response to Order No. 890-A, NAESB has created and modified standards in WEQ001, Appendix C to WEQ-001, WEQ-002, WEQ-003, WEQ-008 and WEQ-013, to 

provide a consistent set of tracking capabilities and business practices for tagging, as 

a means to implement conditional firm service. 

2. Available Transfer Capability

19. NAESB developed several standards related to available transfer capability in 

response to Order No. 890. First, NAESB modified WEQ-001 to support the 

transparency reporting and related functions required by Order No. 890. Second, in 

response to the available transfer capability related posting requirements established 

by the Commission in Order No. 890, NAESB has developed business practice 

standards in WEQ-001 (including Standards 001-14, 001-15, 001-17, 001-18, 001-19, 

001-20 and Appendix D), WEQ-002, WEQ-003 and WEQ-013 (including 

Appendices A and B).22 

20. Standard 001-14 is designed to meet the requirement in Order No. 890 for 

transmission providers to post a narrative with regard to monthly or yearly available 

transfer capability values in instances when available transfer capability remains 

unchanged at a value of zero for six months or longer.23 Standard 001-15 is designed 

to meet the requirement in Order No. 890 for transmission providers to post a brief, 

 22 Order No. 890, P 369 and 371. 

23 Id. P 371. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 14 -

but specific, narrative explanation of the reason for a change in monthly and yearly 

available transfer capability values on a constrained path when a monthly or yearly 

available transfer capability value changes as a result of a 10 percent change in total 

transfer capability. This standard requires the narrative explanation to include the 

specific events that gave rise to the change and the new values for available transfer 

capability on that path.24 

21. Standard 001-16.1 requires Transmission Providers to respond to questions 

about the methodology for calculating available transfer capability and available 

flowgate capability. We interpret this standard as requiring the Transmission 

Provider to provide data when necessary to respond to the methodology questions in 

order to be consistent with the requirement in Order No. 890 that transmission 

providers must, upon request, “make available all data used to calculate [available 

transfer capability] and [total transfer capability] for any constrained paths and any 

system planning studies or specific network impact studies performed for 

customers.”25 

22. Standard 001-17 governs the posting of the underlying load forecast 

assumptions used by transmission providers to calculate available transfer capability 

and, on a daily basis, their actual daily peak load for the prior day.26 

 24 Id. P 369. 

25 Order No. 890, P 348. 

26 Id. P 413. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 15 -

23. Another standard developed by NAESB in response to Order No. 890 is 

Standard 001-18, which relates to postbacks of capacity to available transfer 

capability. In Order No. 890, the Commission directed public utilities, working 

through NERC, to modify available transfer capability related standards to require 

transmission providers to account for postbacks of redirected services and 

counterflows in their non-firm available transfer capability calculations.27 In 

coordination with NERC, NAESB concluded that a business practice standard 

addressing counterflows was unnecessary because NERC had addressed it in the 

reliability standards, but that the postback issue necessitated the creation of a related 

business practice standard. Thus, NAESB developed Standard 001-18 and a related 

Appendix D to WEQ-001 to account for postbacks of capacity to available transfer 

capability. 

24. Also in response to Order No. 890,28 NAESB has developed standards that 

establish a consistent approach for determining the amount of transfer capability that 

a transmission provider can set aside for its native load and other committed uses. 

Specifically, Standard 001-19 addresses grandfathered agreements and Standard 001-

20 addresses rollover rights. Furthermore, NAESB has developed business practice 

standards that complement NERC’s reliability standards for existing transmission 

commitments. These standards appear in WEQ-001, WEQ-003, and WEQ-013. 

 27 Id. P 212. 

28 Id. P 243. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 16 -

25. One of the Commission’s objectives in Order No. 890 was to reduce the 

potential for transmission providers to unduly discriminate when they provide 

transmission service by limiting their discretion to calculate available transfer 

capability using unknown assumptions and methodologies.29 For this reason, the 

Commission found that “all [Available Transfer Capability] components (i.e., [total 

transfer capability], [existing transmission commitments], [capacity benefit margin], 

and [transmission reliability margin]) and certain data inputs, data exchange, and 

assumptions be consistent and that the number of industry-wide ATC calculation 

formulas be few in number, transparent and produce equivalent results.”30

26. The standards establish a mechanism for posting available transfer capacity for 

grandfathered agreements. The standards, however, provide for a different approach 

to posting grandfathered agreements using the Flowgate Methodology. Under 

Standard 001-19.1, transmission providers using the other available transfer 

capability calculation methodologies must post the aggregate MW value for the 

grandfathered agreements and such data must be posted so that it can be viewed and 

queried using the systemdata template. Standard 1-19.1.2 provides an exception for 

transmission providers using the Flowgate Methodology from the requirement to post 

an aggregate MW value that can be viewed and queried using the systemdata 

 29 The Commission reasoned that the potential for discrimination does not lie 

primarily in the choice of an available transfer capability calculation methodology, 

but rather in the consistent application of its components. Id. P 208. 

30 Order No. 890, P 207. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 17 -

template. Instead, it requires that the transmission provider must post a list of 

Grandfathered Agreements with MW values that are expected to be scheduled or 

expected to flow. The standards, therefore, permit transmission providers using 

Available Transfer Capability (ATC) calculation methodologies other than the 

Flowgate Methodology to post less detailed information concerning grandfathered 

agreements than those using the Flowgate Methodology, but information concerning 

grandfathered agreements posted by those using the Flowgate Methodology is not 

accessible through the systemdata template. 

3. ATC Information Link

27. The WEQ Version 002.1 standards establish the procedure for input of total 

transfer capability and available transfer capability methodologies and values to be 

used by public utilities in calculating their total transfer capability and available 

transfer capability. NAESB developed these business practice standards in close 

coordination with the NERC available transfer capability drafting team. Furthermore, 

NERC and NAESB determined that the standards contained in NERC MOD-003 

were better classified as business practice standards than reliability standards. As a 

result, NAESB developed Standard 001-13.1.5, which provides for an ATC 

Information Link on OASIS. This standard requires that Transmission Providers post 

several links on the ATC Information Link, including links to their Available 

Transfer Capability Implementation Document (as specified in NERC reliability 

standard MOD-001-1), Capacity Benefit Margin Implementation Document (as 

specified in NERC reliability standard MOD-004-1), and Transmission Reserve 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 18 -

Margin Implementation Document (as specified in NERC reliability standard MOD008-1).31 

28. Standard 001-13.1.5 provides that the posting of information on the ATC 

Information Link would be “subject to the Transmission Provider’s ability to redact 

certain provisions due to market, security or reliability sensitivity concerns.” In 

Order No. 890, the Commission acknowledged that a transmission provider may 

require someone seeking access to CEII materials or proprietary customer 

information to sign a confidentiality agreement.32 We expect the provision in 

NAESB Standard 001-13.1.5 for a transmission provider to redact sensitive 

information from postings to be implemented by a transmission provider subject to 

the OATT in a manner consistent with its obligation to make that information 

available to those with a legitimate need to access the information, subject to 

appropriate confidentiality restrictions.33 

4. Capacity Benefit Margin

29. In addition to requiring that transmission providers include a link to their 

Capacity Benefit Margin Implementation Document on the ATC Information Link, as 

discussed above, the Version 002.1 standards allow for auditing of the use of capacity 

 31 These three implementation documents are described in the NERC 

reliability standards, which are addressed in a companion Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking being issued in Docket No. RM08-19-000. 

32 Order No. 890, P 326. 

33 See Order No. 890, P 403-04 (requiring the development of standard 

disclosure for timely disclosure of CEII information to those with a legitimate need 

for it). 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 19 -

benefit margin using OASIS. This standard was developed in response to Order No. 

890 and 890-A,34 and necessitated modifications to WEQ-001, WEQ-002, WEQ-003, 

and WEQ-013. While the Commission also directed that public utilities, working 

through NERC and NAESB, “develop clear standards for how the CBM value shall 

be determined, allocated across transmission paths, and used” in Order No. 890,35 the 

NAESB subcommittees determined that the NERC reliability standard MOD-004 

adequately addressed this directive and therefore it was not necessary to develop any 

supporting NAESB business practice standards.36

30. On March 6, 2009, NERC filed comments with the Commission concerning 

Standard 004-18.2, suggesting that this Standard might be in conflict with 

Requirement 12 of NERC Reliability Standard MOD-004-1.37 After comparing the 

two standards, we do not believe that they are in conflict. Incorporation by reference 

 34 Order No. 890, P 262 and Order No. 890-A, P 68. 

35 Order No. 890, P 257. See also, Order No. 890-A, P 68 and 83. 

36 See, NAESB Version 002.1 cover letter filed on Feb. 19, 2009 at 69. 

37 Standard 004-18.2 states that: “the Transmission Provider may require the 

specification of a unique Transmission Reservation Number in association with any 

request for use of CBM. Such requirement shall be fully documented in the 

Transmission Provider’s Business Practices posted on OASIS. The TSP reserves the 

right to deny any RFI requesting use of CBM if the required Transmission 

Reservation Number is not specified.” 

Requirement 12 of Standard MOD-004-1 requires transmission providers to 

approve, within the bounds of reliable operation, any arranged interchange using 

CBM that is submitted by an energy deficient entity under energy emergency alerts, if 

(1) CBM is available, (2) an emergency alert is declared within the balancing 

authority of the energy deficient entity, and (3) the energy deficient entity is located 

within the transmission provider’s service area. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 20 -

of the NAESB Standard would not seem to relieve an entity from the independent 

obligation to comply with the NERC Reliability Standard. 

5. Performance Metrics

31. In response to several posting requirements in Order No. 890, NAESB 

developed and adopted Standard 001-13.1.3, which describes the Performance 

Metrics Link that transmission providers must have on the OASIS. Under the 

“Transmission Service Requests Metrics” link, transmission providers are required to 

post the information required by the Commission’s regulations at 18 CFR 37.6(i), 

which includes: (1) the number of affiliate versus non-affiliate requests for 

transmission service that have been rejected; and (2) the number of affiliate versus 

non-affiliate requests for transmission service that have been made. Furthermore, this 

posting is required to detail the length of service request (e.g., short-term or longterm) and the type of service requested (e.g., firm point-to-point, non-firm point-topoint or network service).38 Under the “Transmission Study Metrics” link, 

transmission providers must post the information concerning performance metrics 

relating to system impact and facilities studies39 required by the Commission’s 

regulations at 18 CFR 37.6(h). Under the “Redispatch Cost” link, transmission 

providers must post information required by the Commission’s regulations at 18 CFR 

37.6(j)(2) regarding redispatch costs. This information must include each 

 38 Order No. 890, P 413. 

39 Id. P 1318. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 21 -

transmission provider’s monthly average cost of redispatch for each internal 

congested transmission facility or interface over which it provides redispatch service 

using planning redispatch or reliability redispatch under the pro forma OATT and a 

high and low redispatch cost for the month for each of these same transmission 

constraints.40

6. Rebid of Partial Service 

32. The WEQ Version 002.1 standards cover the rebid of partial service across a 

single transmission provider’s system. In response to Order No. 890, NAESB 

adopted business practice standards in its Version 002.1 standards to complement the 

OASIS Standards and Communication Protocol standards that it had already 

developed for the rebid of partial service across a single Transmission Provider’s 

system. These revisions appear in the OASIS Standards. 

7. Pre-Confirmed Transmission Service Requests

33. In WEQ-001, WEQ-002 and WEQ-013, NAESB has developed business 

practice standards to complement the Commission’s policies regarding pre-confirmed 

transmission service requests, as articulated in Order No. 890. As required by Order 

No. 890, these standards “give priority only to pre-confirmed non-firm point-to-point 

transmission service requests and short-term firm point-to-point transmission service 

requests”41 and provide that “longer duration requests for transmission service will 

continue to have priority over shorter duration requests for transmission service, with 

 40 Id. P 1162. 

41 Id. P 1401. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 22 -

pre-confirmation serving as a tie-breaker for requests of equal duration.”42 In 

addition, as requested by the Commission in Order No. 890, NAESB has developed a 

consensus solution to the question of whether a transmission customer should be 

prohibited from changing a request into a pre-confirmed request.43 

8. Ancillary Services and Demand Response

34. NAESB amended the definitions of certain ancillary services contained in 

WEQ-001 to reflect the definitions contained in the pro forma OATT as revised by 

Order No. 890. These definitions describe the types of ancillary services that are 

offered on OASIS. The revisions to the definitions reflect the possible role of 

demand resources in the provision of ancillary services by identifying non-generation 

resources capable of providing a given ancillary service as potential providers of the 

service. These modifications include revisions to Standards 001-2.5.2 through 001-

2.5.6.44 

9. Rollover Rights

35. In the Version 002.1 standards, NAESB has included new standards and 

modifications to existing standards in WEQ-001, WEQ-003, and WEQ-013 that 

relate to rollover rights. As discussed above, these standards were developed in part 

 42Id.

43Id. P 1392. 

44 On November 14, 2008, NAESB reported that these standards, among 

others, have been approved by the WEQ Executive Committee and ratified by the 

NAESB membership. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 23 -

as a response to Order No. 890,45 in which the Commission directed public utilities, 

working through NERC and NAESB, to develop standards that establish a consistent 

approach for determining the amount of transfer capability that a transmission 

provider can set aside for its native load and other committed uses. However, these 

standards also include business practices relating to rollover rights; for example, 

Standard 001-20 describes the process by which Transmission Customers may 

exercise their rollover rights.46 The modifications to the standards relating to rollover 

rights that NAESB has included in its Version 002.1 filing47 are the result of only the 

first part of a two part process through which NAESB is working to develop 

standards that are consistent with the Commission’s policy on rollover rights as 

described in Order Nos. 676, 890, and 890-A.48

 45 Order No. 890, P 243. 

46 Although we have previously determined not to incorporate Standard 001-

9.7 dealing with rollover rights and redirects, we are proposing to incorporate by 

reference Standard 001-9.5.3, which refers to the not-accepted Standard 001-9.7. The 

reference, however, does not affect the meaning of the Standard 001-9.5.3, and any 

redirect issues are governed by the Commission’s pro forma Open Access 

Transmission Tariff. 

47 NAESB Version 002.1 cover letter filed on Feb. 19, 2009 at 7. 

48 NAESB reports, id., that part one of this process included revisions it made 

to the definition of “unexercised rollover rights” in WEQ-001, and modifications to 

the existing standards in WEQ-001, WEQ-003 and WEQ-013. NAESB further 

reports, id., that in part two of this process it intends to revise Standard 001-9.7 as 

part of its Order No. 890 work plan, and to include this revision in its Version 002.2 

standards. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 24 -

10. Insufficient Transfer Capacity

36. Standard 001-4.7.1 provides the OASIS posting procedure to be followed 

when there is insufficient transfer capacity to satisfy a customer’s request and partial 

service is either not required or is unavailable.49 While we propose to incorporate 

this standard by reference into our regulations, we note that it does not address

otherwise limit other obligations that might exist under the 

 or 

pro forma OATT, such as 

the requirement in section 15.2 to perform a System Impact Study.50

11. Miscellaneous OASIS Standards

37. In Order No. 890, the Commission decided that NAESB would be the best 

entity to address the issue of making OASIS platforms accessible on nonWindows/Explorer computers.51 NAESB has developed standards concerning this 

issue as part of its OASIS Standards. Additionally, in the Version 002.1 standards 

NAESB modified WEQ-002, WEQ-003, and WEQ-013 to complement the new and 

revised standards adopted in response to Order No. 890. These revisions support 

annotations for available transfer capability, load forecast and actual load, rebid of 

 49 Standard 001-4.7.1 states: “If the Transmission Provider determines there is 

insufficient transfer capability available to grant the Transmission Customer’s request 

and there is no obligation to provide Partial Service (or Partial Service is also not 

available in cases where the Transmission Provider is obligated to provide Partial 

Service), the Transmission Provider may respond by setting the request status to 

REFUSED.” 

50 Section 15.2 of the pro forma OATT states that: “In the event sufficient 

transfer capability may not exist to accommodate a service request, the Transmission 

Provider will respond by performing a System Impact Study.” 

51 Order No. 890, P 1392. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 25 -

partial service, pre-confirmation priority, and conditional firm service. NAESB also 

added an Appendix C to WEQ-001 that provides a list of broad based OASIS 

exemptions that have been granted to specific groups in the electric industry by the 

Commission through its Orders and regulations. 

B. Business Practice Standards to Coordinate with Reliability 

Standards Unrelated to Order No. 890

38. In the Version 002.1 standards for Coordinate Interchange, (WEQ-004), Area 

Control Error (ACE) Equation Special Cases (WEQ-005), Inadvertent Interchange 

Payback (WEQ-007), and Transmission Loading Relief - Eastern Interconnection 

(WEQ-008), NAESB has made minor modifications to the format of the standards 

and has revised section titles. 

39. In the Version 002.1 standards, NAESB added Standard 004-18 to the 

Coordinate Interchange Standards (WEQ-004), which describes the requirements for 

submitting a Request for Interchange that uses a Transmission Provider’s capacity 

benefit margin to support energy imports into a load balancing authority area served 

by the Transmission Provider. Additionally, the Version 002.1 standards include 

modifications to the timing table in Appendix D of the Coordinate Interchange 

Standards (WEQ-004). The NERC/NAESB Joint Interchange Scheduling Working 

Group modified previous versions of this table by dividing it into two separate tables, 

one that provides the timing requirements for the Western Electricity Coordinating 

Council and one that provides the timing requirements for all other interconnections. 

These tables were modified to reflect time changes for Generator-Provider Entity, 

Load-Serving Entity, and Purchase-Selling Entity market assessments so that they are 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 26 -

concurrent with the Balancing Authority and Transmission Service Provider 

reliability assessments. Also, timeline diagrams for each table were added for 

clarification.52 

40. In the Version 002.1 standards for Manual Time Error Correction (WEQ-006), 

NAESB has included revisions to maintain conformance with NERC Standard BAL004. 53 NAESB states that NERC recently revised Standard BAL-004 to remove 

inappropriate requirements on reliability coordinators that voluntarily agree to serve 

as Interconnection Time Monitors.54 In addition, NAESB has revised a section title 

in this standard. 

41. In the Version 002.1 standards for Transmission Loading Relief - Eastern 

Interconnection (WEQ-008), NAESB made a minor modification to a standard to 

accommodate conditional firm service and the use of capacity benefit margin. 

Additionally, NAESB modified these standards to clarify the intended use of the nine 

Transmission Loading Relief levels addressed in the standards, and to ensure 

consistency between WEQ-008 and the NERC reliability standard IRO-006, both of 

 52 NAESB Version 002.1 cover letter filed on Feb. 19, 2009 at 8. 

53 NAESB reports that this item was voted out of the subcommittee on June 4, 

2008, passed an Executive Committee vote on Aug. 19, 2008, and the ratification 

process will complete on Sep. 22, 2008. In its supplemental report dated Nov. 14, 

2008, NAESB advised that this revision was ratified on Sep. 22, 2008. 

54 NERC filed Standard BAL-004-1 with the Commission for approval in 

Docket Nos. RM09-13-000 and RM06-16-000 on March 12, 2009 and this filing is 

currently pending before the Commission. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 27 -

which address transmission loading relief. We propose to update the Commission’s 

regulations to incorporate by reference Version 002.1 of these standards. 

C. Other Standards

1. Gas/Electric Coordination Standards

42. In the Version 002.1 standards for Gas/Electric Coordination (WEQ-011), 

NAESB made a minor correction to rearrange the definitions so that they appear in 

alphabetical order. We propose to incorporate by reference into the Commission’s 

regulations Version 002.1 of this standard. 

2. Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Standards

43. In the Version 002.1 standards for Public Key Infrastructure (WEQ-012), 

NAESB made a minor revision to the endnote. We propose to incorporate by 

reference into the Commission’s regulations the updated Version 002.1 of this 

standard. 

III. Notice of Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards

44. Office of Management and Budget Circular A-119 (section 11) (February 10, 

1998) provides that federal agencies should publish a request for comment in a 

NOPR when the agency is seeking to issue or revise a regulation proposing to adopt a 

voluntary consensus standard or a government-unique standard. In this NOPR, the 

Commission is proposing to incorporate by reference a voluntary consensus standard 

developed by the NAESB WEQ. 

IV. Information Collection Statement

45. The following collections of information contained in this proposed rule have 

been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review under 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 28 -

section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507(d). The 

Commission solicits comments on the Commission's need for this information, 

whether the information will have practical utility, the accuracy of the provided 

burden estimates, ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 

to be collected, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondents' burden, 

including the use of automated information techniques. 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. 

46. The following burden estimate is based on the projected costs for the industry 

to implement revisions to the WEQ Standards currently incorporated by reference 

into the Commission’s regulations at 18 CFR 38.2 and to implement the new 

standards adopted by NAESB that we propose here to incorporate by reference. 

Data Collection No. of 

Respondents 

No. of 

Responses Per 

Respondent 

Hours Per 

Response 

Total No. of 

Hours 

FERC-516 176 1 6 1056 

FERC-717 176 1 12 2112 

Totals 3168 

Total Annual Hours for Collection 

(Reporting and Recordkeeping, (if appropriate)) = 3168 hours 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 29 -

Information Collection Costs: The Commission seeks comments on the costs to 

comply with these requirements. It has projected the average annualized cost for all 

respondents to be the following:55

FERC-516 FERC-717 

Annualized Capital/Startup Costs $390,720 $781,440

Annualized Costs (Operations & 

Maintenance) 

N/A

Total Annualized Costs $390,720 $781,440

47. OMB regulations56 require OMB to approve certain information collection 

requirements imposed by agency rule. The Commission is submitting notification of 

this proposed rule to OMB. These information collections are mandatory 

requirements. 

Title: Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public 

Utilities (formerly Open Access Same Time Information System) (FERC-717); 

Electric Rate Schedule Filings (FERC-516). 

Action: Proposed collection. 

OMB Control No.: 1902-0096 (FERC-516); 1902-0173 (FERC-717). 

Respondents: Business or other for profit, (Public Utilities - Not applicable to small 

businesses). 

 55 The total annualized costs for the information collection is $1,172,160. This 

number is reached by multiplying the total hours to prepare responses (3168) by an 

hourly wage estimate of $370 (a composite estimate that includes legal, technical and 

support staff rates, $250+$95+$25=$370), 3168 hours x $370/hour= $1,172,160. 

56 5 CFR 1320.11. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 30 -

Frequency of Responses: One-time implementation (business procedures, 

capital/start-up). 

Necessity of the Information: This proposed rule, if implemented would supplement 

the changes the Commission required in Order Nos. 890, 890-A, and 890-B to require 

that transmission services are provided on a basis that is just, reasonable and not 

unduly discriminatory. In addition this proposed rule would upgrade the 

Commission’s current business practice and communication standards. Specifically, 

these standards include several modifications to the existing business practice 

standards as well as creating new standards to provide additional functionality for 

OASIS transactions. These practices will ensure that potential customers of open 

access transmission service receive access to information that will enable them to 

obtain transmission service on a non-discriminatory basis and will assist the 

Commission in maintaining a safe and reliable infrastructure. The implementation of 

these standards and regulations is necessary to increase the efficiency of the 

wholesale electric power grid. 

48. The information collection requirements of this proposed rule are based on the 

transition from transactions being made under the existing business practice standards 

to conducting such transactions under the proposed revisions to these standards and to 

account for the burden associated with the new standards the Commission proposes to 

incorporate in its regulations. 

49. Internal Review: The Commission has reviewed the revised business practice 

standards and has made a preliminary determination that the proposed revisions are 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 31 -

necessary to maintain consistency between the business practice standards and 

reliability standards on this subject. The Commission has assured itself, by means of 

its internal review, that there is specific, objective support for the burden estimate 

associated with the information requirements. 

50. Interested persons may obtain information on the reporting requirements by 

contacting the following: 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 

Attn: Michael Miller, Office of the Executive Director 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, DC 20426 

Tel: (202) 502-8415 / Fax: (202) 273-0873 

Email: michael.miller@ferc.gov 

51. Comments concerning the information collections proposed in this NOPR and 

the associated burden estimates, should be sent to the contact listed above and to the 

Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Washington, DC 20503 [Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, phone: (202) 395-7345, fax: (202) 395-7285]. 

V. Environmental Analysis

52. 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.57 The Commission has categorically excluded 

certain actions from these requirements as not having a significant effect on the 

 57 Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, Order 

No. 486, 52 FR 47,897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles 

¶ 30,783 (1987). 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 32 -

human environment.58 The actions proposed here fall within categorical exclusions 

in the Commission’s regulations for rules that are clarifying, corrective, or 

procedural, for information gathering, analysis, and dissemination, and for sales, 

exchange, and transportation of electric power that requires no construction of 

facilities.59 Therefore, an environmental assessment is unnecessary and has not been 

prepared in this NOPR.

VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

53. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA)60 generally requires a 

description and analysis of final rules that will have significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. The regulations proposed here impose 

requirements only on public utilities, which generally are not small businesses, and, 

these requirements are, in fact, designed to benefit all customers, including small 

businesses.

54. The Commission has followed the provisions of both the RFA and the 

Paperwork Reduction Act on potential impact on small business and other small 

entities. Specifically, the RFA directs agencies to consider four regulatory 

alternatives to be considered in a rulemaking to lessen the impact on small entities: 

tiering or establishment of different compliance or reporting requirements for small 

entities, classification, consolidation, clarification or simplification of compliance and 

 58 18 CFR 380.4. 

59 See 18 CFR 380.4(a)(2)(ii), 380.4(a)(5), 380.4(a)(27). 

60 5 U.S.C. 601-612. 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 33 -

reporting requirements, performance rather than design standards, and exemptions. 

As the Commission originally stated in Order No. 889, the OASIS regulations now 

known as Standards for Business Practices and Communication Protocols for Public 

Utilities, apply only to public utilities that own, operate, or control transmission 

facilities subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction and should a small entity be subject 

to the Commission’s jurisdiction, it may file for waiver of the requirements. This is 

consistent with the exemption provisions of the RFA. Accordingly, pursuant to 

section 605(b) of the RFA,61 the Commission hereby certifies that the regulations 

proposed herein will not have a significant adverse impact on a substantial number of 

small entities. 

VII. Comment Procedures

55. 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 

[insert date 30 days from publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER]. Comments 

must refer to Docket No. RM05-5-013, and must include the commenter's name, the 

organization they represent, if applicable, and their address. Comments may be filed 

either in electronic or paper format. 

56. Comments may be filed electronically via the eFiling link on the 

Commission's web site at http://www.ferc.gov. The Commission accepts most 

 61 5 U.S.C. 605(b). 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 34 -

standard word processing formats and commenters may attach additional files with 

supporting information in certain other file formats. Commenters filing electronically 

do not need to make a paper filing. Commenters that are not able to file comments 

electronically must send an original and 14 copies of their comments to: Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street N.E., 

Washington, DC, 20426. 

57. 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. 

VIII. Document Availability

58. 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 5:00 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street, N.E., Room 2A, 

Washington, DC 20426. 

59. From FERC's Home Page on the Internet, this information is available in the 

eLibrary. The full text of this document is available in the eLibrary both in PDF and 

Microsoft Word format for viewing, printing, and/or downloading. To access this 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 35 -

document in eLibrary, type the docket number excluding the last three digits of this 

document in the docket number field.62

60. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the FERC's web site during our 

normal business hours. For assistance contact FERC Online Support at 

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll-free at (866)208-3676, or for TTY, contact 

(202)502-8659. 

List of subjects in 18 CFR Part 38

Conflict of interests, Electric power plants, Electric utilities, Incorporation by 

reference, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. 

By direction of the Commission. 

( S E A L ) 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

 62 NAESB’s August 29, 2008 submittal is also available for viewing in 

eLibrary. The link to this file is as follows: 

http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/opennat.asp?fileID=11793503.
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 36 -

In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission proposes to revise Chapter 

I, Title 18, part 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as follows: 

PART 38 – BUSINESS PRACTICE STANDARDS AND 

COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS FOR PUBLIC UTILITIES 

1. The authority citation for part 38 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 791-825r, 2601-2645; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101-

7352. 

2. In § 38.2, paragraphs (a)(1) through (11) are revised to read as follows: 

§ 38.2 Incorporation By Reference Of North American Energy 

Standards Board Wholesale Electric Quadrant Standards

(a) * * * 

 (1) Open Access Same-Time Information Systems (OASIS), Version 1.5 

(WEQ-001, Version 002.1, March 11, 2009) with the exception of Standards 001-0.1, 

001-0.9 through 001-0.13, 001-1.0 through 001-1.8, and 001-9.7; 

 (2) Open Access Same-Time Information Systems (OASIS) Standards & 

Communication Protocols, Version 1.5 (WEQ-002, Version 002.1, March 11, 2009); 

 (3) Open Access Same-Time Information Systems (OASIS) Data 

Dictionary, Version 1.5 (WEQ-003, Version 002.1, March 11, 2009); 

(4) Coordinate Interchange (WEQ-004, Version 002.1, March 11, 2009); 

(5) Area Control Error (ACE) Equation Special Cases (WEQ-005, Version 

002.1, March 11, 2009); 

(6) Manual Time Error Correction (WEQ-006, Version 002.1, March 11, 

2009); 
Docket No. RM05-5-013 - 37 -

(7) Inadvertent Interchange Payback (WEQ-007, Version 002.1, March 11, 

2009); 

(8) Transmission Loading Relief – Eastern Interconnection (WEQ-008, 

Version 002.1, March 11, 2009); 

(9) Gas/Electric Coordination (WEQ-011, Version 002.1, March 11, 2009);

(10) Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) (WEQ-012, Version 002.1, March 11, 

2009); and

(11) Open Access Same-Time Information Systems (OASIS) 

Implementation Guide, Version 1.5 (WEQ-013, Version 002.1, March 11, 2009). 

* * * * *