UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 

[Docket No. RM05-16-000] 

Generator Run Status Information 

(May 27, 2005) 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

ACTION: Notice of Inquiry 

SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) seeks 

comments on whether the Commission should require jurisdictional generators to 

provide the Commission with confidential access to generator run status 

information. 

DATES: Comments on this Notice of Inquiry are due on [Insert date 60 days after 

publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER]. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be filed electronically via the eFiling link on the 

Commission's web site at http://www.ferc.gov. Commenters unable to file 

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

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of the Secretary, 888 First Street 

N.E., Washington, DC, 20426. Refer to the Comment Procedures section of the 

NOI for additional information on how to file comments. 
Docket No. RM05-16-000 - 2 -

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Patricia Morris (Technical Information) 

Office of Market Oversight and Investigation 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20426 

patricia.morris@ferc.gov

Michelle Veloso (Technical Information) 

Office of Markets, Tariffs and Rates 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20426 

michelle.veloso@ferc.gov

Edward Fowlkes (Technical Information) 

Office of Energy Projects 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20426 

edward.fowlkes@ferc.gov

Joseph C. Lynch (Legal Information) 

Office of the General Counsel 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, N.E. 

Washington, D.C. 20426 

joseph.lynch@ferc.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 

Generator Run Status Information Docket No. RM05-16-000 

NOTICE OF INQUIRY 

( May 27, 2005) 

1. The Commission is seeking comments on the need for access to generator 

run status information from all public utility generators on a confidential basis. 

Generator run status includes information on the commitment, operating 

performance and capability of generating units connected to the interconnected 

transmission system. Confidential access to this information would allow the 

Commission to better oversee markets by ensuring that generation resources are 

represented accurately and would allow the Commission to promptly monitor and 

investigate market abuses and unduly discriminatory behavior thereby upholding 

the Commission’s standards of conduct. 

Background

2. With the issuance of Order No. 888, the Commission required public 

utilities that own, control or operate interstate transmission facilities to file open 

access transmission tariffs that offer others the same transmission service that they 

provide themselves. In doing this, the Commission opened wholesale power sales 
Docket No. RM05-16-000 - 2 -

to greater competition.1 Order No. 889, issued in tandem with Order No. 888, 

required transmission providers to establish or participate in an Open Access, 

Same-Time Information System (OASIS) and to comply with prescribed standards 

of conduct.2

3. The standards of conduct required, among other things, that companies 

separate their transmission operations from their power sales marketing/merchant 

functions. The standards of conduct were designed to prevent employees of a 

public utility, or any of its affiliates, engaged in the power sales 

marketing/merchant function from obtaining preferential access to transmission 

information not available to all customers at the same time through public posting 

on OASIS. 

4. The Commission notes that, while OASIS provides information on 

transmission availability, no similar information is available for generation. The 

 1 Promoting Wholesale Competition Through Open Access NonDiscriminatory Transmission Services by Public Utilities; Recovery of Stranded 

Costs by Public Utilities and Transmitting Utilities, Order No. 888, 61 FR 21,540 

(May 10, 1996), FERC Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles January 1991-June 

1996 ¶ 31,036 (1996), order on reh'g, Order No. 888-A, 62 FR 12,274 (March 4, 

1997), FERC Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles, July 1996-December 2001 

¶ 31,048 (1997), order on reh'g, Order No. 888-B, 81 FERC ¶ 61,248 (1997), order 

on reh'g, Order No. 888-C, 82 FERC ¶ 61,046 (1998), aff'd in relevant part sub 

nom. Transmission Access Policy Study Group v. FERC, 225 F.3d 667 (D.C. Cir. 

2000), aff'd sub nom. New York v. FERC, 535 U.S. 1 (2002). 

2 Open Access Same-Time Information System and Standards of Conduct, 

Order No. 889, 61 FR 21,737 (1996), FERC Stats. & Regs., Regulations 

Preambles July 1996-December 2000 ¶ 31,035 (1996), order on reh'g, Order No. 

889-A, 62 FR 12,484 (1997), FERC Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles July 

1996-December 2000 ¶ 31,049 (1997), reh'g denied, Order No. 889-B, 81 FERC 

¶ 61,253 (1997). 
Docket No. RM05-16-000 - 3 -

Commission’s OASIS II Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR), 

issued in July 2000, contemplated generator run status information requirements. 

The ANOPR asked for industry comment on whether generator run status 

information should be incorporated into OASIS Phase II and posted for public 

disclosure.3

 Most of the comments raised confidentiality concerns. 

Generator Run Status

5. In the wake of Order Nos. 888 and 889, the number of companies that 

generate and sell power and the volume of wholesale trading have increased 

significantly. Markets have evolved to become more complex and fluid, and now 

involve the trading of both physical and financial products. This situation has 

resulted in increased opportunities for the strategic use of generation resources. 

The Commission monitors the markets to determine whether there is market 

manipulation. 

6. The Commission collects transactional data on sales and purchases 

through the Electric Quarterly Reports, however, this data does not fully inform 

the Commission on the real-time operation of supply. By obtaining confidential 

access to generator run status information, the Commission can complete the 

picture, and see the electric energy system as a whole. 

7. In order to understand the problem facing the Commission, it is necessary 

to define generator run status. Generator run status reporting would include 

 3 Open Access Same-Time Information System Phase II, 92 FERC 

¶ 61,047 (2000). The Commission has not yet implemented OASIS Phase II. 
Docket No. RM05-16-000 - 4 -

information on the commitment, operating performance and capability of 

generating units connected to the interconnected electric transmission system. 

Generator run status information includes: (a) the status of breakers 

(open/closed); (b) generating unit megawatts (MW) and megavolt-ampere reactive 

(MVAR) capability based on generator-tested performance capability data; 

(c) MW and MVAR net output; (d) the status of automatic voltage control 

facilities; (e) unit dispatch levels; (f) unit outages or deratings, including the 

reasons for the outages or deratings; (g) the date and time when the unit was taken 

out of service or derated and the estimated (and, later, the actual) date and time 

when the unit was expected back online following an outage or derating; and 

(h) generator-tested performance capability data. 

8. Generator run status information can help the Commission to identify the 

selective withholding of generation and the misrepresentation of generating 

capacity to influence market prices. During the Western energy crisis the potential 

was demonstrated for market participants to use generation resources to thwart 

competition. Between January 2000 and June 2001, market participants in the 

California ISO sold ancillary services in the day-ahead market, even though they 

did not have the required resources to provide the ancillary services. Market 

participants also sold non-firm energy as firm energy without possessing the 

dedicated resources necessary to supply firm energy.4

 

 4 See, e.g., American Electric Power Service Corporation, 103 FERC 

¶ 61,345 at P51-55 (2003), reh’g denied, 106 FERC ¶ 61,020 (2004). See also, 
Docket No. RM05-16-000 - 5 -

9. The Commission also recognizes the potential for control area operators 

and scheduling authorities with their own generation or with generation affiliates 

to dispatch their units to the prejudice of other lower-priced generation. Although 

public utilities usually dispatch generating units based on the application of an 

algorithm to system conditions and constraints, the algorithm cannot take all 

conditions into consideration. A system operator may dispatch generation out-ofmerit5

 due to changing forecasts or sudden, extraneous events in current operating 

conditions such as generator or transmission system forced outages. This leaves 

open the opportunity to dispatch their own or their affiliate’s higher-cost 

generating units, rather than dispatching a competitor’s lower cost generating 

units. 

10. The Commission recognizes the potential impact of improper generator 

dispatch upon transmission system capability and appreciates that changes in 

generator run status may affect third parties due to reduced transfer capability. 

Reduced transfer capability diminishes the capacity for market participants to 

move power. Generator run status information can allow the Commission to 

monitor the effects of generator operations on transmission system performance. 

11. Access to confidential generator run status information would, for example, 

allow the Commission to: (a) ensure the accurate representation of generating 

 

Final Report on Price Manipulation in Western Markets: Fact Finding 

Investigation of Potential Manipulation of Electric and Natural Gas Prices, Docket 

No. PA02-2-000 (March 2003) (Final Report). 

5

 Out-of-merit dispatch is a dispatch sequence in which the least cost 

generator is not dispatched to supply the next increment of system load. 
Docket No. RM05-16-000 - 6 -

capacity; (b) identify patterns of strategic behavior; (c) monitor for undue 

discrimination or preference in the dispatch of generation resources; and (d) better 

assess the validity of complaints. Currently, the Commission can obtain the data 

necessary to accomplish these goals through individual data requests and by 

subpoena in formal investigations. This necessarily occurs long after the events at 

issue. More timely access to this information will permit the Commission, among 

other things, to more promptly address misuse and misrepresentation of generator 

availability to influence market behavior. 

Considerations In Collecting Generator Run Status Information

12. In response to the OASIS II ANOPR, the North American Electric 

Reliability Council’s (NERC) Electronic Scheduling Collaborative (ESC) noted 

that an overwhelming majority of ESC members opposed disclosure of generator 

run status information. With deference to minority opinion, the ESC filed two 

alternative position papers on generator run status, one in favor of disclosure and 

the other against.6

13. Those favoring the disclosure of generator run status information 

maintained that disclosure of generator run status information would provide 

appropriate market signals and create disincentives for market participants to 

improperly withhold capacity from the market, while providing essential 

 6 Response of the Electronic Scheduling Collaborative (Docket No. RM00-

10-000 July 14, 2000). 
Docket No. RM05-16-000 - 7 -

information to directly measure the exercise of horizontal market power. The 

position paper supporting disclosure of generator run status explained: 

Generator run status is a critical element of information used by 

many entities to ensure the operating security of the interconnected 

electric system. It should also be a component of the information 

base made available to all participants in the bulk power market to 

ensure appropriate market responses to real-time operating 

conditions, to provide the transparency needed for economically 

efficient markets, and to add discipline and market power mitigation 

through analysis of data to reveal patterns of strategic behavior.7

14. The position paper opposing the disclosure of generator run status 

information contended that generator run status information is proprietary, 

commercially sensitive information. It argued that a generating facility is the 

private property of its owners and that such information is proprietary. It also 

asserted that disclosure of such information to the market could devalue the asset 

and “essentially represents a confiscation of a portion of the asset itself.”8

 Those 

objecting to the disclosure of generator run status information further contended 

 7

 Response of ESC, Generator Run Status: Position Paper Supporting Data 

Disclosure to the Market Within OASIS Phase II, Attachment 7 at 2 (January 29, 

2001). 

8

 Response of ESC, Generator Run Status: Position Paper Opposing Data 

Disclosure to the Market Within OASIS Phase II Attachment 7 at 5 (January 29, 

2001). 
Docket No. RM05-16-000 - 8 -

that making generator run status information generally available would allow 

some participants in the market to gain an unfair advantage over others. 

15. The Commission is persuaded that certain information pertaining to 

generator characteristics and operation is proprietary and commercially sensitive. 

However, the Commission also believes that knowledge by market participants of 

current market conditions is vital to achieve a fully competitive, and least-cost 

market. Therefore, the Commission is soliciting responses relating to the 

confidential treatment of the information versus the release of certain generator 

run status data elements that could be made available to the marketplace to satisfy 

these objectives without compromising the legitimate competitive position of 

generators, and which information should be kept confidential. The Commission 

intends to respect commercially sensitive information by collecting and 

maintaining commercially sensitive information on a confidential basis. 

Comments Requested

16. The Commission encourages comments regarding the topics above. In 

addition, the Commission seeks responses to the following specific questions: 

a. Which data elements of generator run status, listed previously, should 

the Commission collect or have access to? In addition, please comment, 

among other things, on whether the Commission should collect: (1) 

generator logs for all 8,760 hours of the year; (2) balancing authority 

operating logs; (3) raw data as provided to NERC for its GADS 
Docket No. RM05-16-000 - 9 -

database; (4) capability performance testing results; and (5) equivalent 

demand forced outage rate (EFORd) data. 

b. Should the Commission collect this generator run status information on 

a regular basis, or instead require public utility generators to maintain 

generator run status information to provide to the Commission on short 

notice when requested? 

c. How is this data currently collected by industry participants? What 

would be the burden on the electric industry to make this information on 

generator run status available to the Commission? 

d. Is there other information that would be more appropriate to collect, 

such as that obtained by NERC for their Generator Availability Data 

System (GADS)? 

e. What should be the frequency of reporting/collection? Should the 

Commission request generator run status information for the peak 

operating hour each day, or is some other period more appropriate? 

f. What real-time data might facilitate a more efficient market by enabling 

market participants to respond to current conditions? 

g. How might the reporting requirements differ between regions with 

organized markets under RTOs and ISOs versus those without 

organized markets? 

h. Which specifically, of the generator run status data elements could be 

made available to market participants and which should be withheld due 
Docket No. RM05-16-000 - 10 -

to their commercial sensitivity. Should some of the data originally held 

confidentially be released publicly after a set time period? 

Comment Procedures

17. The Commission invites interested persons to submit comments on these 

matters and any related matters or alternative proposals that commenters may wish 

to discuss. Comments are due [insert date 60 days after publication in the 

FEDERAL REGISTER]. Comments must refer to Docket No. RM05-16-000, 

and must include the commenter’s name, the organization represented, if 

applicable, and their commenter’s address. 

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

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

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 unable to file 

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

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of the Secretary, 888 First Street 

N.E., Washington, DC, 20426. 

19. 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. 
Docket No. RM05-16-000 - 11 -

Document Availability

20. 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 print the contents of this document via the Internet through the Commission’s 

Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov) and in the Commission’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. E-Mail the Public Reference 

Room at public.referenceroom@ferc.gov or (202)502-8371. 

21. From the Commission’s Home Page on the Internet, this information is 

available in its eLibrary. The full text of this document is available in the eLibrary 

both in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing, printing, and downloading. 

To access this document in eLibrary, type the docket number of this document, 

excluding the last three digits, in the docket number field. 

22. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission's website 

during 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. 

 By direction of the Commission. 

Linda Mitry, 

Deputy Secretary.