134 FERC ¶ 61,199 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 

18 CFR Part 40 

[Docket No. RM09-19-000; Order No. 746] 

Western Electric Coordinating Council 

Qualified Transfer Path Unscheduled Flow Relief Regional Reliability Standard 

(Issued March 17, 2011) 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Final Rule. 

SUMMARY: Under section 215 of the Federal Power Act, the Commission approves 

regional Reliability Standard of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) 

IRO-006-WECC-1 (Qualified Transfer Path Unscheduled Flow Relief) and six associated 

new definitions submitted to the Commission for approval by the North American 

Electric Reliability Corporation. This Reliability Standard is intended to mitigate 

transmission overloads due to unscheduled flow on a transfer path designated by WECC 

as being qualified for unscheduled flow mitigation. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule will become effective [sixty days after publication in the 

FEDERAL REGISTER]. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Terence Burke (Legal Information) 

Office of the General Counsel 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, NE 
Docket No. RM09-19-000 

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Washington, DC 20426 

(202) 502-6498 

Danny Johnson (Technical Information) 

Office of Electric Reliability 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

888 First Street, NE 

Washington, DC 20426 

(202) 502-8892 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION 

Before Commissioners: Jon Wellinghoff, Chairman; 

 Marc Spitzer, Philip D. Moeller, 

 John R. Norris, and Cheryl A. LaFleur. 

Western Electric Coordinating Council 

Qualified Transfer Path Unscheduled Flow Relief 

Regional Reliability Standard 

Docket No. RM09-19-000 

ORDER NO.746 

FINAL RULE 

(Issued March 17, 2011) 

1. Under section 215 of the Federal Power Act (FPA),1

 the Commission approves 

regional Reliability Standard of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) 

IRO-006-WECC-1 (Qualified Transfer Path Unscheduled Flow Relief) and six associated 

new definitions submitted to the Commission for approval by the North American 

Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) 

certified by the Commission. The approved Reliability Standard is intended to mitigate 

transmission overloads due to unscheduled flow on Qualified Transfer Paths.2

 

 1

 16 U.S.C. 824o. 

2

 The term “Qualified Transfer Path” is defined as “[a] transfer path designated by 

the WECC Operating Committee as being qualified for WECC unscheduled flow 

mitigation.” When the Standard becomes effective, this definition will be added to the 

NERC Glossary of Terms Used in Reliability Standards. 
Docket No. RM09-19-000 

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I. Background

A. NERC Reliability Standard IRO-006

2. On March 16, 2007, the Commission issued Order No. 693 approving 83 

Reliability Standards proposed by NERC, including Interconnection Reliability 

Operations and Coordination (IRO) Reliability Standard IRO-006-3, titled “Reliability 

Coordination – Transmission Loading Relief.”3

 In addition, under section 215(d)(5) of 

the FPA, the Commission directed the ERO to develop modifications to IRO-006-3 and 

other approved Reliability Standards to address specific issues identified by the 

Commission. 

3. NERC Reliability Standard IRO-006-3 establishes a Transmission Loading Relief 

(TLR) process for use in the Eastern Interconnection to alleviate loadings on the system 

by curtailing or changing transactions based on their priorities and according to different 

levels of TLR procedures. Requirement R2.2 provides that “the equivalent 

Interconnection-wide transmission loading relief procedure for use in the Western 

Interconnection is the WECC Unscheduled Flow Mitigation Plan.” This document 

provides detailed instructions for addressing unscheduled flows, i.e., parallel path flows, 

based on the topography and configuration of the Bulk-Power System in the Western 

Interconnection. The Unscheduled Flow Mitigation Plan identifies nine “steps” to 

 3

 Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System, Order No. 693, 

FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 31,242, order on reh’g, Order No. 693-A, 120 FERC ¶ 61,053 

(2007). 
Docket No. RM09-19-000 

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address unscheduled flows. In the first three steps, the Mitigation Plan relies on phase 

angle regulators, series capacitors, and back-to-back DC lines to mitigate contingencies 

without curtailing transactions. Steps four through nine involve curtailment of 

transactions. 

4. On March 19, 2009, the Commission approved IRO-006-4, which modified the 

prior version of the Reliability Standard and addressed the Commission’s directives from 

Order No. 693.4

 The Commission subsequently accepted an erratum to that Reliability 

Standard that corrected the reference in Requirement R1.2 to the Unscheduled Flow 

Mitigation Plan (Mitigation Plan).5

B. WECC Delegation Agreement and WECC Regional Reliability 

Standard IRO-STD-006-0

5. On April 19, 2007, the Commission approved delegation agreements between 

NERC and each of the eight Regional Entities, including WECC.6

 In that approval, the 

Commission accepted WECC as a Regional Entity organized on an Interconnection-wide 

 4

 Modification of Interchange and Transmission Loading Relief Reliability 

Standards; and Electric Reliability Organization Interpretation of Specific Requirements 

of Four Reliability Standards, Order No. 713-A, 126 FERC ¶ 61,252 (2009), reh’g 

denied, Order No. 713-B, 130 FERC ¶ 61,032 (2010).

5

 North American Electric Reliability Corp., Docket No. RD09-9-000 (Dec. 10, 

2009) (unpublished letter order). Note that Reliability Standard IRO-006-4.1, 

Requirement R1.2 refers to the “WECC Unscheduled Flow Reduction Procedure,” which 

is Attachment 1 to the Mitigation Plan, the term we use herein. 

6

 See North American Electric Reliability Corp., 119 FERC ¶ 61,060, order on 

reh’g, 120 FERC ¶ 61,260 (2007). 
Docket No. RM09-19-000 

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basis and accepted WECC’s Standards Development Manual, which sets forth the 

process for development of WECC’s Reliability Standards.7

 

6. On June 8, 2007, the Commission approved eight WECC regional Reliability 

Standards that apply in the Western Interconnection, including IRO-STD-006-0.8

 The 

regional Reliability Standard applies to transmission operators, load-serving entities and 

balancing authorities within the Western Interconnection. It addresses the mitigation of 

transmission overloads due to unscheduled line flow on specified paths. Specifically, 

Requirement R1 of IRO-STD-006-0 states that: 

WECC’s Unscheduled Flow Mitigation Plan (Plan) ... specifies that 

members shall comply with requests from (Qualified) Transfer Path 

Operators to take actions that will reduce unscheduled flow on the 

Qualified Path in accordance with the table entitled “WECC Unscheduled 

Flow Procedure Summary of Curtailment Actions,” which is located in 

Attachment 1 of the Plan.9

The regional Reliability Standard then provides excerpts from the plan that describe 

actions entities must take to address unscheduled flow. 

7

 Id. P 469-470. 

8

 North American Electric Reliability Corp., 119 FERC ¶ 61,260 (2007) (June 8, 

2007 Order). 

9

 Regional Reliability Standard IRO-STD-006-0, available at 

http://www.wecc.biz/Standards/Approved%20Standards/IRO-STD-006-0.pdf. 
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7. The June 8, 2007 Order directed WECC to develop certain modifications to the 

eight WECC Reliability Standards to address issues identified by the Commission. With 

respect to IRO-STD-006-0, the Commission directed WECC to clarify the term 

“receiver” used in the Reliability Standard. The Commission also directed WECC to 

address concerns raised by a commenter regarding WECC’s inclusion of load-serving 

entities, which may be unable to meet the Reliability Standard’s requirements, in the 

applicability section of the Reliability Standard.10 The Commission directed WECC to 

remove a Sanctions Table that is inconsistent with the NERC Sanctions Guidelines. The 

Commission also directed WECC to address NERC’s concerns regarding formatting, use 

of standard terms, and the need for greater specificity in the actions that a responsible 

entity must take. 

C. Proposed Regional Reliability Standard

8. In a June 17, 2009 filing (NERC Petition), NERC requested Commission approval 

of proposed regional Reliability Standard IRO-006-WECC-1, which was developed in 

response to the Commission’s directives in the June 8, 2007 Order, to replace the 

currently effective regional Standard. NERC stated that the purpose of IRO-006-WECC1 is to mitigate transmission overloads due to unscheduled flow on Qualified Transfer 

Paths. Under the Reliability Standard, reliability coordinators are responsible for 

initiating schedule curtailments, and balancing authorities are responsible for 

 10 June 8, 2007 Order, 119 FERC ¶ 61,260 at P 70-71. 
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implementing the curtailments. Specifically, proposed regional Reliability Standard IRO006-WECC-1 contains the following two Requirements: 

R.1. Upon receiving a request of Step 4 or greater (see Attachment 1-

IRO-006-WECC-1) from the Transmission Operator of a Qualified 

Transfer Path, the Reliability Coordinator shall approve (actively or 

passively) or deny that request within five minutes. 

R.2. The Balancing Authorities shall approve curtailment requests to the 

schedules as submitted, implement alternative actions, or a combination 

there of that collectively meets the Relief Requirement. 

An attachment to IRO-006-WECC-1 summarizes the nine steps and related actions to 

address unscheduled flows. 

D. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

9. On October 29, 2010, the Commission issued its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

proposing to approve the regional IRO Reliability Standard IRO-006-WECC-1.11 In 

addition, the Commission raised concerns with respect to: (1) how entities will know 

whether to follow the national or regional Standard in a given situation; (2) WECC’s and 

NERC’s reliance on TOP-007-WECC-1 to ensure that entities manage power flows using 

 11 Western Electric Coordinating Council Qualified Transfer Path Unscheduled 

Flow Relief Regional Reliability Standard, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 75 FR 66702 

(Oct. 29, 2010), FERC Stats & Regs. ¶ 32,663 (2010) (NOPR). 
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steps one through three of the Mitigation Plan prior to requesting curtailments; (3) how 

the webSAS12 tool will work with respect to the national and regional Standard; and 

(4) the potential reliability impact of reliability coordinators’ inability to request 

curtailments. 

10. In response to the NOPR, comments were filed by NERC, WECC, and Nevada 

Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, both d/b/a NV Energy (NV 

Energy). In the discussion below, we address these comments. 

II. Discussion

A. Approval of IRO-006-WECC-1

11. In the NOPR, the Commission proposed to approve regional Reliability Standard 

IRO-006-WECC-1 stating that it adequately addresses a number of the directives 

identified in the June 8, 2007 Order and represents an improvement to the current 

Standard. As stated in the NOPR, the Standard addresses our concern regarding the use 

of the term “receiver” by removing the term, thus removing potential confusion arising 

from the use of the undefined term. The Reliability Standard also provides additional 

clarity by removing load-serving entities from its applicability section since load-serving 

 12 The webSAS (Security Analysis System) is a proprietary internet based 

application that is used by WECC to analyze, initiate, communicate, and provide 

compliance reports for implementation of the Unscheduled Flow Reduction Procedure. It 

is available by subscription through the vendor to provide notification of Unscheduled 

Flow Events, calculate and display required relief, and provide a rapid method of 

transaction curtailments. 
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entities may not be able to meet the Standard’s requirements regarding curtailment 

procedures. Further, the Standard includes reliability coordinators as an applicable entity 

and addresses their role in curtailment procedures. The Standard goes beyond the 

corresponding NERC Reliability Standard by requiring a reliability coordinator to 

approve or deny a transmission operator’s curtailment request within five minutes. 

Finally, the WECC Reliability Standard addresses formatting concerns, conformance 

with NERC’s Violation Severity Level and Violation Risk Factor matrix, and the 

elimination of a WECC sanction table. NERC, WECC, and NV Energy all support 

approval. Accordingly the Commission adopts the NOPR proposal and approves 

regional Reliability Standard IRO-006-WECC-1 as just, reasonable, not unduly 

discriminatory or preferential, and in the public interest. 

12. We raised in the NOPR several concerns regarding how the regional Reliability 

Standard would work in practice to ensure Reliable Operation in the Western 

Interconnect. As a result of the comments submitted, our concerns have been adequately 

addressed, and we do not direct any modifications to the regional Reliability Standard. 

B. Issues Raised in NOPR

1. Consistency Between NERC and WECC

13. Requirement R1.2 in NERC Reliability Standard IRO-006-4 refers to the WECC 

Unscheduled Flow Reduction Procedure with regard to transmission loading relief in the 

Western Interconnection. In the NOPR, the Commission requested comment on the 
Docket No. RM09-19-000 

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interaction between the differing requirements contained in the regional versus the 

national Reliability Standards, on which of the two Standards’ requirements take 

precedence, and on how NERC intends to ensure compliance and consistent enforcement 

with regard to the Standards. 

Comments

14. WECC and NV Energy comment that the Standards differ in their applicability. 

They state that NERC’s IRO-006-4 addresses the obligations of the reliability coordinator 

and the balancing authority if an Interconnection-wide procedure is selected for the 

mitigation of overloads on transmission facilities. According to WECC and NV Energy, 

Regional Reliability Standard IRO-006-WECC-1 sets out reliability obligations for the 

reliability coordinator and balancing authority regarding transmission loading relief on 

the narrow subset of Western Interconnect transmission facilities designated as Qualified 

Transfer Paths. The two commenters assert there is no conflict between the NERC 

Reliability Standard and the regional Standard, as they work together. 

15. NERC states that it recognized some potential for confusion in this matter and will 

soon file for approval a proposed Reliability Standard IRO-006-513 that, among other 

things, eliminates reference to the WECC Unscheduled Flow Reduction Procedure as a 

 13 Subsequent to filing its comments in this Docket, NERC filed its Petition for 

Approval of Proposed New Interconnection Reliability Operations and Coordination 

Reliability Standards, Glossary Term and Implementation Plan on January 13, 2011 in 

Docket No. RD11-2-000. 
Docket No. RM09-19-000 

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procedure that may be selected by the reliability coordinator to achieve loading relief and, 

instead, mentions the procedure as an example for which coordination must occur. 

Commission Determination

16. The Commission finds that NERC’s plan to eliminate the opportunity for 

confusion with respect to this Reliability Standard adequately addresses the concerns 

raised in the NOPR. 

2. TOP-007-WECC-1 and the Mitigation Plan

17. In the June 8, 2007 Order, the Commission determined that the regional Reliability 

Standard IRO-STD-006-0 is superior to the NERC Standard based in part on the 

specified pre-curtailment steps one through three of the Mitigation Plan.14 As stated 

above, the Mitigation Plan is no longer referenced in IRO-006-WECC-1. The NERC 

Petition stated that proposed WECC regional Reliability Standard TOP-007-WECC-1, 

would work in conjunction with IRO-006-WECC-1 to ensure that pre-curtailment steps 

one through three of the Mitigation Plan are performed.15 In the NOPR, the Commission 

requested comment as to whether WECC’s reliance on proposed regional Standard TOP007-WECC-1 or currently effective Reliability Standard TOP-STD-007-0 (whichever is 

 14 June 18, 2007 Order, 119 FERC ¶ 61,260 at P 69. 

15 NERC’s petition for approval of regional Reliability Standard 

TOP-007-WECC-1 is currently pending before the Commission in Docket 

No. RM09-14-000. 
Docket No. RM09-19-000 

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in effect) is an adequate replacement for the currently required pre-curtailment actions set 

forth in steps one through three of the Mitigation Plan. 

Comments

18. Each of the commenters note that Reliability Standard IRO-006-WECC-1 and the 

proposed regional Standard TOP-007-WECC-1 were intended to meet the performance 

objective of enhanced reliability but not to prescribe a specific method for achieving that 

objective. WECC and NV Energy assert that the pre-curtailment steps were not 

mandatory, but, as before, they remain tools available to transmission operators for the 

mitigation of transmission facility overloading. WECC states that reliability would suffer 

if transmission operators were limited in their action by a mandatory adherence to the 

Mitigation Plan. 

Commission Determination

19. The Commission acknowledges the comments offered and is satisfied that IRO006-WECC-1 does not present a reduction in reliability. The Commission also highlights 

the comment made by WECC that the Standard is applicable to reliability coordinators 

and balancing authorities, not to transmission operators. Under the Standard, the 

reliability coordinator must approve or deny the implementation of a step four or higher 

action, and the balancing authority must grant relief so the transmission operator does not 

violate a system operating limit (SOL) or an interconnection reliability operating limit 

(IROL) operating limit. But transmission operator’s obligations remain unchanged by 
Docket No. RM09-19-000 

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IRO-006-WECC-1. They continue to be required to take immediate steps to relieve an 

SOL or IROL operating limit violation. 

3. Operation of webSAS

20. According to the NERC Petition, the webSAS tool calculates curtailment and, 

unless the reliability coordinator actively denies the request, approves the curtailment 

within five minutes. The Commission requested in the NOPR additional information 

regarding how the webSAS program works in relation to WECC’s proposed IRO-006-

WECC-1 as well as the currently effective IRO-006-4, and whether conflicts could arise 

between the webSAS programming and the Mitigation Plan. 

Comments

21. NV Energy and WECC comments describe of the webSAS program, explaining 

that it utilizes impedance modeling of the transmission network in the Western 

Interconnection and is able to determine transmission distribution factors that correspond 

to discrete transactions. It is configured to prescribe curtailments in accordance with the 

curtailment table in the WECC Unscheduled Flow Reduction Procedure, and is only one 

of the methods a balancing authority might use in devising curtailments. WECC notes 

that webSAS merely suggests strategies; the responsible balancing authority must 

implement those strategies. WECC further comments that WebSAS operates similarly 

whether utilized under the regional or the national Reliability Standard. 
Docket No. RM09-19-000 

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Commission Determination

22. The Commission is satisfied with the commenters’ explanation of the operation of 

webSAS, as well as its proposed use within the mitigation process set out in Reliability 

Standard IRO-006-WECC-1. 

4. Reliability Coordinators’ Role in Curtailment

23. In the NOPR the Commission stated that, because reliability coordinators are the 

only entities with the wide-area view, the Commission believes it is appropriate that they, 

as the entities with the highest level of authority to ensure reliability, have the ability to 

initiate relief procedures.16 In the NOPR, the Commission requested comment regarding 

its concerns that the proposed regional Reliability Standard does not mention the 

reliability coordinators’ ability to request curtailments, and that automatic approval of 

curtailments may occur through the webSAS tool without reliability coordinator review. 

Comments

24. WECC and NV Energy comment that the reliability coordinator always has the 

ability to issue directives or take other actions to ensure Reliable Operations under the 

authority granted in Reliability Standard IRO-001-1.1. NV Energy states that the 

automatic approval of requested curtailments after five minutes is an appropriate balance 

between allowing for the reliability coordinators’ participation and adequately ensuring 

that transmission loading relief is obtained for the next hour. 

 16 NOPR, FERC Stats. & Regs. ¶ 32,663 at P 30. 
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Commission Determination

25. The Commission agrees with the commenters that NERC Reliability Standard 

IRO-001-1.1 provides the reliability coordinator authority to take actions to ensure 

Reliable Operations, and no further clarification is required. 

5. Alternative Revisions

26. Because of the concerns expressed in the NOPR, the Commission questioned 

whether it might be more efficient and appropriate if all the WECC rules and procedures 

with respect to unscheduled flow mitigation were incorporated in a single document. 

Comments

27. WECC asserts that regional Reliability Standard IRO-006-4 does not mandate 

following the Mitigation Plan but only suggests that the Mitigation Plan is a procedure 

available to a reliability coordinator. Therefore, incorporating the WECC rules and 

procedures into the Mitigation Plan would not eliminate the need for an enforceable 

regional Reliability Standard. WECC also comments that the differing purposes of the 

Mitigation Plan, IRO-006-WECC-1, and TOP-007-WECC-1 would thwart efforts to 

combine them. NERC notes that it has already undertaken eliminating the regional 

differences from the continent-wide standard in its proposed IRO-006-5. 
Docket No. RM09-19-000 

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Commission Determination

28. The clarification provided by WECC adequately addresses the Commission’s 

concerns. Accordingly, the Commission finds that IRO-006-WECC-1 represents an 

improvement to reliability. 

III. Information Collection Statement

29. The following collections of information contained in this Reliability Standard 

have been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review under 

section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1955.17 OMB’s regulations require 

OMB to approve certain information collection requirements imposed by agency rule.18 

30. The Commission solicited comments on the burden to implement IRO-006-

WECC-1 which, rather than creating entirely new requirements, instead modifies the 

existing regional Reliability Standard governing qualified transfer path unscheduled flow 

relief and thus imposes a minimal additional burden on the affected entities. The 

Commission received no comments as to the issue of reporting burden estimates. The 

Commission has not directed any modifications to the Requirements of the Reliability 

Standard being approved. Thus this Final Ruled does not materially or adversely affect 

the burden estimates provided in the NOPR. 

 17 44 U.S.C. 3507(d). 

18 5 CFR 1320.11. 
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31. Burden Estimate: The burden for the requirements in this proposed rule follow: 

Data Collection 

FERC-725E 

No. of 

Respondents 

No. of 

Responses 

Hours Per 

Response 

Total Annual 

Hours 

35 Balancing 

Authorities and 1 

Reliability 

CoordinatorReporting 

Requirement 

36 1 1 36 

35 Balancing 

Authorities and 1 

Reliability 

CoordinatorRecordkeeping 

Requirement 

36 1 1 36 

Total 72 

Total Annual hours for Collection: 36 reporting +36 recordkeeping = 72 hours. 

Reporting = 36 hours @ $120/hour = $4320 

Recordkeeping = 36 hours @ $40/hour = $1440 

Total Costs = Reporting ($4320) + Recordkeeping ($1440) = $5760 

Title: FERC 725E, Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Western Electric 

Coordinating Council 

Action: Proposed collection of information 

OMB Control No: 1902-0246 

Respondents: Balancing Authorities and Reliability Coordinator in the Western 

Electricity Coordinating Council. 

Frequency of Responses: On Occasion. 
Docket No. RM09-19-000 

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Necessity of the Information: This Final Rule would approve a revised Reliability 

Standard modifying the existing requirement for entities to respond to requests for 

curtailment. The proposed Reliability Standard requires entities to maintain 

documentation evidencing their response to such requests. 

Internal review: The Commission has reviewed the requirements pertaining to proposed 

regional Reliability Standard IRO-006-WECC-1 and believes it to be just, reasonable, not 

unduly discriminatory or preferential, and in the public interest. 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. 

32. 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 Final Rule 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. 
Docket No. RM09-19-000 

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Please reference OMB Control Number 1902-0246 and the docket number of this 

roposed rulemaking in your submission. 

IV. Environmental Analysis

33. 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.19 The action taken in the Final Rule fall within the 

categorical exclusion in the Commission’s regulations for rules that are clarifying, 

corrective or procedural, for information gathering, analysis, and dissemination.20 

Accordingly, neither an environmental impact statement nor an environmental 

assessment is required. 

V. Regulatory Flexibility Act

34. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA)21 generally requires a description 

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

number of small entities. The RFA mandates consideration of regulatory alternatives that 

accomplish the stated objectives of a proposed rule and that minimize any significant 

economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Small Business 

 19 Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, Order 

No. 486, 52 FR 47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles 

1986-1990 ¶ 30,783 (1987). 

20 18 CFR 380.4(a)(5). 

21 5 U.S.C. 601-612. 
Docket No. RM09-19-000 

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Administration’s (SBA) Office of Size Standards develops the numerical definition of a 

small business.22 The SBA has established a size standard for electric utilities, stating 

that a firm is small if, including its affiliates, it is primarily engaged in the transmission, 

generation and/or distribution of electric energy for sale and its total electric output for 

the preceding twelve months did not exceed four million megawatt hours.23 

35. Most of the entities (i.e., reliability coordinators and balancing authorities) to 

which the requirements of this Rule would apply do not fall within the definition of small 

entities. The Commission estimates that only 2-4 of the 35 balancing authorities are 

small and that the economic impact on each of these is $160 per year. The Commission 

does not consider this to be a significant economic impact. Based on the foregoing, the 

Commission certifies that this Rule will not have a significant impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. Accordingly, no regulatory flexibility analysis is required. 

VI. Document Availability

36. 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 

 22 13 CFR 121.101. 

23 13 CFR 121.201, Sector 22, Utilities & n. 1. 
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hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE, Room 2A, 

Washington DC 20426. 

37. 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. 

38. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the FERC’s website during normal 

business hours from FERC Online Support at (202) 502-6652 (toll free at 1-866-208-

3676) or email 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. 

VII. Effective Date and Congressional Notification

39. These regulations are effective [insert date 60 days from publication in 

FEDERAL REGISTER]. The Commission notes that although the determinations made 

in this Final Rule are effective [insert date that is 60 days from publication in the Federal 

Register], regional Reliability Standard IRO-006-WECC-1 approved in this Final Rule 

will not become effective until the first day of the first quarter after applicable regulatory 

approval. The Commission has determined, with the concurrence of the Administrator of 

the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, that this rule is not a “major 
Docket No. RM09-19-000 

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rule” as defined in section 351 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 

Act of 1996. 

By the Commission. 

( S E A L ) 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary.