Alaska Administrative Code › Title 3 - Commerce, Community, and Economic Development › Part 7 - Regulatory Commission of Alaska › Chapter 46 - Electric Reliability Organizations and Integrated Resource Planning › Article 3 - Electric Reliability Organization Tariffs and Rules › 3 AAC 46.460 - Electric reliability organization rule content

Current through May 31, 2024
(a) To ensure that
				  an electric reliability organization meets the requirements of AS 42.05.762,
				  the rules of the electric reliability organization must
(1) contain standards or procedures by which
				  a director, director's designee, or employee of the electric reliability
				  organization can be determined to possess the technical qualifications
				  sufficient to enable the electric reliability organization to meet the
				  requirements of AS 42.05.762(1) and (2);
(2) establish a procedure to ensure that the
				  standards, plans, and rules adopted by the electric reliability organization do
				  not grant any person an unreasonable preference or advantage or subject any
				  person to an unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage;
(3) establish a procedure to ensure that
				  enforcement investigations, including penalty recommendations, undertaken by
				  the electric reliability organization cannot be carried out by persons employed
				  by, either directly or by contractual arrangement, or affiliated with the
				  person under investigation;
(4)
				  provide for public access to the approved and proposed plans, standards,
				  tariff, and rules of the electric reliability organization; at a minimum, the
				  rules of the electric reliability organization must provide
(A) a website that posts all the approved and
				  proposed plans, standards, tariff, rules, and budgets of the electric
				  reliability organization, and all related comments received from the public
				  that do not include information classified as confidential under
				  3 AAC 48.040(b) or include language that
				  could subject the electric reliability organization to civil liability if
				  republished; the website must
(i) allow for
				  the posting of documents in a format that prevents unauthorized revision to the
				  documents, that is text-searchable, and that can be read by any person with
				  Internet access using publicly available free software;
(ii) provide the public with access to each
				  approved or proposed plan, standard, tariff, or rule, and any public document
				  related to development or interpretation of the approved or proposed plan,
				  standard, tariff, or rule, without special expertise or knowledge of the
				  posting protocols of the electric reliability organization; and
(iii) be capable of receiving comments from
				  the public related to a proposed plan, standard, tariff, or rule of the
				  electric reliability organization before filing with the commission for
				  approval;
(B) a
				  presumption that all documents received by the electric reliability
				  organization are public unless the document is classified in whole or in part
				  as confidential
(i) for good cause as defined
				  in
				  3 AAC 48.045(b) under rules established by
				  the electric reliability organization; or
(ii) under
				  3 AAC 48.040(b);
(C) a process under which the electric
				  reliability organization will make available to the public those portions of a
				  document that are not confidential if a portion of the document is classified
				  as confidential under (B) of this paragraph;
(D) a record retention schedule that
				  maintains
(i) paper copies of all current
				  governing documentation; and
(ii)
				  for at least 15 years, electronic records of meetings and agency documents
				  other than governing documentation;
(E) a process under which any interested
				  person may petition the electric reliability organization to participate in
				  development of a proposed plan, standard, tariff, or rule of the electric
				  reliability organization; the process may require consideration of the
				  following factors:
(i) the interest of the
				  petitioner;
(ii) the effect on the
				  petitioner's interest in the matter to be developed;
(iii) the availability of other means by
				  which the petitioner's interest may be protected;
(iv) the extent to which the petitioner's
				  interest will be represented by other participating persons;
(v) the extent to which the petitioner's
				  participation may reasonably be expected to assist in the development of a
				  sound record; and
(vi) the extent
				  to which the petitioner's participation will broaden or delay the matter to be
				  developed;
(F) a process
				  by which a successful petitioner may gain access to relevant confidential
				  documents and information in possession of or shared with the electric
				  reliability organization; the electric reliability organization may develop
				  rules that define the level of participation in the development of the proposed
				  plan, standard, tariff, or rule that entitles a successful petitioner access to
				  confidential information;
(G) a
				  process under which all documentation regarding the organization's governance
				  and budget, network reliability statistics, and registered entity registration
				  are made publicly available;
(H) a
				  process under which notice of a proposed plan, standard, tariff, or rule of the
				  electric reliability organization is provided to the potentially affected
				  public, and comments on the proposed plan, standard, tariff, or rule of the
				  electric reliability organization will be accepted;
(I) a process for developing a report to be
				  filed with the commission as an attachment to any submittal requesting approval
				  of a proposed plan, standard, tariff, or rule of the electric reliability
				  organization; the report must include
(i) the
				  input of all persons participating in development of a proposed plan, standard,
				  tariff, or rule of the electric reliability organization;
(ii) all comments submitted in response to
				  public notice of a proposed plan, standard, tariff, or rule of the electric
				  reliability organization; and
(iii)
				  an explanation of how the interests represented by persons providing input or
				  comments have been given due consideration by the electric reliability
				  organization in developing the proposed plan, standard, tariff, or rule that is
				  submitted to the commission for approval;
(J) a process for providing public notice and
				  an opportunity for public comment on each proposed enforcement
				  action;
(K) a process to ensure
				  that meetings of the board of directors of an electric reliability organization
				  shall be open to the public, and held in person, telephonically, or by
				  utilizing an Internet-based virtual meeting platform; and
(L) a process to ensure that the board of
				  directors may only use nonpublic executive sessions for topics and discussions
				  that could cause harm to the electric reliability organization or a registered
				  entity if the information discussed were made publicly available;
(5) require that, except for an
				  emergency board of directors meeting, an electric reliability organization
				  publish, at least 14 calendar days before convening a meeting of the board of
				  directors, a public notice of the meeting on the electric reliability
				  organization's website and by any other means the board determines to be
				  appropriate; the public notice must
(A) state
				  the time and place for the meeting; and
(B) include an agenda listing items up for
				  discussion, and provide instructions for filing public comments with the
				  electric reliability organization; if the meeting is an emergency meeting, the
				  electric reliability organization shall issue a copy of the agenda as soon as
				  the agenda is available, and not later than one week after the scheduled date
				  of the emergency meeting; the electric reliability organization shall make
				  every effort to issue a copy of the agenda of an emergency meeting at least six
				  hours before the meeting being held; and
(7) require the electric reliability
				  organization to keep an original set of books, accounts, papers, and records
				  within this state; the electric reliability organization shall timely provide
				  the commission with a certified copy of any books, accounts, papers, or records
				  upon request of the commission; those records are public under
				  AS
				  42.05.671, unless exempted from public
				  disclosure under
				  AS
				  42.05.671; the electric reliability
				  organization shall allow the commission to inspect the electric reliability
				  organization's original books, accounts, papers, or records where they are kept
				  at any reasonable time chosen by the commission.