FERC

FERC Extends Compliance Date for Reactive Power and Ride-Through Requirements - August 8 - FERC issued a notice of extension for the compliance date with Order No. 827 (Reactive Power Requirements for Non-Synchronous Generation) and Order No. 828 (Requirements for Frequency and Voltage Ride Through Capability of Small Generating Facilities).  FERC is also requiring a single combined compliance filing for those yet to file on or before August 8.  The new compliance date is October 14, 2016.

NERC

NERC Seeks Approval of Remedial Action Scheme Standard - August 5 - NERC requested that FERC approve Reliability Standard PRC-012-2, which addresses all aspects of the design, approval, installation and maintenance of Remedial Action Schemes (RAS). RAS are critical to preserving the reliability and integrity of the bulk electric system because they operate to institute corrective actions such as adjusting or tripping generation, tripping load or reconfiguring a system. These corrective actions reduce the risk of instability by mitigating unacceptable system conditions.

George Hawkins Appointed to National Infrastructure Advisory Council - August 4 - On August 4th, President Obama announced his intent to appoint George Hawkins membership on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council.  Mr. Hawkins has been the CEO and General Manager of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority since 2009 and has served on the NERC Board of Trustees since February 2015.

NERC Files Comments on Proposed Disturbance Control Standard - July 25 - NERC submitted to FERC comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to approve Reliability Standard BAL-002-2 (Disturbance Control Standard - Contingency Reserve for Recovery from a Balancing Contingency Event).  NERC supports FERC's proposal to approve and submitted comments on the recovery of Reporting ACE within the 15-minute Contingency Event Recovery Period, the potential for unlimited resets of the 90-minute Contingency Reserve Restoration Period, the development of a new or revised Reliability Standard to address events that cause a megawatt loss greater than the Most Severe Single Contingency, and Violation Risk Factors for Requirements R1 and R2.

Other Developments

DOE Announces $30 Million Expansion of US-Indian Partnership for Joint Research on Smart Grid and Energy Storage - August 10 - In an effort to accelerate grid modernization, research and deployment, DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability has teamed up with the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology(MST) to conduct joint research on smart grid and energy storage. DOE and MST are each committing $1.5 million per year for five years and the United States and Indian private sectors will match the respective government commitments, resulting in a combined $30 million public-private research investment over the next five years.

EAC Recommendations on National Distributed Energy Storage in the Electric Grid Now Available - August 9 - The Electric Advisory Committee's (EAC) recommendations on way in which DOE can support distributed energy storage market deployments are now available for download.  The report, originally approved at the March 2016 EAC meeting, includes a general overview of the market and technologies, the benefits and challenges of distributed energy storage, and public policy implications.  Included within the EAC recommendations are the development of market models, modern grid physical models, operation models for distributed energy storage, along with leveraging DOE's role as an unbiased arbitrator with technical expertise.

DOE Rolls Out Emissions Quantification Tool - July 28 - DOE unveiled its Emissions Quantification Tool (EQT), which aims to estimate the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on smart grid infrastructure investments so that entities can continue to boost resiliency while reducing their carbon footprint.  The EQT was developed by the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, and it uses a range of different tools and established data sources to illuminate the emissions consequences of smart grid investments.