In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued on June 19, FERC proposed to approve a new Reliability Standard—MOD-001-2 (Modeling, Data, and Analysis)—to govern the calculation of the various components of Available Transfer Capability (ATC), including Total Transfer Capability, Existing Transmission Commitments, Transmission Reliability Margin, and Capacity Benefit Margin. If approved, MOD-001-2 will replace multiple existing Reliability Standards that currently address these issues, including MOD-001-1a, MOD-004-1, MOD-008-1, MOD-028-2, MOD-029-1a, and MOD-030-2.

FERC requested comment on whether the proposed implementation plan is appropriate. The implementation plan calls for the revised standard to become effective on the first day of the first calendar quarter 18 months after FERC approval. This 18-month delay is intended to provide the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) time to develop business practices to address the commercial issues covered by the current MOD Reliability Standards but not covered by proposed MOD-001-2. FERC expressed concern that a regulatory gap might occur if NAESB does not complete its work prior to the effective date of MOD-001-2 and the retirement of the currently effective MOD Standards. FERC requested public comment on that concern, including what actions NERC could take to ensure that the effective dates of the new MOD Standards and new NAESB business practices are synchronized.