Misplaced Pages

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37-672: NERC oversees six regional reliability entities and encompasses all of the interconnected power systems of Canada and the contiguous United States , as well as a portion of the Mexican state of Baja California . NERC's major responsibilities include working with all stakeholders to develop standards for power system operation, monitoring and enforcing compliance with those standards, assessing resource adequacy , and providing educational and training resources as part of an accreditation program to ensure power system operators remain qualified and proficient. NERC also investigates and analyzes

74-568: A policy paper that gave five recommendations on ways to modernize the U.S. electric power grid. These recommendations are to streamline the federal permit process for advanced energy projects; encourage grid planners to consider alternatives to investment in transmission; allow energy storage and energy efficiency to compete with additional energy generation; allow large customers to choose their own sources of electricity; and allow utilities and consumers to benefit from cloud computing software. In 2019, NREL calculated that new transmission between

111-578: A controlled flow of energy while also functionally isolating the independent AC frequencies of each side. The Texas Interconnection is tied to the Eastern Interconnection with two DC ties, and has a DC tie and a VFT to non-NERC systems in Mexico . There is one AC tie switch in Dayton, Texas that has been used only one time in its history, after Hurricane Ike . The Quebec Interconnection

148-623: A joint investigation into a "winter load event" earlier in January that stressed the electrical grids in the Midwest. On January 17, Midwest and U.S. south central grid operators ordered emergency appeals for electricity conservation. This was due to high power demand caused by cold weather. Regional entity A regional entity (RE) in the North American power transmission grid is a regional organization representing all segments of

185-846: A physical separation of the E-ISAC from the rest of NERC. As part of the fallout of the Northeast Blackout of 2003 , the Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to designate a national Electric Reliability Organization (ERO). On July 20, 2006, FERC issued an order certifying NERC as the ERO for the United States. In September 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and NERC opened

222-467: A single company. Now, the three stages could be split among various companies in an effort to provide fair accessibility to high voltage transmission. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 allowed incentives and loan guarantees for alternative energy production and to advance innovative technologies that avoided greenhouse emissions . There are two major wide area synchronous grids in North America:

259-646: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . North American power transmission grid The electrical power grid that powers Northern America is not a single grid, but is instead divided into multiple wide area synchronous grids . The Eastern Interconnection and the Western Interconnection are the largest. Three other regions include the Texas Interconnection , the Quebec Interconnection , and

296-675: Is one of the three minor alternating current (AC) power grids in North America. All of the electric utilities in the Texas Interconnection are electrically tied together during normal system conditions, and they operate at a synchronized frequency operating at an average of 60 Hz. The Texas Interconnection covers most of the state of Texas . Interconnections can be tied to each other via high-voltage direct current power transmission lines ( DC ties ), or with variable-frequency transformers (VFTs), which permit

333-508: Is one of the three minor alternating-current (AC) electrical grids in North America. The Quebec Interconnection covers all of the Province of Quebec and operates at an average system frequency of 60 Hz. It connects 18 systems in the US and Canada to one electric utility company: Hydro-Québec . It is operated as an independent AC grid for physical reasons. The Quebec Interconnection

370-829: Is the other major alternating current (AC) power grid in North America. All of the electric utilities in the Western Interconnection are electrically tied together during normal system conditions and operate at a synchronized frequency of 60 Hz. The Western Interconnection stretches from Western Canada south to Baja California in Mexico , reaching eastward over the Rockies to the Great Plains . The USA part has 250 GW of generating capacity. Interconnections can be tied to each other via high-voltage direct current power transmission lines ( DC ties ) as well as containing internal DC connections such as

407-433: Is tied to the Eastern Interconnection with four high-voltage direct current power transmission lines ( DC ties ), and with one variable-frequency transformers (VFTs) line, which isolate the unsynchronized AC frequencies of each side. The Alaska Interconnection is one of the three minor alternating-current (AC) electrical grids in North America. It is composed of two grids isolated from each other as well as from

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444-614: The Alaska Interconnection . Each region delivers power at a nominal 60 Hz frequency. The regions are not usually directly connected or synchronized to each other, but there exist some HVDC interconnectors . The Eastern and Western grids are connected via seven links that allow 1.32 GW to flow between them. A study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that increasing these interconnections would save energy costs. In

481-631: The Eastern Interconnection and the Western Interconnection . There are three minor power grids in North America: the Alaska Interconnection , the Texas Interconnection , and the Quebec Interconnection . The Eastern, Western and Texas Interconnections are tied together at various points with DC interconnects allowing electrical power to be transmitted throughout the contiguous U.S., Canada and parts of Mexico. The transmission grids are operated by transmission system operators (TSOs), not-for profit companies that are typically owned by

518-629: The Electric Reliability Organization ). The regional entities, at the bottom of the structure for the development and enforcement of the reliability standards for the US electric grid, were established by the Section 215 of the Federal Power Act as amended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 . The statute tried to mimic the balance of power between the federal and state authorities in the US, with REs playing

555-470: The electric industry : electric utilities (investor-owned, cooperatives, state, regional, and municipal), federal agencies , independent power producers , power market operators, and end-users of the energy. North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) delegates to REs authority to enforce reliability standards (which NERC has throughout the contiguous United States ), collectively REs, together with NERC, are known as an "ERO Enterprise" (from

592-523: The interconnected power systems of the contiguous United States , Canada and a portion of Baja California in Mexico . NERC's major responsibilities include working with all stakeholders to develop standards for power system operation, monitoring and enforcing compliance with those standards, assessing resource adequacy , and providing educational and training resources as part of an accreditation program to ensure power system operators remain qualified and proficient. NERC also investigates and analyzes

629-518: The AC ties were disconnected, because DC ties were found to work more reliably. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 required transmission line owners to allow electric generation companies open access to their network and led to a restructuring of how the electric industry operated in an effort to create competition in power generation. No longer were electric utilities built as vertical monopolies, where generation, transmission and distribution were handled by

666-479: The Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec , south to Florida , and back west to the foot of the Rockies , excluding most of Texas . The USA part has 700 GW of generating capacity. Interconnections can be tied to each other via high-voltage direct current power transmission lines ( DC ties ), or with variable-frequency transformers (VFTs), which permit a controlled flow of energy while also functionally isolating

703-671: The Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC). E-ISAC offers security services to bulk power system owners and operators across North America. E-ISAC services includes specific cyber and physical security threat intelligence, tailored cyber security knowledge and physical security collaboration. The E-ISAC, which NERC established at the request of the U.S. Department of Energy, works closely with NERC's Bulk Power System Awareness team in Atlanta to monitor real-time cyber and physical security threats to

740-599: The U.S., including the seven for which RTOs have been established, as well as: ISOs and RTOs were established in the 1990s, when states and regions established wholesale competition for electricity. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is a nonprofit corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia , and formed on March 28, 2006, as the successor to the National Electric Reliability Council (also known as NERC), which formed in

777-841: The U.S.: There are three ISOs: RTOs are similar but not identical to the nine Regional Reliability Councils associated in the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a nonprofit entity that is in charge of improving the reliability and security of the bulk power system in the U.S., Canada and the northern part of Baja California in Mexico. The members of the Regional Reliability Councils include private, public and cooperative utilities, power marketers and final customers. The Regional Reliability Councils are: The FERC distinguishes between 10 power markets in

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814-679: The United States in the 1920s, utilities formed joint operations to share peak load coverage and backup power. In 1934, with the passage of the Public Utility Holding Company Act , electric utilities were recognized as public goods of importance and were given outlined restrictions and regulatory oversight of their operations. From 1967, the East and West interconnections were directly connected together. The AC ties did not have high capacity and were subject to oscillations, and so their connection proved unreliable. In 1975

851-676: The bulk power grid. In April 2006, NERC applied for and was granted the designation of the ERO by FERC in July 2006. NERC also filed the first set of mandatory Reliability Standards with FERC, as well as filing the same information with the Canadian provincial authorities in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and with the National Energy Board of Canada. NERC also operates

888-411: The causes of significant power system disturbances in order to help prevent future events. NERC's standards for generating resources require that sufficient generating capacity be provided such that customers will need to be disconnected less often than once every ten years. These standards are mandatory for only some of the regional entities. Originally formed as a voluntary organization in 1968 by

925-482: The causes of significant power system disturbances in order to help prevent future events. The Eastern Interconnection is one of the two major alternating-current (AC) electrical grids in North America. All of the electric utilities in the Eastern Interconnection are electrically tied together during normal system conditions and operate at a synchronized frequency operating at an average of 60 Hz. The Eastern Interconnection reaches from Saskatchewan eastward to

962-598: The electricity industry and called the National Electric Reliability Council, the name was changed to include "North American" in place of "National" in 1981 in recognition of Canada's participation and the broader scope of NERC's footprint. The name was changed from "Council" to "Corporation" in 2007. In 2000, NERC established the Electricity Sector Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which provides industry with timely responses and alerts on cyber and physical security threats that have

999-553: The first quarter of the year 82 relevant bills were introduced in different parts of the United States. At the close of the quarter, most of the bills remained pending. For example, legislators in Hawaii introduced a bill that would create an energy storage tax credit . In California, the state Senate had a bill that would "create a new energy storage rebate program". In August 2018, Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) and Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions Forum (CRES Forum) published

1036-413: The grid. The E-ISAC, through capabilities including its Cybersecurity Risk Information Sharing Program (CRISP), works with critical asset owners and operators to analyze real-time cyber and physical security data for patterns of incidents with the potential to affect the bulk power system. NERC has a "firewall" separating the E-ISAC and NERC's compliance and enforcement activities. The separation extends to

1073-776: The independent AC frequencies of each side. The Eastern Interconnection is tied to the Western Interconnection with seven DC ties (ca. 200 MW each) in the US and one in Canada, to the Texas Interconnection with two DC ties, and to the Quebec Interconnection with four DC ties and a VFT. In 2009, the Tres Amigas SuperStation was planned to connect the Eastern, Western and Texas Interconnections via three 5 GW superconductor links. As of 2021 it has not started construction. The Western Interconnection

1110-517: The north-south Pacific DC Intertie , or with variable-frequency transformers (VFTs), which permit a controlled flow of energy while also functionally isolating the independent AC frequencies of each side. There are seven DC ties (ca. 200 MW each) to the Eastern Interconnection in the US and one in Canada. There are proposals to add four additional HVDC ties. It is not tied to the Alaska Interconnection. The Texas Interconnection

1147-515: The potential to impact the bulk power system. The ES-ISAC, which changed its name in 2015 to Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center, shares timely information with industry through its secure web portal. In August 2003, North America experienced its worst blackout to date, as 50   million people lost power in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Ontario, Canada. A United States–Canada Power System Outage Task Force

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1184-742: The rest of North American grids, so there is not actually, physically, an Alaska Interconnection. Thirty-seven states plus the District of Columbia took some action to modernize electric grids in the first quarter of 2017, according to the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center. The states did so to make electricity systems "more resilient and interactive". The most common actions that states took were "advanced metering infrastructure deployment" (19 states did this), smart grid deployment and "time-varying rates for residential customers". Legislatively, in

1221-461: The role of regional (state-like) components. As of 2021, there were six regional entities: The original list included eight entities, two REs were later dissolved: The reliability standard development process had Regional Entities developing regional standards, to be approved by NERC and FERC. By the 2010, the process was slow: just nine standards were developed, all by the WECC. An RE approves

1258-483: The transmission plans and chooses the projects for regional (as opposed to per-local-pricing-zone) cost allocation. One of the important roles of an RE is suggesting to NERC (and FERC ) to include the facilities into - or exclude from - the list of "elements" that constitute the bulk-power system (BPS, also known as a "bulk electric system", BES), subject to the oversight of the NERC. This electricity-related article

1295-477: The utilities in their respective service areas, where they coordinate, control and monitor the operation of the electrical power system. TSOs are obliged to provide nondiscriminatory transmission access to electricity generators and customers. TSOs can be of two types: Independent System Operators (ISOs) and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs). ISOs operate within a single state. RTOs cover wider areas, crossing state borders. In 2009 there were four RTOs in

1332-548: The wake of the first large-scale blackout in November of 1965 . The original NERC was formed on June 1, 1968, by the electric utility industry to promote the reliability and adequacy of bulk power transmission in the electric utility systems of North America . NERC's mission is to "ensure the reliability of the North American bulk power system." NERC oversees eight regional reliability entities and encompasses all of

1369-444: Was formed to investigate the causes of the blackout and to make recommendations to prevent future blackouts. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (US) called for the creation of an Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) to develop and enforce compliance with mandatory reliability standards in the United States. This non-governmental, "self-regulatory organization" was created in recognition of the interconnected and international nature of

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