NERC Case Notes: Reliability Standard BAL-005-0

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Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc., FERC Docket No. NP10-2-000 (October 14, 2009)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R8.1

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Not provided

Region: SERC

Issue: On November 19, 2007, Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AECI) removed the functional automatic back-up for its frequency device from service, and until April 14, 2008 operated without this automatic secondary back-up in place. This Reliability Standard requires AECI to provide redundant frequency metering equipment that would activate automatically upon the failure of the primary source, with this system being available 99.95% percent of the year (the equivalent of allowing only 4.38 hours of outage per year). AECI's functional automatic backup was not available for automatic activation from November 19, 2007 through April 13, 2008. In addition, for a 20-hour period on April 11-12, 2008, the primary frequency metering failed and frequency monitoring was unavailable. AECI's System Operators had to operate on flat tie-line control in order to determine Area Control Error, and notified the Reliability Coordinator of the situation.

Finding: SERC found that the violation did not involve a serious or significant risk to bulk power system reliability since AECI's frequency bias setting when the primary frequency metering failed (and flat tie-line control was used) was 44.5 MW per 0.1 Hz. With this low frequency bias setting, even if there was a significant frequency deviation on the Eastern Interconnection, there would not have been a significant adjustment by AECI's units on Automatic Generation Control and the units' inability to respond would not have had a significant impact on system frequency recovery. Furthermore, AECI's System Operators notified the Reliability Coordinator of AECI's operation on flat tie-line control. In addition, AECI self-reported the violation, completed a mitigation plan, and this was AECI's first violation of this Reliability Standard.

Total Penalty: $6,000

FERC Order: 129 FERC ¶ 61,119; http://www.nerc.com/files/Omnibus_NOP_Order-11132009.pdf

City of Homestead Electric Utilities, FERC Docket No. NP10-2-000 (October 14, 2009)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R2

Violation Risk Factor: High

Violation Severity Level: No Serious or Substantial Risk to Bulk Power System Reliability

Region: FRCC

Issue: During an FRCC audit in April 2008, it was discovered that the City of Homestead Electric Utilities was not maintaining Regulating Reserve that could be controlled by Automatic Generation Control in order to meet the Control Performance Standard.

Finding: FRCC found that the violation did not involve a serious or substantial risk to bulk power system reliability since the City of Homestead Electric Utilities' load, both commercial and residential, was very static and therefore the City of Homestead Electric Utilities could accurately predict changes in its load profile (especially as it did not have any non-conforming load). This was the City of Homestead Electric Utilities' first violation of this Reliability Standard and it completed a mitigation plan. But FRCC determined that the City of Homestead Electric Utilities, instead of running its own generation or arranging for Regulating Reserve from another entity, made hourly power purchases from external entities in order to balance its load and generation. This allowed the City of Homestead Electric Utilities to avoid the higher cost.

Total Penalty: $15,000 ($47,000 aggregate for multiple violations)

FERC Order: 129 FERC ¶ 61,119; http://www.nerc.com/files/Omnibus_NOP_Order-11132009.pdf

City of Homestead Electric Utilities, FERC Docket No. NP10-2-000 (October 14, 2009)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R7

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Not provided

Region: FRCC

Issue: During an FRCC audit in April 2008, it was discovered that the City of Homestead Electric Utilities was not operating its Automatic Generation Control continuously to adjust generation (as required to do, unless it would adversely impact the reliability of the Interconnection).

Finding: FRCC found that the violation did not involve a serious or substantial risk to bulk power system reliability since the City of Homestead Electric Utilities could still match the load profile based on energy purchases and maintain the thresholds of the CPS1 and CPS2. This was the City of Homestead Electric Utilities' first violation of this Reliability Standard and it completed a mitigation plan.

Total Penalty: $5,000 ($47,000 aggregate for multiple violations)

FERC Order: 129 FERC ¶ 61,119; http://www.nerc.com/files/Omnibus_NOP_Order-11132009.pdf

City of Homestead Electric Utilities, FERC Docket No. NP10-2-000 (October 14, 2009)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R8

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Not provided

Region: FRCC

Issue: During an FRCC audit in April 2008, it was discovered that before March 10, 2008 the City of Homestead Electric Utilities was not providing redundant and independent frequency metering equipment. The City of Homestead Electric Utilities had not configured its redundant frequency source in the Energy Management System to automatically activate when the primary source failed (which would ensure continuous data acquisition for the Area Control Error).

Finding: FRCC found that the violation did not involve a serious or substantial risk to bulk power system reliability since the City of Homestead Electric Utilities did have a redundant frequency source in place (even though it could only be activated by manual operation). This was the City of Homestead Electric Utilities' first violation of this Reliability Standard, and it completed a mitigation plan.

Total Penalty: $5,000 ($47,000 aggregate for multiple violations)

FERC Order: 129 FERC ¶ 61,119; http://www.nerc.com/files/Omnibus_NOP_Order-11132009.pdf

City of Homestead Electric Utilities, FERC Docket No. NP10-2-000 (October 14, 2009)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R11

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Not provided

Region: FRCC

Issue: During a FRCC audit in April 2008, it was determined that the City of Homestead Electric Utilities had not included the effect of ramp rates in its Scheduled Interchange values (which is needed to calculate the Area Control Error).

Finding: FRCC found that the violation did not involve a serious or substantial risk to bulk power system reliability since the City of Homestead Electric Utilities' load profile is steady and predictable (and therefore it could stay within its CPS1 and CPS2, even without ramping). This was the City of Homestead Electric Utilities' first violation of this Reliability Standard, and it completed a mitigation plan.

Total Penalty: $5,000 ($47,000 aggregate for multiple violations)

FERC Order: 129 FERC ¶ 61,119; http://www.nerc.com/files/Omnibus_NOP_Order-11132009.pdf

City of Tacoma, Department of Public Utilities, Light Division (TPWR), Docket No. NP13-39-000 (May 30, 2013)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: 12

Violation Risk Factor: Lower

Violation Severity Level: Moderate

Region: WECC

Issue: TPWR self-reported a violation of BAL-00-0 R12.1 in its capacity as Balancing Authority on June 17. TPWR and the Bonneville Power Administration conducted an Automatic Generation Control (AGC) interchange MW metering common source verification test for a BPA meter located at TPWR’s Mossyrock Switchyard on April 20, 2011. When currents were removed from the meter, the BPA dispatcher witnessed the corresponding change in BPA’s meter signal, but TPWR did not note a change in its signal. TPWR and BPA determined that TPWR was not receiving its signal from the BPA meter, but from a separate transducer at Mossyrock Switchyard, and the meters were improperly configured.

Finding: WECC found that this violation posed a minimal, but not a serious or substantial, risk to bulk power system reliability. During the violation there were no noticeable difference between BPA’s integrated megawatts and megawatt hour values. The entities also had in place meter testing procedures that alerted after any large potential fluctuations indicating an overload. In determining an appropriate penalty, WECC credited PWR’s internal compliance program (ICP), which was well documented, widely disseminated to operations staff, reviewed regularly, supported by adequate resources, and overseen by its own staff with independent board and CEO access. The program details formal, periodic self-auditing and potential discipline for staff involved in Reliability Standards violations. The ICP is operated independently from staff responsible for compliance with the Reliability Standards.

Total Penalty: $13,200 (aggregate for 2 violations)

FERC Order: Issued June 28, 2013 (no further review)

East Kentucky Power Cooperative, FERC Docket No. NP10-7-000 (November 13, 2009)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R2

Violation Risk Factor: High

Violation Severity Level: Lower

Region: SERC

Issue: SERC found that, while EKPC maintained satisfactory levels of reserve capacity, EKPC did not have a sufficient amount of its reserve capacity resources responsive to Automatic Generation Control in order to meet the Control Performance Standard for the period February through June 2008.

Finding: SERC determined that the $25,000 penalty was appropriate where EKPC incurred the violation of BAL-005-0 R2 for the same deficiency that caused violation of BAL-001-0 R1 during the same time period. Mitigating factors also included: (1) EKPC self-reported the violation and promptly took steps to resolve the issue; (2) there were no repetitive violations and no prior history of similar violations by EKPC; (3) EKPC agreed to a mitigation plan that required it to achieve a more stringent minimum monthly CPS1 performance requirement of 110% or greater during the mitigation period which could have exposed EKPC to additional penalties if missed (thus reflecting great confidence in EKPC's ability to correct its violations); and (4) EKPC cooperated with SERC's investigation.

Penalty: $25,000 (aggregate for multiple violations)

FERC Order: Issued December 11, 2009 (no further review)

Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc., FERC Docket No. NP11-268-000 (September 30, 2011)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R17

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Lower

Region: Texas RE

Issue: Through an audit, Texas RE determined that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT) could not demonstrate that six of ten frequency transducers it uses to calculate Area Control Error (ACE) were continuously calibrated to a GPS.

Finding: Texas RE determined that the violation did not constitute a serious or substantial risk to the BPS because nine of the ten frequency transducers were continuously calibrated to a GPS. Duration of violation was from August 27, 2008 through October 15, 2008. Texas RE and the NERC BOTCC took into consideration that this was ERCOT's first violation of the Standard in reaching a penalty assessment.

Penalty: $384,000 (aggregate for 15 violations)

FERC Order: Issued October 28, 2011 (no further review)

Entergy, FERC Docket No. NP10-78-000 (March 31, 2010)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R8

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Not provided

Region: SERC

Issue: In December 2008, Entergy self-reported a potential violation of Reliability Standard BAL-005-0 R8 since three of its Remote Terminal Units (RTUs), out of 167, were reporting information for the calculation of Area Control Error at intervals greater than six seconds.

Finding: SERC and Entergy entered into a settlement agreement to resolve all outstanding issues related to the alleged violation, whereby Entergy neither admitted nor denied the alleged violation but agreed to pay a penalty of $10,000 and to undertake other mitigation measures. SERC found that the alleged violation did not create a serious or substantial risk to the bulk power system since only a small number of Entergy's RTUs (which accounted for less than 0.1% of total system load) did not have data being gathered at least every six seconds and the data from those faulty RTUs was no more than 10 to 30 seconds old. Plus, the overall Area Control Error for the Entergy system was calculated every six seconds and using information from all of the RTUs, for the entire Balancing Area. In assessing the penalty, SERC considered the fact that the alleged violation was Entergy's first violation of this Reliability Standard since it became mandatory; the alleged violation was self-reported; Entergy was cooperative during the enforcement process and did not attempt to conceal the violation; and Entergy resolved the alleged violation through a settlement agreement before a Notice of Alleged Violation and Proposed Penalty or Sanction was issued. Entergy has successfully completed a mitigation plan.

Penalty: $10,000

FERC Order: Issued April 30, 2010 (no further review)

Idaho Power Company, FERC Docket No. NP10-2-000 (October 14, 2009)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R17

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Not provided

Region: WECC

Issue: Idaho Power Company (IPC) self-reported that even though it had relevant documented procedures, it could not show that it had performed annual checks and calibrated its time error and frequency devices.

Finding: WECC found that this violation did not pose a serious or substantial risk to the bulk power system since IPC did actually have procedures in place (even though IPC was not meeting all of the requirements of BAL-005-0). The violation was self-reported and this was IPC’s first violation of this Reliability Standard. Even though the violation occurred before the Reliability Standards became mandatory, IPC did not timely complete its mitigation plan, turning the violation into a post-June 18, 2007 violation. Even with the late completion of the mitigation plan, no penalty was imposed.

Penalty: $0

FERC Order: Issued November 13, 2009 (no further review)

Kansas City Power & Light Co. (KCP&L), Docket No. NP13-12-000 (December 31, 2012)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: 16

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Lower

Region: SPP RE

Issue: KCP&L, as a Balancing Authority, self-reported on June 15, 2012, that it failed to sample data for 3 of its 58 remote terminal units (RTUs) with same or greater intervals at which its Area Control Error (ACE) is calculated. The data collection rates ranged from 7 to 8 seconds, but should have sampled at 4-second intervals or less. The ACE calculation of the KCP&L Control Area had a 4-second data collection rate.

Finding: SPP RE determined that this issue posed a minimal risk, but not a serious or substantial risk to the BPS reliability, because, once it identified the violation, KCP&L took measures immediately to identify all RTUs being polled with less frequency than the intervals used in the ACE calculation, and corrected all out of range scanning rates within a week of identification. KCP&L also showed that despite the polling deviations, its control performance standard calculations varied only slightly (121% to 123%) after the polling rates were rectified. In determining the appropriate penalty, SPP RE considered KCP&L’s internal compliance program (ICP) as a mitigating factor.

Total Penalty: $0 (aggregate for 2 violations)

FERC Order: January 30, 2013 (no further review)

KCPL Greater Missouri Operations (GMO), Docket No. NP13-12-000 (December 31, 2012)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: 16

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Severe

Region: SPP RE

Issue: GMO, as a Balancing Authority, self-reported on June 15, 2012, that it failed to sample data for 27 of its 47 remote terminal units (RTUs) with the same or greater intervals at which its Area Control Error (ACE) is calculated. The data collection rates ranged from 3 to 30 seconds, but should have sampled at two-second intervals or less. The ACE calculation of the KCP&L Control Area had a four-second data collection rate.

Finding: SPP RE determined that this issue posed a minimal risk, but not a serious or substantial risk to the BPS reliability, because, once it identified the violation, GMO took measures immediately to identify all RTUs being polled with less frequency than the intervals used in the ACE calculation, and corrected all out of range scanning rates within a week of identification. GMO also showed that despite the polling deviations, its control performance standard calculations, varied only slightly (102% to 108%) after the polling rates were rectified. In determining the appropriate penalty, SPP RE considered GMO’s internal compliance program as a mitigating factor.

Total Penalty: $0 (aggregate for 2 violations)

FERC Order: Issued January 30, 2012 (no further review)

Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, Docket No. NP13-33 (April 30, 2013)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: 12

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Severe

Region: SERC

Issue: In April 2011, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company (LG&E/KU), as a BA, self-reported that it did not include all Tie Line flows with Adjacent BA Areas in its Area Control Error (ACE) calculation. Based on LG&E/KU’s data, the total Tie Line flows with the two neighboring BAs averaged 5 MW during peak hours on a system balancing 4,800 MW on average.

Finding: SERC found that this violation only constituted a minimal risk to BPS reliability since the excluded Tie Line flows represented only approximately 0.1% of the ACE calculation. The duration of the violation was from June 18, 2007 through March 23, 2011. LG&E/KU neither admitted nor denied the violation. LG&E/KU’s internal compliance program was viewed as a neutral factor.

Total Penalty: $40,000 (aggregate for 6 violations)

FERC Order: Issued May 30, 2013 (no further review)

Michigan Electric Coordinated Systems, FERC Docket No. NP10-86-000 (March 31, 2010)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R17

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Not provided

Region: RFC

Issue: Michigan Electric Coordinated Systems (MECS) could not provide sufficient evidence that it annually checked and calibrated its time error and frequency devices against a common reference.

Finding: Through settlement, a penalty of $5,000 was assessed (aggregate for multiple violations). In assessing the penalty, RFC considered: (1) MECS had no previous occurrence of alleged non-compliance with Reliability Standard BAL-005-0; (2) MECS cooperated during the enforcement process; (3) there was no attempt to conceal a violation or evidence of intent; (4) the alleged violation did not pose a serious or substantial risk to the bulk power system; and (5) there were no aggravating circumstances.

Penalty: $5,000 (aggregate for multiple violations)

FERC Order: Issued April 30, 2010 (no further review)

Nebraska Public Power District, FERC Docket No. NP10-39-000 (February 1, 2010)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R11

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Not provided

Region: MRO

Issue: Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) self-certified non-compliance with the standard because while it used a common 10-minute ramp rate for Interchange Schedules implemented at the top of the hour, schedule changes entered at other times did not use the same ramp rate.

Finding: Duration of the violation was from June 18, 2007, when the standard became enforceable through April 1, 2009. Penalty was appropriate because it was NPPD's first violation of this standard, and the violation of BAL-005-0 did not pose a serious risk to bulk power system reliability due to the small number of transactions affected by the violation.

Penalty: $70,500 (aggregate for multiple violations)

FERC Order: Issued March 3, 2010 (no further review)

NERC Registered Entity, FERC Docket No. NP10-137-000 (July 6, 2010)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-1

Requirement: R17

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Not discussed

Region: WECC

Issue: The NERC Registered Entity failed to check and calibrate time error and frequency devices annually against a common reference.

Finding: The NERC Registered Entity was required to cross check its devices against an independent frequency device. In addition, the NERC Registered Entity revised its procedures to indicate that the Generation Supervisor will ensure that frequency and time error devices operate correctly by confirming that the frequency readings are within at least 0.001 Hz of the properly calibrated device. The procedures also indicated that the Generation Supervisor will make a log entry in the Generation Desk Log. No further publicly available information was provided.

Penalty: $39,000 (aggregate for multiple violations)

FERC Order: Issued August 5, 2010 (no further review)

Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County, FERC Docket No. NP10-56-000 (March 1, 2010)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R12.1

Violation Risk Factor: Lower

Violation Severity Level: Not provided

Region: WECC

Issue: Chelan County self-reported three interchanges where the AGC quantities did not come from a common, agreed-upon primary metering source.

Finding: Duration of violation from June 18, 2007, when the standard became enforceable, until June 20, 2008. The violation of BAL-005-0 did not pose a serious or substantial risk to the bulk power system because Chelan County and a neighboring balancing authority area were using common MWH metering for the interchanges, and there had been no noticeable difference between MWH and MW values in the past. Chelan County was given credit for its self-report, and the fact that this was its first violation of this standard.

Penalty: $7,000 (aggregate for multiple violations)

FERC Order: Issued on March 31, 2010 (no further review)

PUD No. 1 Douglas County, FERC Docket No. NP10-167-000 (September 30, 2010)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R17

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Not discussed

Region: WECC

Issue: PUD No. 1 of Douglas County (DOPD) did not annually cross-check its devices against calibrated equipment.

Finding: The alleged violation occurred from June 18, 2007, when the Standard became mandatory and enforceable, until October 27, 2008. WECC imposed a $70,000 penalty for this and other violations. In assessing the penalty, WECC determined that the alleged violation did not create a serious or substantial risk to the bulk power system because total failure of the frequency device used by DOPD would be immediately apparent to DOPD based on displayed accumulated time error.

Penalty: $70,000 (aggregate for multiple violations)

FERC Order: Issued October 29, 2010 (no further review)

Puget Sound Energy, Inc., FERC Docket No. NP11-33-000 (November 30, 2010)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R12

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: N/A

Region: WECC

Issue: WECC determined that Puget Sound Energy (“PSE”), as a Balancing Authority, failed to ensure Tie Line MW metering is telemetered to both control centers, and emanates from a common, agreed-upon source using common primary metering equipment.

Finding: The NERC Board of Trustees Compliance Committee (“BOTCC”) did not assess a penalty for this violation. In reaching this determination, the BOTCC considered the following facts: the violation constituted PSE’s first violation of this Reliability Standard; PSE cooperated during the compliance enforcement process; PSE self-reported the violation; PSE did not attempt to conceal a violation or intend to do so; the violation did not create a serious or substantial risk to the bulk power system; the violation occurred during the initial discretionary transition period; and there were no other mitigating or aggravating factors or extenuating circumstances.

Penalty: $0

FERC Order: Issued December 30, 2010 (no further review)

Reedy Creek Improvement District, FERC Docket No. NP10-121-000 (July 6, 2010)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R12.1

Violation Risk Factor: Lower

Violation Severity Level: Severe

Region: FRCC

Issue: In August 2008, Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCI) self-reported that even though it receives Tie Line MW metering from a common, agreed-upon source, through common primary metering equipment, with its Balancing Authority (Progress Energy Florida), it chose instead to use instantaneous MW metered values received from RCI’s internal relay equipment in order to calculate Area Control Error. RCI considered the values from its internal relay equipment to be more accurate, current and reliable.

Finding: FRCC and RCI entered into a settlement agreement, whereby RCI neither admitted nor denied the violation but agreed to undertake mitigation measures (including implementing an internal compliance program). FRCC found that this violation did not constitute a serious or substantial risk to bulk power system reliability as this was a minor violation and the common MW data was being compared with RCI’s internal relay (which could produce data at a rate equal to or less than the mandated rate of six seconds). FRCC also found that RCI’s calculations were correct, even though RCI was using a metering source that was not agreed upon. In addition, this was RCI’s first violation of the Reliability Standards, and RCI was cooperative during the compliance process and did not attempt to conceal the alleged violation.

Penalty: $0

FERC Order: Issued August 5, 2010 (no further review)

Unidentified Registered Entity, FERC Docket No. NP11-70-000 (December 22, 2010)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R17

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: N/A

Region: WECC

Issue: Unidentified Registered Entity (URE) self-reported that it had not performed an annual check and calibration of the frequency devices in its systems control center within the timeframe required (it was three months late).

Finding: It was determined by WECC that the violation did not pose a serious or substantial risk to the reliability of the bulk power system because the URE had independent external frequency sources at two substations that would have alerted its operators to any device errors. The duration of the violation was December 6, 2007, when the Reliability Standard became enforceable, through March 10, 2008.

Penalty: $55,000 (aggregate with other violations)

FERC Order: Issued January 21, 2011 (no further review)

Unidentified Registered Entity, FERC Docket No. NP12-11 (January 31, 2011)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R17

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Severe

Region: WECC

Issue: URE self-reported (as well as self-certified) that it had not been conducting an annual check and calibration on all of its time error and frequency devices (which are 44% digital and 56% analog) against a common reference as required.

Finding: WECC found that the BAL-005-0 violation constituted only a minimal risk to the BPS since URE has telemetry that receives the time error broadcast by the Interconnection Time Monitor and triggers an alarm if the time error calculated by its frequency devices and the time error distributed by the Interconnection Time Monitor deviate by 5 seconds. The alarm would alert URE to any problem before an annual calibration check would be performed. In addition, the relevant devices were also shown, through historical data, to satisfy the accuracy requirements of the Reliability Standard. In determining the penalty amount, the NERC BOTCC evaluated URE’s violation history; some of the violations were self-reported; URE was cooperative during the enforcement process and did not conceal the violations; URE has a compliance program in place (which was evaluated as a mitigating factor); the violations did not constitute a serious or substantial risk to BPS reliability; and there were no additional aggravating or mitigating factors.

Penalty: $135,000 (aggregate for 20 violations)

FERC Order: Issued March 1, 2012 (no further review)

Utilities Commission of New Smyrna Beach, FERC Docket No. NP10-2-000 (October 14, 2009)

Reliability Standard: BAL-005-0

Requirement: R8.1

Violation Risk Factor: Medium

Violation Severity Level: Not provided

Region: FRCC

Issue: Utilities Commission of New Smyrna Beach (New Smyrna) did not provide for the automatic transfer from its primary frequency source to a backup frequency source in the calculation of Area Control Error on its Energy Management System.

Finding: Duration of the violation was from June 18, 2007, when the standard became enforceable, through May 8, 2008. Penalty was deemed appropriate because the violation was self-reported, this was New Smyrna's first violation of this standard, and the violation did not pose a serious or substantial threat to the reliability of the bulk power system.

Penalty: $0

FERC Order: Issued November 13, 2009 (no further review)

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