1. Path Operator Implementation Task Force
Vic Howell, Vice Chair
Report to OC
March 22, 2016

2. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Agenda
New Paradigm Review
Industry Update
Objective of today’s presentation is to approve the following documents:
Path Operations Crosswalk Document
System Stressing Methodology Document
Timeline review
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

3. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
New Paradigm Review
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

4. Foundational Concept Review
Distinguish Total Transfer Capability (TTC) from System Operating Limit (SOL)
SOLs are Facility Ratings, voltage limits, and stability limits – need to make sure these are not exceeded in the pre- and post-Contingency state
No instability? No uniquely monitored “Path SOL”
Still need to determine TTC
Still need to perform prior analyses (outage studies, Operational Planning Analyses, etc.)
Still need to develop Operating Plans to address potential SOL exceedances per new TOP/IRO standards
Still need to perform Real-time Assessments and implement Operating Plans for SOL exceedances per new TOP/IRO standards
Nomograms and TTC can be used as part of Operating Plans, but these values don’t define the SOL (unless the nomogram represents a region of stability)
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

5. POTF Basic Principle Path Rating/SOL Path TTC: SOLs: Not an SOL
Respects SOLs
Respects three-phase rating process, commercial issues, contracts, and allocations
SOLs:
Facility Ratings
Voltage limits
Stability limits
These are observed pre- and post-contingency.
This decoupling requires a change in study practices to identify stability limits

6. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Industry Update
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

7. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Industry Update
On Nov 19, FERC issued the final order approving the standards and definitions of Project (TOP/IRO Standards)
Standard
Effective Date
TOP-001-3, TOP-002-4, IRO-001-4, IRO-002-4, IRO-008-2, IRO-014-3, IRO-017-1
April 1, 2017
TOP-003-3: All requirements except R5
IRO-010-2:  R1 and R2
Jan 1, 2017
TOP R5
IRO R3
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

8. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Industry Update
On December 3, 2015, the WECC Board of Directors unanimously approved retirement of WECC Regional Reliability Standard TOP-007-WECC-1a
On its February BOT meeting, NERC approved WECC recommendation to retire TOP-007-WECC-1a
NERC currently preparing FERC filing
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

9. Objective of Today’s Presentation
To obtain OC’s approval on two documents that POITF has developed to facilitate the implementation of the new Path Operations Paradigm.
The documents are intended to provide direction and support for applicable entities to implement the recommendations and proposed solutions as outlined in the New Paradigm for Path Operations whitepaper (from POITF Charter)
The POITF would like OC approval to allow sufficient time for entities to prepare for the April 1, 2017 date.
Joint Standing Committee Webinar was held on February 9, 2016
POITF solicited and received comments
Comments were addressed in the subsequent posting
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

10. Path Operations Paradigm Crosswalk
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

11. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Purpose of Document
This document was created to serve as a guideline for entities in the Western Interconnection to implement the new paradigm for Path Operations under new NERC Reliability Standards that have been approved or are pending approval.
The crosswalk was written to accomplish the following specific objectives:
To ensure that there are no reliability gaps between the current paradigm and the new paradigm for Path Operations.
To provide a summary of the tasks and functions necessary to implement the new Path Operations Paradigm to the applicable registered entities.
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

12. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Purpose of Document
This document provides a “crosswalk” to the new Standards. It does not override the Reliability Standards themselves.
This document focuses on:
Establishing, communicating, and allocating TTC in the operating horizon
Performing studies – including Operational Planning Analyses (OPA) and Real-time Assessments (RTA) – to ensure that SOL exceedances are mitigated
i.e. to state the obvious, change/modification made to this document by POITF/OC will not change the requirements in the FERC approved standards
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

13. Summary of the Document
Item
Function
Entities
Applicable Standards 1
Performing transfer analysis to determine TTC
TOP
MOD-001-2
TOP-002-4 2
Communicate the Path TTC;
Agree on a TTC that respects the SOL Allocates the Path TTC among TOPs
TSP 3
Monitoring flow
TOP-001-3 4
Adjustment to TTC for real time events
5 & 6
Mitigation for SOL exceedance RC BA
IRO-008-2
IRO-006-WECC-2 7
Monitor schedules across path/BA boundaries 8
Establishment of SOL and ensuring RTA is performed
FAC-014-2
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

14. WECC Path Ratings and SOLs
Note from the RC:
The RC’s current SOL Methodology states that SOLs shall not exceed WECC Path Ratings
Upon implementation of the POTF recommendation, WECC Path Ratings will have no relationship to SOLs
However, the WECC Path rating process remains unchanged and continues in the planning horizon
Peak RC intends to revise its SOL Methodology to comply with the new Reliability Standards and to be consistent with the NERC SOL White Paper as approved by NERC BOT on November 13, It is expected that the new RC SOL Methodology will not accept path limits as SOLs unless the path limit is an actual stability limit.
Currently, many WECC Path are thermally or voltage limited. With the new SOL methodology, SOL exceedance is measured not when Path flow > Path rating; but SOL exceedance is measured by actual RTA. The RTA will identify if pre- and post- contingency system performance are acceptable. As such, WECC Path rating will have no relationship to SOL
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

15. Role of WECC Path Ratings
For the initial rollout of the POTF recommendation, WECC Path Ratings should be considered to serve as TTC caps.
If entities in WECC agree with this approach and see a need to formalize it, the appropriate WECC committee should take steps to ensure enforceability of this recommendation prior to April 1, 2017.
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

16. System Stressing Methodology
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

17. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Purpose of Document
Objective is to either identify instability risks or to rule them out for the Operating Horizon studies
Identify instability risks?
Establish stability limits and related Operating Plans
Rule out instability risks?
Use steady state Contingency analysis of actual or expected conditions for pre- and post-Contingency reliable operations, develop and implement Operating Plans as necessary
This methodology is expected to be translated into Peak’s SOL Methodology
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

18. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
New Methodology
SOLs are Facility Ratings, voltage limits, and stability limits
Facility Ratings and voltage limits are known – nothing to “establish”
Need to make sure these are not exceeded in the pre- and post-Contingency state – many ways of doing that
Need to determine cascading and instability risks and establish stability limits
System must be stressed further than TTC studies to identify cascading and instability risks
How much further?
Stressing methodology intended to address this issue
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

19. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
POITF Goals
We want:
For studies to be practical and to reflect realistic operations
We don’t want:
To waste an engineer’s time performing unrealistic studies that are an academic exercise
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

20. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Methodology Summary
Not a one-size-fits-all prescriptive method
TOPs have the responsibility to determine how far to stress their system to identify practical and realistic instability risks
Methodology provides guidelines to assist TOPs in making that decision
Methodology is applicable to seasonal planning and outage coordination studies at a minimum
Any instability or Cascading risks identified as a result of applying this methodology must be communicated to the RC
For identified Cascading or instability risks, the RC will collaborate with the TOP(s) in the establishment of stability limits and/or Operating Plans to mitigate these risks
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

21. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
POITF Timeline
New TOP/IRO standards effective 4/1/2017
New paradigm implementation to coincide with new TOP/IRO standards on 4/1/2017
Peak’s SOL Methodology is the ultimate mechanism for implementing the new paradigm
Peak will issue revised SOL Methodology on 10/1/2016 with a 4/1/2017 effective date
WECC working with NERC and FERC for retirement of TOP-007-WECC-1a to be effective on 4/1/2017
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

22. Request to OC
Resolved, That the Western Electricity Coordinating Council Operating Committee (OC) hereby approves the Current Path Operator Crosswalk Paper dated February 18, 2016.

23. Request to OC
Resolved, That the Western Electricity Coordinating Council Operating Committee (OC) hereby approves the System Stressing Methodology dated February 18, 2016.

24. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Next Steps
From the POITF Charter:
Identify and address potential challenges and provide support to applicable entities in their individual and combined efforts to transition to the new paradigm for path operations in concert with implementation of applicable NERC Standards and RC SOL Methodology revisions
Hold forums as directed by the OC for WECC entities to discuss improvements needed to support the industry transition to the new paradigm for path operations
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

25. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Next Steps
Peak to revise its SOL Methodology
Goal: major revision to be issued on Oct 1
Recent RC outreach for stakeholder engagement
Stakeholder list nearly completed
Formation of small team
Western Electricity Coordinating Council