The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has terminated the proceeding it initiated (Docket No. RM18-1-000) to consider the Department of Energy’s Sept. 29 proposal on grid reliability and resilience pricing.
The Commission places a priority on resilience, and issued an order initiating a new proceeding (Docket No. AD18-7-000) to holistically examine the resilience of the bulk power system. The Commission said it recognizes that it must remain vigilant with respect to resilience challenges, because affordable and reliable electricity is vital to the country’s economic and national security.
This action directs operators of the regional wholesale power markets to provide information as to whether FERC and the markets need to take additional action on resilience of the bulk power system. The goals of this proceeding are to develop a common understanding among the Commission, industry and others of what resilience of the bulk power system means and requires; to understand how each regional transmission organization and independent system operator assesses resilience in its geographic footprint; and to use this information to evaluate whether additional Commission action regarding resilience is appropriate. FERC expects to review the additional material promptly.
In issuing this order, the Commission expressed its appreciation to Secretary of Energy Rick Perry for his having reinforced grid resilience as an important issue that warrants the further attention of FERC.
Each regional market operator must submit the required information within 60 days of issuance of the order. FERC also invited other interested entities to respond to the market operators’ comments.
