NERC has reliability concerns in California

NERC has reliability concerns in California, Connecticut

Washington  (Platts)--12May2004


The California Independent System Operator's reliance on external resources to
meet peak demand has increased by about 1,800 MW since last summer, and while
the state is likely to meet anticipated demand this summer, there may be
interruptions for some customers, North American Electric Reliability Council
officials said Wednesday. Although there have been concerns about resources in
the state since the ISO issued alerts in April and May, "they expect to be
able to handle the situation" through the summer, said George Bartlett,
chairman of NERC's reliability assessment subcommittee. The ISO issued the
alerts because of an early round of hot weather combined with some equipment
outages, and it's only that combination that could cause problems, Bartlett
said during a conference call on NERC's summer assessment, which was issued
Wednesday morning. "It wouldn't be a surprise," however, if there are stage 2
alerts during the summer, which involve cutting power to interruptible
customers, he said.

In another region of the country that could experience reliability problems,
New York City and southwest Connecticut, Bartlett said utilities in the region
see no need for the US Dept of Energy reinstate its emergency order on the
Cross Sound Cable transmission line. Current conditions do not rise to the
level of an emergency needed to keep the cable energized, "but if something
were to happen where conditions change, they can petition DOE to reissue its
order," Bartlett said. In its summer assessment, NERC said it does not expect
reliability problems as long as its standards are met, but compliance with
those standards is voluntary. Following the Aug 14, 2003, blackout, "the
industry is under a microscope" and NERC is urging compliance, along with
conducting readiness audits of the largest control areas in the country, which
are scheduled to be completed by June 30, said David Nevius, senior vice
president at NERC.

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