SPP has issued a resource advisory for its West balancing authority area less than one week after expanding into the Western Interconnection.

The advisory is effective April 8 through April 13 at 12 a.m. (CT) and was issued to raise awareness of potential threats to reliability among entities responsible for operating transmission and generation facilities, SPP said. It cited load uncertainty, the increased potential for low output ahead of peak hours from wind and other variable energy resources, and possible resource outages.

Resource advisories are not unusual for SPP and are issued frequently during the shoulder months when generation and transmission outages are taken.

“The underlying factors are pretty typical for the region this time of year,” SPP spokesperson Meghan Sever said. “Nothing alarming, but exactly the kind of conditions our advisories are designed to flag early so operators can prepare.”

To mitigate reliability risks because of these factors, the RTO could use greater unit commitment notification time frames. That could include making commitments before standard day-ahead market procedures and/or committing resources in reliability status.

SPP completed its RTO Expansion into the West at midnight April 1. (See SPP Successfully Completes Western RTO Expansion.)

The grid operator considers resource advisories as the third and final level of normal operating conditions. They are two levels away from an energy emergency alert and do not require the public to conserve energy or take other actions.

SPP’s East BA area remains under normal operating conditions.