By Michael Brooks

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave final approval to a North American Electric Reliability Corp. standard on physical security without a provision that would have given FERC and other government agencies the ability to overrule transmission owners’ definition of “critical” facilities.

In its final order (RM14-15), FERC said it dropped the veto proposal in response to criticism that the term “applicable governmental authorities” was too vague, making the standard impractical to enforce. Many also called it redundant, as FERC’s power to enforce NERC reliability standards would already ensure coverage of the most critical facilities.

“We are persuaded by commenters that the [Notice of Proposed Rulemaking] directive would present NERC, as the entity that would have to develop the proposed modification, and the commission, which would have to approve any NERC proposal, with a number of substantial policy issues,” FERC said.

The NOPR said the commission and “other appropriate federal or provincial authorities” should have the ability to add or remove critical facilities. The NOPR was issued under pressure from members of Congress alarmed by the 2013 sabotage of a Pacific Gas and Electric substation. (See FERC: We’ll Have Last Say on Sabotage Rules.)

The reliability standard (CIP-014-1) requires that transmission owners and operators perform risk assessments to identify transmission stations and substations “that, if rendered inoperable or damaged, could result in widespread instability, uncontrolled separation, or cascading within an Interconnection.” Operators of such facilities will be required to conduct an evaluation of the physical threats posed and report on how they are addressing them.

“While the rule does not go as far as some would like, it is still a step in the right direction,” Commissioner Norman Bay said last week. “It’s my hope that registered entities have already begun the process of doing risk assessments and engaging in planning.”

FERC OKs NERC 5-Year Performance Assessment

FERC last week also accepted NERC’s second performance assessment, which the organization is required to file every five years. The commissioners praised NERC for its work in ensuring reliability, but they also said there was room for improvement.

In its order, FERC directed NERC to submit a report on its work to improve the coordination among the regional entities, as well as an analysis of repeat reliability violations by companies.

Chairman Cheryl LaFleur said FERC’s approval of the assessment “reflects the commission’s continued confidence in the work of  NERC and the regional entities in strengthening the reliability of the bulk power system. At the same time, it appropriately challenges NERC and the regional entities to further strengthen their efforts.”

The commission also gave preliminary approval to NERC’s revised Real Power Balancing Control Performance Reliability Standard (RM14-10). The standard (BAL-001-2), which applies to balancing authorities and regulation reserve sharing groups, is designed to maintain Interconnection frequency within predefined limits.