Regulatory Affairs news highlights: May 2024

 

Recent regulatory headlines we’re tracking include:

FERC and NERC staff present results of system performance review of January 2024 winter storms

At FERC’s open meeting on April 25, FERC and NERC staff presented findings from FERC, NERC, and the Regional Entities’ review of system performance during January 2024’s Winter Storms Gerri and Heather. They explained how a performance review is different than past winter storm inquiries, as it consists of structured interviews with entities from the natural gas and electric industries regarding their preparation and operations during the winter storms.

The presenters reported that the electric and natural gas industries operated largely without incident during the storms, although some entities did experience challenges. They also reported that during the winter storms, there was zero system operator-initiated load shed. Generators reported fewer derates and outages compared to past winter storms, which the generators attributed to improved winter preparedness, proactive generator commitment, improved gas generator stability due to variable fuel supply methods, and incorporating operating limitations into operating plans. The FERC commissioners noted that these positive results show the benefits of recommendations from prior winter storm inquiries, and the importance of continuing to follow these recommendations.

FERC staff then provided an update on the status of recommendations from the Winter Storm Uri and Elliott reports. They noted that progress has been made on two-thirds of the 39 recommendations from those two reports (including the development of mandatory cold weather reliability standards). However, the remaining one-third of the recommendations require additional effort to improve natural gas cold weather preparedness and gas-electric coordination. Following this update, FERC Chair Willie Phillips called on Congress to establish an entity responsible for the creation, monitoring, and enforcement of gas system reliability standards. A recording of the open FERC meeting, including the presentation, can be viewed here, and presentation slides and a transcript are available here.

 

Department of Energy releases Future of Resource Adequacy report

In April, the Department of Energy (DOE) released a report titled The Future of Resource Adequacy: Solutions for Clean, Reliable, Secure, and Affordable Electricity. Amidst rising electricity demand, partially attributable to the growth of data centers, manufacturing, and electrification, the report states that the United States should develop a “portfolio approach” to ensuring resource adequacy. This portfolio approach includes technology solutions related to generation and storage, grid enhancement and expansion, and demand resources, which are discussed within the report. The report also states that the methods for assessing resource adequacy need to significantly advance and discusses emerging best practices in resource adequacy assessment.

 

Department of Energy report highlights potential benefits and risks of using AI for critical energy infrastructure

The DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) released a report on the potential benefits and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) use for critical energy infrastructure. The report identifies 10 high level categories of AI applications for critical energy infrastructure and looks at their current use and potential future uses. The AI application categories include:

• Infrastructure Operational Awareness (rapidly characterizing changes in the system, even with limited or incomplete data)
• High-Complexity Modeling & Simulation (such as AI-based modeling and energy system simulation)
• Active Controls (supporting real-time control of energy infrastructure)
• Predictive Maintenance (warning of potential energy equipment degradation or failure)
• Anomalous Event Detection & Diagnosis (identifying non-malicious anomalies such as arcs or pipe freezes in real time)
• Malicious Event Detection & Diagnosis (new and enhanced ways to detect, identify, and respond to malicious activity)
• Forecasting (enhancing prediction of key operating factors like weather conditions and market prices)
• System Planning (accelerating the identification of optimal system configurations)
• Scenario Generation (generating synthetic-but-realistic system data that can be used to train system operators)