On September 3, 2013, FERC approved proposed revisions by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) to simplify its process for exempting companies from compliance with Critical Infrastructure Protection (“CIP”) reliability standards.  According to NERC, the new process will operate more efficiently by streamlining the processes for submission, review, acceptance or rejection, and modification of previously accepted Technical Feasibility Exceptions (“TFE”).

On May 16, 2013, the Commission issued Order No. 779, “Reliability Standards for Geomagnetic Disturbances,” directing the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) to submit for approval reliability standards that address the impact of Geomagnetic Disturbances (“GMD”) on the “reliable operation of the Bulk Power System.”  Order No. 779 follows an October 12, 2012 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”), and reflects comments on the NOPR received by the Commission (see October 21, 2012 edition of the WER).

On December 31, 2012, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) filed with FERC a new reliability standard, EOP-004-2, that would require certain entities to report any event that impacts or could impact the reliability of the power grid.  Among other requirements, the proposed standard would require responsible entities to establish both an operating plan and a timeframe for reporting the events.

On October 18, 2012, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) proposing to approve the revised reliability standard FAC-003-002 regarding vegetation management submitted by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”).  Generally, the NOPR states that the revised reliability standard FAC-003-002 would, among other things: (1) expand the applicability of the current standard; (2) add a new minimum annual vegetation inspection requirement; and (3) include a minimum vegetation clearance distance (“MVCD”) into the standard.

On October 18, 2012, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) directing the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) to submit for FERC approval reliability standards that address and mitigate the effects of geomagnetic disturbances (“GMDs”) on the bulk-power system.  This NOPR is the first step in developing reliability standards to mitigate the effects of GMDs.

On September 20, 2012, FERC announced that it has created a new Office of Energy Infrastructure and Security (“OEIS”).  FERC stated that OEIS will collaborate with the Office of Electric Reliability (“OER”) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation in order to identify and mitigate potential cyber and physical security risks to FERC-jurisdictional facilities.    

On July 19, 2012, FERC upheld the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (“NERC”) proposed penalty against the Southwestern Power Administration (“SWPA”), an entity within the Department of Energy (“DOE”), for violating certain mandatory Reliability Standards.  FERC held that section 215 of the Federal Power Act (“FPA”) authorizes NERC to assess monetary penalties against federal agencies that are users, owners, or operators of the Bulk-Power System for violating mandatory Reliability Standards.