REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on a Reliability Coordinator Services Agreement with the California Independent System Operator Corporation
Report
BACKGROUND
A Reliability Coordinator is an entity established under the purview of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), and is the entity responsible for maintaining reliability of the nationwide Bulk Electric System. A Reliability Coordinator ensures the reliable operation of the Bulk Electric System within its service area by utilizing its operating tools, processes, procedures and authority to prevent or mitigate emergency operating situations over a wide area of the North American transmission grid. A Reliability Coordinator plays an important role in monitoring its reliability area and taking action that is beyond the vision or control of any individual Transmission Operator. When there is a widespread outage, a Reliability Coordinator helps direct the safe and orderly restoration of power by coordinating participating Balancing Authority Areas and Transmission Operators.
Silicon Valley Power's (SVP) Balancing Authority Area is the California Independent System Operator Corporation (CAISO). SVP, as a Transmission Operator within the CAISO's Balancing Authority Areas, is required to obtain Reliability Coordinator services from the same provider as the CAISO. The CAISO currently obtains Reliability Coordinator services from Peak Reliability, however Peak Reliability plans to dissolve its operations in late 2019. As such the CAISO has taken the necessary actions to be the Reliability Coordinator and on November 14, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission accepted the CAISO's pro forma Reliability Coordinator Services Agreement (RCSA) and the related CAISO Tariff provisions. The CAISO has been approved by NERC to be a Reliability Coordinator, and will be offering Reliability Coordinator services beginning July 2019.
DISCUSSION
The contractual mechanism by which SV...
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