NERC says the bulk power system performed reliably in 2019
In its 2020 State of Reliability report, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) found that the bulk power system continued to perform at a high level of reliability in 2019.
The report identified seven key findings. Chief among them was that 2019 was a year of high reliability with no Category 3, 4 or 5 events. Also, there were only two Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) Level 3 conditions, which led to firm load shedding of 250 megawatts.
“We continue to see high performance across many of the key reliability indicators,” John Moura, director of Reliability Assessment and Technical Committees at NERC, said. “It is, however, key that the [Electric Reliability Organization] Enterprise and industry continue improving our models and planning approaches in order to operate a system with a significantly different resource mix.”
Among the report’s other key findings, the projected capacity deficit remains a reliability risk in 2020 in Texas. However, better-than-expected performance from the generation fleet helped meet 2019 summer peak demand.
Also, NERC found that local energy-assured generation remains necessary for reliability.
In addition, the report revealed that NERC and industry stakeholders are advancing solutions to the addition of more inverter-based resources.
Finally, the report found that frequency response improved or remained stable in all Interconnections.
Overall, the performance trends for generation and transmission as well as protection and control measures are positive, NERC officials said. Further, the metrics showed improvement in numerous areas.
“With appropriate insight, careful planning and continued support, the sector will continue to navigate the challenges in a manner that maintains reliability,” NERC officials stated.
