FERC, NERC investigating abnormally cold temperatures from January

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) launched a joint inquiry this week to determine causes and contributing factors of extreme cold weather that hit the Midwest and South Central United States in January.

Regional operators in those areas had, during the week of Jan. 15, 2018, publicly appealed for consumers to reduce their electricity use as states faced abnormal temperatures and higher demand on the electric grid. Outages, voltage deviations and near overloads spread during the peak of operations.

Now, the inquiry will focus on the causes and contributing factors to the temperature drop and establish recommendations for improving operations in the future under similar conditions. The inquiry is not an enforcement investigation.

“This inquiry is timely as it will allow us to identify and share any potential lessons learned as we approach the coming winter season,” NERC President and CEO Jim Robb said. “It is also especially relevant that as the Western Interconnection Reliability Coordinator function fragments among multiple providers that we understand and underscore the importance of seamless RC-to-RC interactions.”

To this end, FERC and NERC will work with the Midwest Reliability Organization, ReliabilityFirst, SERC Reliability Corporation, and other relevant involved companies during the inquiry.