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FINDING THE ECONOMIC OPTIMUM IN POWER PLANT O&M
WHY THE LOWEST O&M BUDGET IS RARELY THE MOST PROFITABLE By: Robert Wolfe, Director of Asset Optimization, NAES Executive Summary. O&M budgets should be evaluated by the operating margin they enable, not by cost adherence alone. The optimal investment level...
Bulk Power System Remains Highly Reliable, NERC Report Highlights Key Challenges
By Sean Thompson, Supervisor NERC Services The 2021 State of Reliability – An Assessment of 2020 Bulk Power System Performance was recently released by NERC. Some key findings from the report follow. The report in...
Network Connectivity, False Sense of Security
By Michiko Sell, Supervisor NERC CIP Services Often times we are fully dependent upon ‘implementation plans’ or ‘proposed builds’ that are provided by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) of Industrial Control Systems (ICS). If asked “do...
PRC-005 – Are We There Yet?
By Will White, Senior NERC Reliability Compliance Specialist Who would believe leading up to April of 2015 that over 6 years later we would still be closely monitoring the implementation plan of a NERC Standard...
How Secure is the ALIGN Secure Evidence Locker?
By Michael Tate, NERC Reliability Compliance Specialist In 2014, the ALIGN tool was an inkling of an Idea by NERC that has blossomed into a well-run joint venture between all the Reliability Entities and NERC....
Ebb and Flow of Standards Development
By John Schmoker, Compliance Testing Services Project Manager I was recently speaking with a fellow NERC enthusiast and it was mentioned that the NERC world appears to be slowing down. “From a Generator Owner/Operator standpoint...
Are you expecting an audit? Are you prepared?
By Daniel Jenkins, NERC Reliability Compliance SpecialistHave you been requested to perform an Internal Risk Assessment (IRA) from your Regional Entity? Did you know that some facilities have been extended to a nine-year interval while...
Cyber Moment – Cyber Extortion: Colonial Pipeline Lessons Learned
By NERC CIP Reliability Specialist Greg Matejka Colonial Pipeline Company has 5,500 miles of pipeline, running the largest refined products pipeline in the US. They transport more than 100 million gallons of fuel per day...
PER-006 and You: Understanding your Protection Systems
By NERC Reliability Specialist Troy DahlgrenThere’s only a handful of NERC Reliability Standards that require training for personnel, particularly for the Generator Operator (GOP). PER-006-1 is the latest Standard to join that list. Effective April 1st, 2021, the lone requirement...
Electric Reliability Threatened in Summer 2021
By NERC Project Coordinator Beth Davis https://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/ra/Reliability%20Assessments%20DL/NERC%20SRA%202021.pdf Noteworthy high temperatures, record spreading wildfires, and unrelenting drought have combined to stress the grid with peak electricity demands weeks earlier than anticipated. NERC’s 2021 Summer Reliability Assessment (SRA) issued in May identified areas of concern regarding the reliability of...
