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President Biden Names Willie Phillips Acting Chairman of FERC

January 4, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 4, 2023

President Biden on Jan. 3 named Willie Phillips as acting chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Richard Glick departed from FERC in early January after serving as chairman of FERC for the past two years.

Phillips joined FERC as a Commissioner in December 2021. Prior to that he served as the Chairman of the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia, named to that role in 2018 and serving on the DCPSC since 2014.

Prior to the DCPSC, Acting Chairman Phillips served as Assistant General Counsel for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, in Washington, D.C. Before joining NERC, he worked for two law firms where he advised clients on energy regulatory compliance and policy matters.

Small Modular Reactor Technology Delivers Reliability, Resiliency, Safety and Affordability

January 4, 2023

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
January 4, 2023

New nuclear technologies, such as small modular reactors (SMR), have reached a point where they are able to help utilities address growing concerns about fulfilling their core mission: delivering safe, affordable, and reliable electric power.

Several industry trends are challenging utility executives’ abilities to balance those three key objectives.

A July report from the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) highlighted the growing threats to reliability, including extreme weather events, the growing proliferation of “inverter based resources” such as photovoltaic solar power and energy storage, and increasing reliance on natural gas-fired generation.

The growth of renewable resources aimed at meeting state and federal goals aimed at addressing greenhouse gas emissions has been impressive. In the first half of the year, 24 percent of utility-scale generation in the United States came from renewable sources, according to the Energy Information Administration. However, as NERC pointed out this summer, as renewable resources have proliferated, gas-fired generators are becoming “necessary balancing resources” for reliability, leading to an interdependence that poses “a major new reliability risk.”

In this environment, if utilities are going to stay on track to meet their clean energy targets while providing secure, safe and reliable electric power to meet growing demand, they are going to need a new solution.

“NuScale Power’s SMR technology offers a carbon-free energy solution with features, capability, and performance not found in current nuclear power facilities,” Karin Feldman, Vice President of NuScale’s Program Management Office, said in an interview.

Several utilities have already begun exploring the potential of a new generation of nuclear technology to help them meet both their clean energy and reliability needs as they work toward meeting growing demand.

NuScale’s project portfolio includes a six module, 462-MW VOYGR™ SMR power plant. Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) plans to develop at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls for their Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP).

NuScale also has memorandums of understanding to evaluate the deployment of its SMR technology with Associated Electric Cooperative in Missouri and Dairyland Power Cooperative in Wisconsin.

“What we bring to the table is a technology that is smaller and simpler; that lowers total costs while providing high reliability and resilience, and greater safety,” said Feldman, who develops and manages NuScale’s portfolio of projects and establishes and maintains project controls, cost estimating, and risk management standards. She is also NuScale’s primary interface with the DOE.

Cost Comparisons

The smaller scale of NuScale’s reactors – 77 MW versus 700 MW or even 1,600 MW or more for conventional reactors – brings several cost advantages, Feldman said. Smaller reactors can be fabricated in a factory, which is cheaper than field fabrication, because it involves repetitive procedures that foster iterative improvement and economies of scale, she said. Smaller reactors also take less time to build, which lowers construction costs.

Because they are modular, an SMR does not force a utility to commit to participation in a nuclear project in the 1,000-MW to 2,000-MW size range. An SMR project can be scaled to meet demand, and modules can be added as demand requires, Feldman said. That helps reduce financial risk for a utility, she said.

Another, related consideration, highlighted by the supply chain disruptions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, is that much of NuScale’s technology can be locally sourced. “We are taking advantage of the U.S. supply chain to the greatest extent possible,” Feldman said. “We have some overseas manufacturers, but we are also engaged to develop additional U.S. capabilities in areas such as large-scale forgings.”

Reliability and Resiliency

Nuclear power plants generally have high reliability, over 92 percent, nearly twice the reliability of coal and natural gas plants, but the smaller, compact design of SMR technology can offer additional reliability advantages, Feldman said. Because NuScale plants are designed to scaled up in incremental steps, if any one of the individual reactors has an issue, the other reactors can continue to generate power, she explained.

NuScale’s SMR technology also enhances resiliency, Feldman said. The design calls for the reactors to be housed in a building below grade, hardening their vulnerability to airplane strikes and very large seismic events, she said.

An SMR plant also is designed with black start capability so that it can restart after a disruption without using the surrounding electric grid. “So, in the event of an emergency, it could be a first responder to the grid, one of the first generators to start up,” Feldman said.

And because the design calls for multiple reactors, a problem with one reactor does not require the entire plant to shut down. An SMR plant can also operate in island mode, serving as a self-sufficient energy source during an emergency, Feldman said.

In some ways, a NuScale SMR power plant resembles a microgrid. In fact, NuScale’s technology team has done a lot of analysis on microgrid capacity, Feldman said, noting that the analysis found that a 154-MW SMR plant could run for 12 years without refueling. “The technology is very good for mission critical functions and activities,” she said.

Safety First

Cost and resiliency are important considerations, but if a power plant, especially a nuclear power plant, is not safe, other considerations pale in comparison.

Safety is built into NuScale’s SMR design, Feldman said. “The SMR has a dual walled vessel design that gives it an unlimited coping period,” she said. “If an incident does occur, the plant can shut down without operator intervention or action and be safe and secure,” she said.

NuScale’s integrated design encompasses the reactor, steam generators and pressurizer and uses the natural action of circulation, eliminating the need for large primary piping and reactor coolant pumps.

If needed, the reactor shuts down and self cools indefinitely without the need for either alternating current or direct current power or additional water. The containment vessel is submerged in a heat sink for core cooling in a below grade reactor pool housed in a Seismic Category 1 reactor building as defined by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In essence, the unit continues to cool until the decay heat dissipates at which point the reactor is air cooled, Feldman said.

In 2018, the NRC found that NuScale’s SMR safety design eliminates the need for class 1E power, that is, power needed to maintain reactor coolant integrity and remain in a safe shutdown condition.

In August 2020, the NRC approved the overall design of NuScale’s SMR. In a next step, the NRC in July directed staff to issue a final rule certifying NuScale’s SMR design.

If approved, the certification would be published in the Federal Register and have the effect of law, providing even greater comfort to any entities exploring SMR technology to provide clean, emission free, reliable and affordable power, Feldman said.

The rulemaking is on NRC’s docket for a decision in November.

Finally, after a rigorous years long review by the NRC, the Final Safety Evaluation Report (FSER) regarding NuScale’s Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) methodology was issued. This is another tremendous “first” for NuScale’s technology. With the report’s approval of our methodology, an EPZ that is limited to the site boundary of the power plant is now achievable for a wide range of potential plant sites where a NuScale VOYGR™ SMR power plant could be located.

EPA, Army Release Final Rule on “Waters of the United States”

January 4, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 4, 2023

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Dec. 30 released a final rule that repeals the Trump Administration’s 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule and adopts a new WOTUS definition. The agencies said that the new definition is founded on the pre-2015 WOTUS definition but is updated to reflect their broad interpretation of Supreme Court decisions.

Specifically, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers released a final pre-publication version of the Phase I WOTUS rule.

The final rule is generally consistent with the agencies’ proposed rule. As with the proposal, the definition of WOTUS is broader in scope than the NWPR and the pre-2015 definition, particularly due to the agencies’ expansive read of a 2006 case (Rapanos v. United States). Importantly, the agencies maintain the waste treatment system exclusion and adopt a number of other exclusions. 

In February, the American Public Power Association submitted comments to the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in response to the proposed rule to revise the definition of WOTUS.

APPA has over the years provided to the agencies its position with respect to developing a clear and easily implementable WOTUS definition.

The final rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register soon and will become effective sometime in March 2023. 

Multiple challenges by industry and states are likely to be filed in district courts across the country, perhaps within the next few weeks. And the Supreme Court’s pending decision in Sackett v. EPA, (No. 21-454) may have implications for the durability of provisions of the rule.

Click here for more information on the final rule.

The agencies will host a public final rule overview webinar on January 19, 2023, from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET.

FERC, NERC to Investigate Grid Operations During Recent Winter Storm

January 3, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 3, 2023

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, and NERC’s Regional Entities in late December announced that they will open a joint inquiry into the operations of the bulk power system during the extreme winter weather conditions that occurred during Winter Storm Elliott.

The severe cold weather during the storm in December contributed to power outages affecting millions of electricity customers across the country, they noted.

FERC, NERC, and the Regional Entities will work with other federal agencies, states, and utilities to identify problems with the performance of the bulk power system and, where appropriate, recommended solutions for addressing those issues​.

“This storm underscores the increasing frequency of significant extreme weather events (the fifth major winter event in the last 11 years) and underscores the need for the electric sector to change its planning scenarios and preparations for extreme events,” said NERC President and CEO Jim Robb.

In its 2022-2023 winter reliability assessment, NERC said that a large portion of the North American bulk power system was at risk of insufficient electricity supplies this winter.

SMUD, EPRI Launch Pollinator Project at Former Nuclear Power Site

January 3, 2023

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
January 3, 2023

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) recently launched a project to restore prairie land and pollinator habitat on a portion of land at the site of a former nuclear power plant.

The SMUD Rancho Seco Restorative Energy Project is at the 2,000-acre site of the Rancho Seco nuclear plant that was decommissioned in 1989 and is part of native tribes’ ancestral lands. It is now used for public recreation, an endangered species conservation bank, a sanctuary for rescued wildlife and is home of the 1,000-megawatt (MW) gas-fired Cosumnes power plant and a utility-scale solar power project, as well as the federally protected California Tiger Salamander.

The restoration project aims to create a pollinator habitat under solar arrays and along other portions of 20 acres of land at the Rancho Seco site in Sacramento County, Calif. The project will measure changes in energy, soil carbon, and management costs. Expected outcomes include the establishment of native plant species promoting pollinator habitats, EPRI said.

“Successful demonstration could provide the blueprint for future renewable energy projects throughout the country that are restorative not just in their kilowatts, but also for local people and biodiversity,” Jessica Fox, senior technical executive and conservation biologist at EPRI, said in a statement.

Collaborators in the four-year, multi-phase Restorative Energy Project include the University of California, Davis, the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments, and NovaSource Power.

SMUD is part of EPRI’s Power-In-Pollinators initiative, which was launched in 2018 and is the largest collaboration of power companies in North America working to understand pollinators.

In addition to SMUD, several other public power utilities across the country are engaged in efforts to improve pollinator habitats, including Bonneville Power Administration, City Utilities of Springfield in Missouri, Lincoln Electric System in Nebraska, Logansport Municipal Utilities in Indiana, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Nebraska Public Power District, New York Power Authority, Omaha Public Power District, Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, Vermont Public Power Supply Authority, and Salt River Project.

California Grid Operator Adopts Policies to Support Grid Reliability

January 3, 2023

by APPA News
January 3, 2023

California Independent System Operator governing entities in December adopted policies and tools to support system reliability.

The ISO’s Board and Western Energy Imbalance Market Governing Body approved the Energy Storage Enhancements and Resource Sufficiency Energy Enhancements initiatives in a joint meeting.

Both proposals are scheduled to be implemented by this summer when extreme heat can create high
demand for energy resources during critical hours.

With nearly 5,000 megawatts of storage resources now connected to the grid, the storage enhancements proposal reflects the ISO’s continuing work with industry stakeholders to refine its policies ensuring batteries are accurately priced in the real-time market and fully charged to provide energy when needed, CAISO said.

The Energy Storage Enhancements proposal adopted by the Board and WEIM Governing Body encompassed several refinements, including:

The Board and Governing Body also approved the WEIM Resource Sufficiency Evaluation Enhancement Phase 2 initiative to make sure the WEIM entities have enough capacity and energy in the real-time market to meet their demand before voluntarily transferring electricity to other participants.

APPA Details How it Can Help Implement DOE Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program

December 20, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
December 20, 2022

There are a number of ways in which the American Public Power Association (APPA) can help the Department of Energy successfully implement a Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program including assisting in identifying solutions as well as potential pathways for increasing information sharing with small- and medium-sized public power utilities, APPA said.

APPA made its Dec. 19 comments in response to a request for information (RFI) issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) to inform its implementation of the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program.

In its comments, APPA noted that public power utilities are eligible entities for the new program, with over 1,000 of these utilities likely to fall into one or more of the priority categories of: (1) having limited cybersecurity resources; (2) owning assets critical to the reliability of the bulk power system; or (3) owning defense critical electric infrastructure (as defined in section 215A(a) of the Federal Power Act.

APPA said that along with awarding grants directly to owners and operators to address individual entity needs, DOE should also consider working with trade associations and other trusted partners around technical assistance options and needs.

“The needs of eligible utilities are diverse — some entities are in need of technical assistance on simply how to begin or move forward with basic programs, whereas others are more advanced and may be in need of assistance (financing and/or technical) in implementing technology or other cybersecurity solutions,“ APPA said.

APPA “presents a robust pathway for assisting large swaths of these communities, especially for those whose cybersecurity preparedness is not as mature as others,” it said.

For smaller utilities — including many public power utilities that make up the majority of eligible utility entities for this new grant program — cybersecurity can be daunting task, APPA pointed out.

“Many public power utilities have limited resources to put toward cyber services, technology deployments, additional cyber staff, or to increase participation in threat intelligence information sharing programs. Moreover, most public power utilities are distribution only utilities, whereas most existing government cybersecurity resources are focused on the bulk electric system (BES).”

The program’s focus on small- and medium-sized electric utilities, particularly public power and rural electric cooperative utilities, is a welcome development, the trade group told DOE.

In addition, APPA encouraged DOE to work with trade associations to reach their smaller members to ensure they are engaged and have clear pathways for resources available under the program.

APPA pointed out that it has worked with DOE through cooperative agreements on efforts like increasing increase adoption of cybersecurity solutions for operational technologies. This work has included the production of templates and guidance to assist in the adoption of these types of technologies, such as data sharing considerations.

APPA went on to note that tools and resources that are specifically intended for small distribution utilities are more likely to be utilized. “Therefore, it would be beneficial for DOE to consider pathways for creating, updating, or promoting these types of materials and resources.”

It would also be beneficial, when it comes to public power utilities, for DOE to consider ways it could partner with the Department of Homeland Security to identify tools and resources that DHS has already created for State, Local, Tribal, or Territorial communities that could be promoted, updated, and utilized by public power utilities, APPA told DOE.

“APPA is very interested in assisting and promoting such an effort within its membership, including bringing members to the table to help shape such products.”

These efforts would need to be complementary, not in place of, individual grant awards to qualifying utility owners and operators to implement solutions they have individually identified, the public power trade group said. “Access to a trusted community-focused forum where best practices can be confidentially shared and learned from would be very valuable for these communities.”

APPA also said the program will provide opportunities for smaller utilities to lean further in on cybersecurity issues to the benefit of their communities and the nation. “The ease of the process and the ability for smaller utilities to meet program requirements will be enormous factors in how much traction this new program is able to generate. To that end, DOE should also seek opportunities to limit the application of cost share or compliance reporting requirements, as these obligations may place an undue administrative burden on smaller utilities and be a significant barrier to participation.”

NERC Warns Changing Nature of Grid Could Threaten Long-Term Reliability

December 20, 2022

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
December 20, 2022

To ensure reliability, planners and operators of the electric power system will need to be particularly vigilant about the changing characteristics of the grid, according to the latest Long Term Reliability Assessment from the North American Electric Reliability Corp.

“The bulk power system is undergoing unprecedented change on a scale and at a speed that challenges the ability to foresee and design for its future state,” John Moura, NERC’s director of reliability assessment and performance analysis, said in a statement. “Managing the transformation and proactively preparing for the role that the grid will play is the greatest challenge to reliability over the next 10 years.”

Without careful planning, five trends could negatively impact the ability of the bulk power system to service the energy needs in North America over the next 10 years, the assessment said. Those trends are integration of inverter-based resources, growth in distributed energy resources, generation retirements, flat transmission growth, and increased demand growth.

While most areas in North America are projected to have adequate electricity supply resources to meet demand associated with normal weather, reserves in some areas do not meet resource adequacy criteria, NERC said.

Those areas are the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, California, and Ontario.

MISO is projected to have a 1,300-megawatt shortfall next summer that could continue to grow throughout the 10-year assessment period as coal, nuclear and natural gas generation retire faster than replacement resources are connecting, the assessment said.

California is adding enough new resources and retaining sufficient key generators to alleviate near-term capacity shortages, but variable resource output and changing demand could cause energy shortfalls, ranging from 1 to 10 hours, NERC projected.

Ontario will have a reserve margin shortfall of 1,700 MW beginning in 2025 that will continue to grow throughout the 10-year assessment period because of generation retirements and lengthy planned nuclear maintenance outages.

In addition, extreme weather events, like 2021’s Winter Storm Uri, and recent widespread heat waves in the West will continue to strain electricity resources over major parts of North America, even in areas where traditional resource adequacy criteria are met. In particular, the assessment noted that the U.S. Western Interconnection, Texas, New England and the Southwest Power Pool area are at “elevated risk of shortfall” during extreme weather events.

To ensure continued reliability, NERC recommended that grid planners and regulators should:

Last month, in its Winter Reliability assessment, NERC warned of insufficient electricity supplies this winter, identifying the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, MISO, SERC-East, Western Electricity Coordinating Council-Alberta, Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC)-Maritimes, and NPCC-New England as the regions most at risk.

APPA “Beyond Disappointed” Transformer Production Funding not Included in Bill

December 20, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
December 20, 2022

The American Public Power Association “is beyond disappointed that funding to ramp up production of distribution transformers through the Defense Production Act” has not been included in the Dec. 19, omnibus appropriations bill, Joy Ditto, President and CEO of APPA, said on Dec. 20.

“This is a critical issue that several industries have raised, and on which the President has called for action. Despite our collective pleas over the past year to address this issue, supplies continue to dwindle, demand far outpaces production, and if action is not taken in the near term, the U.S. will face electric reliability concerns,” she said.

Electricity “is vital and underpins all aspects of our modern society. Without the reliability ensured by a steady supply of distribution transformers, we can’t accomplish any of our energy goals—including transitioning to cleaner energy sources or growing a strong economy,” Ditto said.

She said that APPA will continue to work “with our electric utility brethren and government partners to address this situation. We will also continue outreach to transformer manufacturers to seek their input on ways to step up to the challenge of adequately meeting the demand for these critical grid components.”

In recent comments submitted to the Department of Energy, APPA, the Edison Electric Institute, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, said that DOE should use Defense Production Act authorities to prioritize distribution transformers, large power transformers, and other critical grid components ahead of other technologies, and it should act quickly to alleviate the most acute supply chain challenge with distribution transformers.

Groups Urge Congressional Appropriators to Fund DPA Authorities to Address Supply Chain Shortages

APPA and the electric trades augmented their comments on DPA with a letter for action on Capitol Hill. The electric trades, along with building trade organizations, recently sent a joint letter to Congressional Appropriations leadership requesting funding for DPA.   

The groups requested that Congress appropriate $1 billion this year for the implementation of DPA authorities to specifically address the supply chain crisis for electric distribution transformers.

FERC Proposes to Update Regulations on Transmission Backstop Siting Authority

December 19, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
December 19, 2022

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that proposes to update its regulations implementing its backstop siting authority for electric transmission facilities under section 216 of the Federal Power Act (FPA), which was recently amended by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

The IIJA amended FPA section 216 to modify the circumstances under which the Secretary of Energy may designate national corridors and to clarify the circumstances giving rise to the Commission’s jurisdiction. 

The NOPR issued by FERC on Dec. 15 proposes revisions to the Commission’s regulations to ensure consistency with the IIJA’s section 216 amendments, to modernize certain regulatory requirements, and to incorporate other various updates and clarifications.

Along with making various revisions and updates to the Commission’s regulations, the NOPR proposes four overarching clarifications and additions.  

First, in accordance with the IIJA, the NOPR clarifies the Commission’s siting authority by expressly stating that FERC may issue a permit for the construction or modification of electric transmission facilities in DOE-designated national corridors if a State has denied an application to site transmission facilities.  

A 2009 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit had concluded that the version of section 216 enacted in 2005 did not allow FERC to invoke its backstop siting authority where a state regulator denied a permit application, as FERC had found.  The court ruling significantly limited FERC’s backstop siting authority, and the recent IIJA amendments effectively overrule the Fourth Circuit’s decision by clarifying that FERC can act even where a State has denied a permit application.

Second, the NOPR announces a proposed change in Commission policy that would eliminate the one-year delay following the submittal of a State application before the Commission’s mandatory pre-filing process may commence. Instead, the Commission proposes to allow the simultaneous processing of State applications and Commission pre-filing proceedings. This change will allow applicants to simultaneously pursue approval before a state and the Commission if they so choose, FERC staff noted in a presentation at the agency’s monthly meeting. 

Out of respect for state siting processes, the NOPR proposes to provide an additional opportunity for State input before the Commission determines that the pre-filing process is complete and that an application may be filed, FERC staff said.

Specifically, one year after the commencement of the Commission’s pre-filing process, if a state has not made a determination on an application, the NOPR proposes to establish a 90-day window for the state to provide comments on any aspect of the pre-filing process, including any information submitted by the applicant.

Third, the IIJA added a new clause requiring the Commission to determine that a permit holder “has made good faith efforts to engage with landowners and other stakeholders early in the applicable permitting process” as a precondition to the permit holder acquiring the necessary right-of-way by eminent domain. 

The NOPR proposes that one way for an applicant to demonstrate that it has met the “good faith efforts” standard is to elect to comply with an Applicant Code of Conduct in its communications with affected landowners. 

The Code of Conduct includes particular recordkeeping and information-sharing requirements for engagement with affected landowners, as well as more general prohibitions against certain misconduct in such engagement. 

Although a commitment to the Applicant Code of Conduct is voluntary, an applicant that chooses not to comply with the Code of Conduct must specify its alternative method of demonstrating that it meets the good faith efforts standard. 

Fourth, the NOPR proposes to add three resource reports to the backstop siting permit application, including an Environmental Justice Resource Report, a Tribal Resources Report, and an Air Quality and Environmental Noise Resource Report. 

The information provided in these three resource reports, as well as in the other resource reports required in an application, will enable the Commission to fully evaluate the effects of a proposed project in furtherance of the Commission’s statutory obligations under the FPA and the National Environmental Policy Act, FERC staff said.

Comments on the NOPR are due 90 days after publication in the Federal Register.