| (iv) Includes any additional information required by
the ERCOT protocols in effect as of April 1 of the year in which the
declaration is submitted; and
(v) Includes a notarized attestation sworn to by the
generation entity's highest-ranking representative, official, or officer
with binding authority over the generation entity attesting to the
completion of all applicable activities described in paragraph (2)
of this subsection, and to the accuracy and veracity of the information
described in this subparagraph.
(C) A generation entity must submit the appropriate
declaration of preparedness to ERCOT prior to returning a mothballed,
outaged, or decommissioned resource to service during the winter or
summer season. For any new or repowered resource, a generation entity
must submit the appropriate declaration of preparedness prior to the
resource commissioning date established in the ERCOT interconnection
process for resources.
(4) No later than December 20 of each year, ERCOT must
file with the commission a compliance report that addresses whether
each generation entity has submitted the declaration of winter weather
preparedness required by paragraph (3)(A) of this subsection for each
resource under the generation entity's control.
(5) No later than June 20 of each year, ERCOT must
file with the commission a compliance report that addresses whether
each generation entity has submitted the declaration of summer weather
preparedness required by paragraph (3)(B) of this subsection for each
resource under the generation entity's control.
(6) ERCOT will treat declarations of preparedness and
associated information submitted by a generation entity as Protected
Information as defined by the ERCOT protocols
(d) ERCOT inspection of resources.
(1) ERCOT must conduct inspections of resources and
may prioritize inspections based on factors such as whether a resource
is critical for electric grid reliability; the length of time since
the resource was last inspected; has experienced a forced outage,
forced derate, or failure to start related to weather emergency conditions;
or has other vulnerabilities related to weather emergency conditions.
ERCOT must determine, in consultation with commission staff, the number,
extent, and content of inspections, provided that every resource interconnected
to the ERCOT power region must be inspected at least once every three
years. ERCOT must develop, in consultation with commission staff,
a winter weather inspection checklist and a summer weather inspection
checklist for use during resource inspections. Inspections may be
conducted by ERCOT's employees or contractors.
(A) ERCOT must provide each generation entity at least
72 hours' written notice of an inspection unless otherwise agreed
by the generation entity and ERCOT. The written notice must identify
each ERCOT employee, commission staff member, or designated contractor
participating in the inspection. Within 24 hours of receiving notice
of inspection, a generation entity must provide ERCOT, commission
staff, and designated contractors all generation entity requirements
for facility access. Upon provision of the required written notice,
a generation entity must grant access to its facility to ERCOT and
to commission staff, including an employee of a contractor designated
by ERCOT or the commission to conduct, oversee, or observe the inspection.
(B) During the inspection, a generation entity must
provide ERCOT, commission staff, or designated contractors access
to any part of the facility upon request. ERCOT, commission staff,
and designated contractors must comply with all applicable safety
and security regulations, including those maintained by the generation
entity, during the inspection. A generation entity must provide access
to inspection, maintenance, and other records associated with weather
emergency preparation measures and must make the generation entity's
staff available to answer questions. A generation entity may escort
ERCOT, commission staff, and designated contractors at all times during
an inspection. During the inspection, ERCOT, commission staff, or
designated contractors may take photographs or video recordings of
any part of the facility except control rooms and may conduct interviews
of facility personnel designated by the generation entity. Documents,
photographs, and video recordings collected or generated by ERCOT,
commission staff, or designated contractors during or related to the
inspection will be treated as confidential information under applicable
state or federal laws and regulations.
(2) ERCOT inspection report.
(A) ERCOT must provide a written report on its inspection
of a resource to the generation entity. The written inspection report
must address whether the generation entity has complied with the requirements
in subsection (c)(1) or (2) of this section.
(B) If the generation entity has not complied with
a requirement in subsection (c)(1) or (2) of this section, ERCOT must
provide the generation entity a reasonable period to cure the identified
deficiencies.
(i) The cure period determined by ERCOT must consider
what weather emergency preparation measures the generation entity
may be reasonably expected to have taken before ERCOT's inspection,
the reliability risk of the resource's noncompliance, and the complexity
of the measures needed to cure the deficiency.
(ii) The generation entity may request ERCOT provide
a longer period to cure the identified deficiencies. The request must
be accompanied by documentation that supports the request.
(iii) ERCOT, in consultation with commission staff,
will determine the revised cure period after considering a request
for a longer period to cure the identified deficiencies.
(C) ERCOT must report to commission staff any generation
entity that does not remedy the deficiencies identified under subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph within the cure period determined by ERCOT under
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.
(D) A generation entity reported by ERCOT to commission
staff under subparagraph (C) of this paragraph will be subject to
enforcement investigation under §22.246 of this title (relating
to Administrative Penalties). A violation of this section is a Class
A violation under §25.8(b)(3)(A) of this title (relating to Classification
System for Violations of Statutes, Rules, and Orders Applicable to
Electric Service Providers) and may be subject to a penalty not to
exceed $1,000,000 per violation per day.
(e) Weather-related failures by a generation entity
to provide service. ERCOT must notify a generation entity and commission
staff of the generation entity's repeated or major weather-related
forced interruption of service. Upon notification from ERCOT, the
generation entity must contract with a qualified professional engineer
to assess its weather emergency preparation measures, plans, procedures,
and operations. The qualified professional engineer must not be an
employee of the generation entity or its affiliate. The qualified
professional engineer must not have participated in previous assessments
for the resource for at least five years, unless the generation entity
provides documentation that no other qualified professional engineers
are reasonably available for engagement. The qualified professional
engineer must conduct a root cause analysis of the failure and develop
a corrective action plan to address any weather-related causes of
the failure. The generation entity must submit the qualified professional
engineer's assessment to the commission and ERCOT within 15 calendar
days of receiving the assessment. A generation entity to which this
subsection applies may be subject to additional inspections by ERCOT.
ERCOT must refer to commission staff for investigation any generation
entity that does not comply with a provision of this subsection.
(f) Weather emergency preparedness reliability standards
for a TSP.
(1) Winter season preparations. By December 1 each
year, a TSP must complete the following winter weather preparation
measures for its transmission facilities. A TSP must maintain these
measures throughout the winter season and complete any ongoing requirements
at the appropriate time. If necessary to come into compliance, a TSP
must update its winter weather preparation measures no later than
one year after ERCOT files a historical weather study report under
subsection (i) of this section.
(A) Implement weather emergency preparation measures
that could reasonably be expected to ensure the sustained operation
of all cold weather critical components during winter weather conditions.
Where appropriate, such measures may be implemented using either personnel
or automated systems. Such measures include, as appropriate for the
facility:
(i) Confirmation of the operability of all systems
and subsystems containing all cold weather critical components;
(ii) Confirmation that the sulfur hexafluoride gas
in breakers and metering and other electrical equipment is at the
correct pressure and temperature to operate safely during winter weather
emergencies, and perform annual maintenance that tests sulfur hexafluoride
breaker heaters and supporting circuitry to assure that they are functional;
and
Cont'd... |
