PORTLAND, Ore. – New rules for the Western Power Pool Reserve Sharing Group (RSG) took effect September 1, providing substantial benefits to WPP RSG members and to the West.
The changes follow the retirement in July of NERC standard BAL-002-WECC-3. WPP RSG staff, led by Senior Manager of Non-Tariff Programs Kevin Conway and RSGC Manager ChaRee DiFabio, working with WPP RSG member Balancing Authorities (BAs) the last few years, helped retire the standard.
The old standard required member BAs to hold Contingency Reserve equal to at least 3% of generation plus 3% of load. Following the retirement, WPP RSG staff and members developed a new policy that allows members to significantly reduce the amount of Contingency Reserve required while still carrying enough to meet double the average WPP RSG Most Severe Single Contingency (MSSC).
“This frees up capacity and reduces the reserve obligation, particularly at times of peak load when resources are scarce,” DiFabio said.
The RSG now has an online dashboard that tracks capacity savings.
The premise of reserve sharing is this: the electric grid must constantly balance electricity supply and demand. To do this, BAs keep reserve generation available that can respond quickly if a generation resource suddenly becomes unavailable such as if a generator trips or a transmission outage occurs that strands generation.
Without reserve sharing, each BA must carry enough reserve to cover its own largest potential loss of generation, or MSSC. The WPP RSG allows members to pool their reserves and collectively prepare for the single largest loss within the entire group. By sharing resources across a larger footprint, members can maintain the same high level of reliability while carrying fewer reserves than they would need on their own.
The result is a more efficient use of generation resources, lower operating costs, and savings for participating utilities and their customers. And with these changes to the Contingency Reserve requirements, there is even greater benefit.
“This is a terrific outcome for our members and the region,” Conway said.
