By Leland McMillan, Supervisor NERC Services and Carl Curry, NERC Reliability Specialist NERC Standards are aimed to increase electric reliability, but the one major component that is outside NERC’s jurisdiction is natural gas supply. NERC issued a statement in September 2024 indicating that fuel supply was a contributing factor for past winter events.

By Eddie Aveitia, NERC CIP Reliability Specialist As the renewable energy sector continues to expand rapidly in 2024, it faces an increasingly complex and dangerous cybersecurity landscape. Wind farms, solar power plants, and other green energy infrastructure have become prime targets for malicious actors seeking to disrupt operations, steal sensitive

By Shaun Rohret, Senior Reliability Specialist, NERC Services The following standards are currently subject to recent and future enforcement on NERC’s site: EOP 11-4 Emergency Operations and EOP 12-2 Extreme Cold Weather Preparedness Applicable Entities · Balancing Authority   · Generator Operator   · Generator Owner   · Reliability Coordinator   ·Transmission Operator   · Transmission Owner  · Distribution Provider Effective on October 1, 2024, the purpose of

By Stefano Schnitger, NERC Reliability Specialist Phase 2 of NERC’s inverter-based resource (IBR) registration initiative is in full swing. This phase will focus on the complete identification of Category 2 Generator Owner and Generator Operator candidates. The ERO Enterprise (NERC and the six Regional Entities) has already begun identifying potential registration

By Richard Schlottmann, Project Manager, NERC Services We have learned some things about EOP-012-2 the closer we get to the implementation date. First, there are currently three SARS out concerning various aspects of the standard. Also, the concerns of ECWT and the 32 degrees F and what constitutes a cold

By John Schmoker, Compliance Testing Services Project Manager As many of you know, NAES NERC Services has been actively engaged in the Reliability Industry since NERC’s inception. Our growing team of nearly 30 reliability professionals keeps vigilant watch over industry trends and best practices to ensure we provide the best

By Carl Curry, NERC Reliability Specialist  NERC released the 2024 State of Reliability (SOR) report and SOR Overview in June, 2024, which provides an assessment of the Bulk Power System (BPS) based on performance of the grid for the entire year of 2023. Data for the report was taken from

By Leonard Wills, NERC CIP Reliability Specialist In today’s digital age, the internet remains an indispensable resource, providing users with numerous sources of information, goods, job opportunities, and other services. As of April 2024, 5.35 billion people use the internet, which equals sixty-six percent (66%) of the world’s total population.

By Laura Christensen, Senior NERC Reliability Specialist  NERC, in accordance with its regulatory obligations under the Federal Power Act, has initiated a draft data request concerning the operation of generators during cold weather. The draft is in response to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) directive to develop a plan

By Shaun Rohret, Senior NERC Reliability Specialist  There is still a lot of activity at FERC and NERC based around Extreme Cold Weather Grid Operations, Preparedness and Coordination.   On June 27, 2024, FERC released an order approving EOP-012-2 and directing NERC to make modifications within 9 months. Here is the

NAES Power Contractors (NPC) installed a new Dry Sorbent Injection (DSI) system and an Activated Carbon Injection (ACI) system at a major coal-fired generating station owned by a cooperative in the Midwest as part of a regional air-quality project. The project supported the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) new Mercury

NAES Power Contractors (NPC) rebuilt an Alstom air preheater at an 850 MW coal-fired plant. NPC worked around the clock for three weeks to expedite the unit’s return to service. The team built temporary shelters to keep the major weather from impeding the work and coordinated with client representatives for

NAES Power Contractors (NPC) had responsibility for site management, craft labor and directing subcontractors for this $31 million-plus project at the 1,800 MW Conemaugh Generating Station. NPC s upplied and installed new electrostatic precipitator (ESP) internals for Units 1 and 2 (four boxes total) during two power outages.

NAES Power Contractors has provided ongoing maintenance, modification and construction at the 2,218 MW Colstrip facility since 1988, including services during normal operating periods, scheduled outages and unscheduled outages. NPC provided the same services at the 154 MW Corette facility from 1988 until its closure in 2015.

AMP Fremont is a 540 MW nominal load 2 x 1 natural gas fired generating station with 163 MW of duct-firing capacity. American Municipal Power (AMP) and its members self-operate several electric plants. However, for its first combined-cycle gas turbine facility – the 703 MW Fremont Energy Center in northwestern

The largest simple cycle plant in the US, Elwood consists of 9 GE Frame 7FA combustion turbines. The facility is a full merchant power as of Spring 2017 with 15 full-time employees covering 24/7. Elwood, Illinois: NAES Environmental Services was responsible for successfully permitting the addition of Blackstart engines and low

Connecticut’s Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority (MIRA) facility presents a triple challenge to an operator, in that its three discrete units – a Waste Processing Facility (WPF), a Power Block Facility (PBF) and an auxiliary Jet Turbine Facility (JTF) – each require a separate operating plan. ‘NAES Safe’ Program Turns

49 MW dual-fuel natural gas and oil plant that consists of an electric generation plant and a distribution substation located in Chaska, Minnesota. The facility sits on seven acres approximately 500 feet from the Minnesota River. Dry Air Injection System Solves Humidity-RelatedElectrical Problem at MMPA Minnesota River      By Bob Burchfield –

NAES Environmental serviced a 320 MW coal-fired cogeneration plant in the mid-west, which utilizes four coal-fired circulation fluidized bed (CFB) boilers and two steam turbines and their respective generators. The facility controls NOx and SO2 emissions with CFB boiler technology. The addition of limestone into the boilers reduces the SO2 emissions while low