The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced a series of technical conferences to discuss the reliability and operational implications of the Environmental Protect Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP). 

Among the issues to be discussed at the initial “National Overview” technical conference are whether all stakeholders have the appropriate tools to identify reliability issues posed by the CPP, strategies for complying with the CPP and coordinating with wholesale power markets, and how stakeholders can comply with the CPP while managing any potential reliability impacts.  A series of regional technical conferences will explore reliability and operation issues associated with the CPP that are specific to each region.

Commission Tony Clark asserted in a statement that a “patchwork quilt” of CPP implementation plans could “harm electric reliability and distort prices” and FERC “is well-suited to leverage its knowledge of the grid and its relationships with the states and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to facilitate a meaningful, transparent discussion.”

The “National Overview” technical conference will take place on February 19, 2015 at FERC headquarters.

Article authored by Dayna Schmidt.