NERC Test 222 Questions and Answers (with 100% Correct Solutions)

What percentage of load gives a 1 Hz change in an island condition? 6-10% (Think 6-10 day island vacation) If ACE is Zero but system Hz is off, what should a system operator do? Nothing! ACE bias and interchange s ...

What percentage of load gives a 1 Hz change in an island condition? 6-10% (Think 6-10 day island vacation) If ACE is Zero but system Hz is off, what should a system operator do? Nothing! ACE bias and interchange schedule will improve frequency If ACE is Zero, why not adjust generation to help frequency? Could overload equipment, this is a NERC violation When restoring from blackout condition, what should be done with load? All load breakers should be opened, load should be restored in a controlled manner not to exceed 5% of current available gen What's the point of COM-001? Each TO, BA, RC and NERCNet Use Orgs need to have good comms Where do they need to have comms? Internal, Between RC, TO and BA, Other RC, TO, BA and authorities Where applicable comms should be ______ and _______ routed. Redundant and Diversely routed, just in case something fails How do we know comms will be good? They will manage, alarm, test and/or actively monitor, especially emergency comm facilities and equipment (non-routine equipment) When can languages other than English be used? Only for internal operation, Operation of the BES requires comms in English What is required so operation during a loss of comms will be ensured? Written operating instructions and procedures What is the point of COM-002? Ensure BA, TO, GO, and RC have comms and capability to use them for addressing emergency and that operators are trained to use them Who should a BA or TO notify if they are aware of any condition that could threaten area reliability or when shedding load? Notify their RC and any other potentially affected BA or TO How should directives be issued by an RC, TO or BA? In a clear, concise and definitive manner, using 3 part(way) communications Who is required to create a blackstart restoration plan? Who approves it? Transmission Operators; Its RC When is the blackstart condition finished? When the choice of the next load to be restored is not driven by frequency and voltage control Who directs the procedure for restoring interconnection between Tos? RC What must be done prior to implementing changes in a restoration plan? The parties invloved must be told of changes to their role and specific tasks prior to implementation. How often must the plan be confirmed given no changes were made? TO annually review the plan and report to RC After a system modification is made, how long does the TO have to update restoration plans? 90 days Where is a copy of the restoration plan required to be kept? Main and backup control rooms What must be done on the restoration plan every five years? Analyze the plan through actual events, steady state and dynamic simulations or testing that the plan can work as intended. How often must a Blackstart Resource verify it can meet real and reactive power requirements of its cranking path and intial load? Every 5 years How often must the location of loads required to control voltage and Hz in a blackstart be verified within operating limits? Every 5 years How often is the capability of generating resources required to control voltage and Hz in a blackstart condition verified? Every 5 years What should a TO use if the restoration plan cannot be executed? Use its restoration strategies Under what conditions can a TO resynchronize with its neighboring TO? Only with RC approval or with the established procedures of the RC What is the point of Blackstart Resource testing? To ensure the resource is capable of me4eting the requirements of the restoration plan How often must a Blackstart Resource be verified at a minimum? Once every 3 years Name two requirements when testing a Blackstart Resource: Ability to start with no BES support and remain energized without the rest of the system; The ability to energize a bus What is the frequency that system restoration training for operators is required? Annually What is the purpose of annual operator system restoration training? To assure proper execution of its restoration plan Name 4 things required in annual operator system restoration training: System restoration plan including coordination with RC and GO; Restoration Priorities; Building of cranking paths; Synchronizng How often and how much training is required for field switching personnel who are included in the system restoration plan? Minimum 2 hrs every 2 years When must a TO or GO participate in RC restoration drills, exercises or simulations? As requested by the RC What is a Blackstart Resource Agreement? This is an agreement between a TO and GO that includes the terms and conditions of the use of the Blackstart Unit; e.g. procedures, protocols, testing requirements What is required by each GO for their Blackstart Resources? Documented procuedures for starting each resource and energizing a bus Who must a GO notify if a Blackstart Resource ability to perform its function is changed? The TO who holds the agreement What is the time requirement for a GO to notify its TO when a Blackstart Resource capabilities are compromised? 24 Hours Who is required to perform the agreed upon testing of a Blackstart Resource? The GO What minimum information should be recorded for a Blackstart Resource test? Name of Resource, unit tested, date of test, duration of test, time required to start, and any test requirements not met If requested by a TO or RC, when must Blackstart Resource test results be produced? The GO has 30 days to provide test results to its TO or RC How much time and how frequently must a GO train its personnel on starting a Blackstart Resource and energizing a bus? 2 hours every 2 years minimum What two things must be included in the GO Blackstart Resource biannual training? The system restoration plan including coordination with the TO; The procedures associated with the Blackstart Resource Agreement What must each RC have in regard to restoration? Each RC is required to have an RC Area Restoration Plan. Name the three things covered in the RC Area Restoration Plan? Blackstart Resources used to re-energize a shut down area of the BES; separation has occurred between neighboring RC; An energized island has been formed on the BES When does the RC exit the Restoration plan? All TO are interconnected its RC area is connected to all neighboring RC What 9 things are included in the RC restoration plan? High level strategy; Operating process to restore Interconnection; coordination elements between TO restoration plans; elements between RC plans; criteria and condition for reestablishing interconnections (TO-TO in the RC; TO-TO w/ other RC; w/ Other RC); Reporting requirements; Criteria for info sharing w/ neighboring RC and TO/BA in its area; RC as main contact for all parties; Criteria to transfer operations & authority back to BA Who is in control during system restoration? RC Who is given control after a system restoration has been completed? The appropriate BA To who must an RC distribute its RC Area Restoration Plan? Each of its TO, neighboring RC When must an RC distribute its RC Area Restoration Plan? Within 30 days of creation or revision of the plan How often must the RC review its restoration plan? Within 13 months from last review Who reviews an RC Restoration plan? The neighboring RC Within what time frame must a conflict in an RC plan be corrected? 30 days Who reviews a TO restoration plan and in what time frame? The RC within 30 days If a TO restoration plan does not work with the RC or neighboring TO what must be done? The RC will inform the TO of the conflict with stated reasons within 30 days of receiving the plan What must be kept in the Primary and Backup RC control room in regard to documentation? The RC must have a copy of the restoration plans of each of its TO If the exact restoration plan will not work, what must an RC do? Use restoration strategies to facilitate system restoration Who coordinates and authorizes resynchronizing islanded areas that bridge TO or RC boundaries? The RC How often must the RC train personnel on restoration? Annually What two things are required in RC annual restoration training? Coordination role of the RC; Reestablishing the Interconnection How many system restoration drills, exercises or simulations must be conducted by an RC each year? 2 system restoration drills, exercises or simulations Who must be included in the RC System restoration drills, exercises or simulations held each year? GO and TO as directed by the scope of the drill How often must a TO or GO be requested to participate in an RC system restoration drill, exercise or simulation? At least once every two years What is the purpose of the Loss of Control Center Functionality standard? To ensure continued reliability of the BES in the event a control room is compromised What 3 entities does the Loss of Control Center Functionality standard apply to? TO, RC and BA What is each TO, BA and RC required to have in regard to the loss of primary control center functionality? Each must have an Operating Plan describing how it will continues to control the BES Name 5 things required to support a backup control centers functionality: Tools and applications giving BES situational awareness; Data comms; Voice comms; Power souce; Physical and cyber security Name 5 components of the Backup Control Facility Operating Plan: Location and method to provide backup functionality until primary is restored; a summary of backup functionality elements; plan to keep backup consisten with primary function; a transition period between loss of primary and fully implemented backup funcitionality; actions required to be taken during the transition Within what time frame must a backup control facility be fully functional? Less than or equal to two hours What 3 elements must be included in the control center transfer Operating Process? Entiites to notify; Actions to manage risk of the BES; Identification of Roles during transition Where must a copy of the control center transition Operating Plan be kept? A copy in the primary and backup control facilities How long can an RC have only one available control center? Planned outages of primary or backup facilities of two weeks or less do not require the minimum two facilities An RC backup control facility is not required to be available during what two conditions? Planned outages of two weeks or less; unplanned outages What 4 things must be at a backup control facility in regard to operation of the BES? Monitoring, control, logging, and alarming sufficient for maintaining compliance with standards How often must a RC, BA, or TO review and approve its Operating Plan for Backup functionality? Annually If the Operating Plan for Backup functionality is changed, within what time frame must an update and approval be issued? 60 days What does independence mean in regard to control rooms? The primary and backup functionality must not depend on each other for anything required to be in Reliability Standard compliance. What two things are required in the annual backup control facility functional test? The transition time between simulated loss of primary to fully functional backup facility; Backup functionality for minimum 2 hours If one control center is lost for a length of ______ a plan must be submitted to the Regional Entityshowing how it will re-establish primary or backup functionality. 6 months What is the purpose of the Event Reporting standard? Improved the reliability of the BES by requiring event reporting Within what time frame of meeting an event threshold must a responsible body report? Within 24 hours of recognition; on the weekend it is the end of the next business day How often must an Responsible Entity validate all contact information contained in the event reporting operating plan? Annually Events meeting event report threshold: Damage, destruction or physical threats physical threats to a facility, physical threats to a control center, public appeal for load reduction, system-wide voltage reduction >3%, manual or automatic firm load shedding >100MW; voltage deviation +/- 10% for 15 minutes; IROL or SOL violation, loss of Firm load, System separation (islanding), generation loss, complete loss of offsite power to a nuclear plant, transmission loss, control center evacuation, complete loss of voice comm or monitoring capabilities What is the minimum loss of system-wide voltage required to report? > 3% What is the minimum manual load shed required to report? > 100 MW What is the minimum automatic load shed required to report? > 100 MW (by UFLS, UVLS, SPS/RAS) What observed voltage deviation requires reporting? Deviation of +/- 10% voltage sustained for 15 minutes or more What is the minimum time for an IROL violation in regard to reporting? If an interconnection operates outside of IROL for a time greater than IROL Tv In WECC, if an SOL occurs for ______ minutes or more it must be reported. 30 What are the event reporting limits of loss of firm load? Loss of firm load for 15 minutes or more, >300 MW for entities with >3000 MW in the previous or > 200 MW for all other entitites What is the event reporting threshold for a system separation (islanding) condition? Each separation resulting in an island > 100 MW What is the event reporting threshold for a loss of generation? > 2000 MW loss within one minute in the WECC or EAST, >1000MW in ERCOT or Quebec What is the event reporting threshold for loss of power to a nuclear plant? Complete loss of off-site power affecting a nuclear generating station What is the transmission loss reporting threshold? Unexpected loss within its area, contrary to design or loss of 3 or more BES elements by a common disturbance For how long must a BES control center be evacuated to meet the event reporting requirement? 30 minutes After how long must a complete loss of voice communications be reported? 30 minutes After how long does a complete loss of monitoring capability meet reporting threshold? 30 minutes Describe Attachment 1 and attachment 2 of EOP-004 Event Reporting: Att 1 is the events required to be reported; Att 2 is the Event Reporting Form What must a BA or TO with insufficient generation or transmission capacity have the capability and authority to do? Shed load rather than risk an uncontrolled failure of the interconnection' What must a BA or TO do prior to shedding load? All other remedial steps must be taken prior What could be the result of not shedding load? Uncontrolled failure or components or cascading outages A TO must coordinate its load shedding plans, excluding UFLS, with who? Other interconnected TO and BA What factors will be considered in designing an automatic UVLS? Voltage level, rate of voltage decay or power flow levels UVLS can be included in plans to preven t or minimize what? uncontrolled separation, loss of generation, or system shutdown Under what conditions would a BA or TO be required to continue shedding load? After separation from the Interconnection, if there is insufficeient generating capacity to restore frequency after UFLS What must be done with shunt caps in arranging automatic load shedding? Arrange tripping of the shunt caps to prevent dropping load and leaving capacitors in service; excess voltage could occur What action must be included in real-time emergency plans for TO and BA operators? Manual load shedding must be capable of being implemented in a timeframe adequate for responding to the emergency What is given to each BA and RC to ensure the reliability of its respective area? Responsibility and clear decision-making authority to take watever actions are needed, and they shall exercise specific authroity to alleviate capacity and energy emergencies What is a BA required to do in regard to capacity and energy emergencies? A BA must take required and appropriate action(s) Which control system would be affected by a difference in the NIA and NIS? Automatic Generator Control What is the minimum Bias standard for a BA serving native load? 1% of yearly peak demand per 0.1 Hz; eg 100MW/.1Hz What is unilateral payback? Making a non-zero ACE to payback time, the amount is limited by the BA L10. What is bilateral payback? This is payback that is set up as a schedule and would be part of the interchange schedule in ACE. This means there is no limit, but it requires more than one BA. What provides the initial response to frequency deviation? Frequency Bias Setting or frequency response characteristic is composed of Load/frequency response and Governor Action Under what condition should AGC be removed from service? If AGC is adversely impacting the reliability of the interconnection. Name the 2 items that must be agreed upon by each BA at the end of the day: The hourly values of Net Interchange Schedule and the hourly integrated MW-Hour values of Net Actual Interchange What CPS uses the L10 as a limit? CPS 2, L10 is the MW limit that a BA can exchange in or out over an intertie If time permits, what must a TO do prior to de-energizing a line exceeding its SOL? Contact the RC and affected Tos If a TO enters an unknown operating state, in what time must the condition be restored to within known limits? 30 minutes What is a short explanation of EEA 2? Load Management Procedure is in effect; eg requesting non-firm load offline What percentage of a BA or Reserve Sharing Group's most sever single contingency is reported? Loss of 80% of the largest single contingency If multiple generators are lost, in what time frame will they be considered one contingency? They must trip within 1 minute to be considered a single contingency What is the main determining factor in system load? Weather, this is then used with historical load patterns to calculate the most accurate load expectation How many days of training and drills using realistic simulations of system emergencies must an RC participate in yearly? 32 hours of training/year How many days of training and drills using realistic simulations of system emergencies must a TO or BA participate in yearly? 32 hours of training/year What is the most critical factor of a very long transmission power line with remote generation? SOLs and IROLs most limiting factor comes from angle stability limitations as those drive the power flow Is line loading of 100% acceptable? Technically this is still within SOL. A Reliability Adjustment Arranged Interchange must be approved by who? Only the source and sink, the key word to remember is Adjustment Each BA and RC shall have the ____ and clear decision-making ____ to take whatever actions are needed to ensure reliability of its respective area... responsibility and authority BA and RC are given responsibility and authority to make decisions to alleviate what? Capacity and energy emergencies What must a BA do when it is experiencing an operating capacity or energy emergency? Communicate its current and future system conditions to its RC and neighboring BA(s) Who must a BA notifiy if it is in an operating capacity or energy emergency? Its RC and neighboring BA According to EOP-002, what actions are acceptable in an operating capacity or energy emergency by a BA? Bringing on all available generation, postponing equipment maintenance, scheduling interchange purchases, and reduce firm load How long can a BA rely on the assistance provided by the Interconnections frequency bias? Only the time needed to implement corrective actions What could a unilateral adjustment in generation in an attempt to restore frequency cause? It may overload transmission facilities; don't do it If a BA is not in compliance with CPS or DCS what actions must they do? Load all available generating capacity, deploying all available operating reserve, interrupting interruptible load and exports, requesting emergency assistance from other BA, declare a EEA with RC, and reduce load (public appeal, voltage reduction, curtailing, firm load drop) Name 4 examples of Load Reduction: Public appeal, voltage reductions, curtailing interruptible load, and firm load shedding Once and EEA is declared, who addresses the energy emergency? The RC How can an EEA be initiated? Only by an RC at the RCs own request, upon request of a BA or upon request of a LSE List two reasons an EEA can be initiated? A LSE is or expects to be unable to prvide its customers energy requirements and cannot locate available resources, or LSE cannot schedule due to ATC limits or transmission loading relief limits By what means does an RC notify other RCs of a declared EEA? The RCIS - Reliability Coordinator Information System Who does the RC notify after declaring an EEA? All BA and TO in their area, as well as all other RCs via the RCIS Who does the RC notify when an EEA is ended? The other RCs via RCIS What is an EEA 1? All available resources in use What is an EEA 2? Load Management prcoedures in effect What is an EEA 3? Firm load interuption imminent or in progress What is an energy deficient entity? A BA, RSG, or LSE that is no longer able to provide its customers expected energy requirements List 5 examples of options before shedding firm load that can be taken in EEA 2: Public appeals to reduce demand, voltage reduction, interruption of non-firm load, demand-side management, utility load conservation measures Upon request from a BA to declare EEA 2, where does the RC post the declaration of Energy Emergency Alert? On the NERC website, including alert level and name of the Deficient entity and name of its BA (if applicable) How often must an Energy Deficient Entity update its RC if in a EEA 2 & 3 condition? Every Hour until the Alert is terminated What must be done with update information to an RC during a EEA 2 & 3 condition? The RC will take hourly information and update affected RCs, BAs and TO During an EEA 2 what must BA and market participants with resources do to help? Immediately contact the Energy Deficient Entity What actions can an RC request to improve ATC during an EEA? The RC can review SOL and IROL and improve ATC by restoring out of service trans elements, reconfiguring transmission system, adjusting phase angle regulator tap positions, implement emergency operating procedures, and review generation redispatch options What actions must be performed by an Energy Deficient Entity before moving to EEA 3? All available generation units are online, purchases made regardless of cost, non-firm sales recalled and contractually interruptible loads and demand-side management curtailed, operating reserves are being utilized (Entity is below required minimum reserve) What must TO and BO develop, maintain and implement to mitigate operating emergencies? They must have a plan that is coordinated with other TO, BA and RC What provision is required in a BA operating agreement for with adjacent BA? Adjacent BA shall contain provisions for emergency assistance, including through remote BAS The TO and BA shall develop, maintain and implement a set of plans for what 3 things? To mitigate operating emergencies for insufficient generating capacity, emergencies on the transmission system, and for load shedding Name the 4 things included in the BA and TO Operating Emergency plans: Communications protocols, a list of controlling actions to reolve the emergency (specifically load sheddin plans), tasks to be coordinated among adjacent TO and BA, staffing levels How often must the TO and BA review and update their emergency plan? Annually To who must copies of a TO and BA emergency plan be given? A copy will be provided to the RC and neighboring BA and TO What is CPS 1 Requirement? Each BA operates meeting its ACE 100% of the time on an hourly basis using one minute averages, meaning they are always helping the system out What is CPS 2 Requirement? Each BA operates such that its ACE for 90% or more is less than the set L10 limit, using ten minute periods during a month, can't help out too much What does the DCS do? Ensures a BA is able to utilize its contingency reserve What is the DCS? The Disturbance Control Standard is a measure of the loss of load in a BA What can be considered a supply of contingency reserve? Generation, controllable load resources, coordinated adjustments to Interchange Schedules What is the minimum amount of DCS required? At least enough Contingency Reserve to cover the most severe single contingency. How often do probable contingencies need to be reviewed by the BA? Annually to determine the prospective most severe single contingencies What is the Disturbance Recovery Period? A BA must return ACE to zero (unless it was negative, then back to its spot) after a reportable disturbance How long is the Disturbance Recovery Period? A BA must return ACE to its proper value within 15 minutes What is the minimum that the DCS must be met for reportable events? 100% of the events (return to ACE in 15 min; Disturbance Recovery Period) What is the Contingency Reserve Restoration Period? 90 minutes from the end of the Disturbance Recovery Period (15 min); It is time to FULLY recover Contingency Reserve for its interconnection Following a Contingency or other event that results in an IROL violation, how long does the TO have to bring the system back into limits? As soon as possible and not to exceed 30 minutes Load management procedure in effect warrants what level of EEA? EEA 2 If all available resources to a BA are in use for meeting load and reserves, what is the corresponding EEA? EEA 1 Training staff must be identified and the staff must be competent in what two things? Knowledge of system operations and instructional capabilities Geo magnetic disturbances induce what type of current? Large amounts of low frequency current that can enter the system through grounds and cause equipment damage, namely to transformers How does BA include remote BA, jointly owned generation in its ACE? Using dynamic schedule and pseudo ties for its ACE, reflecting its respective share of the unit governor droop response in their Hz Bias. Pending generation and transmission maintenance outages must be coordinated between who? RC with other RC and TO, BA, GO in both real time and next day reliability analysis Protection systems on transmission lines and interconnections must be coordianated with who? GO, TO and BA, so new relay packages must be communicated to those bodies When does each BA have to review its Frequency Bias Settings? By January 1st of each year and recalculate for changes What should a BA do if a factor affecting Frequency Bias is changed? Review the Bias Setting and make necessary changes Each BA must report its Bias Setting and the method for determining it to which entity? NERC Operating Committee Frequency Bias needs to be as close as practical to or _______ than the BA Frequency Response. Bias setting must be equal to or GREATER than the frequency response What should a BA AGC be normally set to? On Tie Line Frequency Bias, unless such operation is adverse to system or Interconnection reliability How does a BA account for the Frequency Bias of a shared unit? Each BA will account for their portion of the governor droop response in their Bias Setting When is the only time voltage reduction for load relief is acceptable on transmission? When the system is separated from the Interconnection Name four things that can be the basis for SOLs? Facility ratings, Transient Stability Ratings, Voltage Stability Ratings, and System Voltage Ratings What does angle instability refer to? The inability of the system to maintain magenetic bonds from one area to another due to large power angles Shared unit, fixed response. How is bias setup? The Host BA, holding the Unit, will incorporate the droop into its equation for all. The other BA(s) do not include the droop. BA serving native load minimum frequency bias is based on... The monthly average Frequency Bias is at least 1% of the BA estimated yearly peak demand per .1 Hz (Load = 1 % demand; No Load = 1 % Gen) BA not serving native load minimum frequency bias is based on... The montlhly average Frequency Bias is at least 1 % of the BA estimated yearly peak generation per .1 Hz (Load = 1 % demand; No Load = 1 % Gen) What does a BA need to do to Frequency Bias during Overlap? During Supplemental? Overlap = adjust Bias for the entire area; Supplemental = do nothing What is the normal mode AGC should be in? Tie Line Frequency Bias What is fixed frequency bias? It does not change throughout the year regardless of load, generation, etc. What is variable frequency bias? It changes depending on how much load there is, how much generation, which generators are in service, etc. Only a _____ can be designated as the Interconnection Time Monitor RC How often is ACE calculated? At least every 6 seconds How often are CPS1 and CPS2 calculated and evaluated? Monthly What three things make up Operating Reserve? Non-Spinning, Spinning and Regulating Reserve What two things make up Contingency Reserve? Non-Spinning and Spinning What is spinning reserve? Unloaded generation that is online and frequency responsive What is non-spinning reserve? Quick start gen, controllable load resources, interchange schedule; all available in less than 15 minutes How much contingency reserve needs to be carried by a BA? Enough to cover the most severe single contingency What percent of the most sever contingency is reportable? Equal to or greater than 80% of the most severe single contingency If a contingency is over 100% of the most severe single contingency, what must be done? It is not reportable. This is a multiple contingency event. How long does a BA have to recover from a reportable disturbance? Within 15 minutes, known as the disturbance recovery period How long is the Contingency Reserve Restoration period? 90 minutes Multiple generators tripping within how long of one another is considered a single event? Within 60 seconds If DCS is not met in the quarterly report, then... The BA must increase its reserve for the calendar quarter, offset by one month (eg Jan-March, report April, consequence May-July) How often is DCS monitored and reported? Quarterly How much does a 1% change in frequency change load? Directly proportional 2% change in load How much does a 2% change in load change frequency? Directly proportiaonal 1% change in frequency What is deadband? The amount of change in frequency that must change before a generator will respond Name 3 things considered in designing automatic load shedding schemes Voltage, Power Flow Levels, Rate of Voltage Decay, Frequency What is the purpose of Under Frequency Load Shedding schemes? To arrest system frequency decline According to NERC, where should voltage be maintained during restoration? 90 to 110 percent of Nominal What is a good Frequency for adding load during restoration? Just above 60.0 Hz How much load needs to be shed to raise frequency 1 Hz in a restoration condition? 6-10% for 1 Hz Load reduction plans have to be able to be implemented in what time frame? 30 Minutes Emergency plans are made for what three conditions? Generating Capacity loss, Transmission System loss, Load Shedding plans Rain decreases load...this is from the OES test bank, don't know why, or their resource ?