{"id":5667,"date":"2018-04-13T10:12:21","date_gmt":"2018-04-13T15:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.columbia.edu\/climatechange\/?p=5667"},"modified":"2018-04-13T10:12:21","modified_gmt":"2018-04-13T15:12:21","slug":"ferc-must-act-to-ensure-the-climate-resilience-of-the-bulk-power-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.law.columbia.edu\/climatechange\/2018\/04\/13\/ferc-must-act-to-ensure-the-climate-resilience-of-the-bulk-power-system\/","title":{"rendered":"FERC Must Act to Ensure the Climate Resilience of the Bulk Power System"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

By Romany Webb<\/em><\/p>\n

On January 8, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) initiated a proceeding<\/a> to \u201cevaluate the resilience of the bulk power system\u201d in areas overseen by Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators (RTO\/ISOs). As part of the proceeding, RTO\/ISOs were asked<\/a> to provide information on \u201cthe primary risks to resilience in [their] region,\u201d and \u201chow [they] identify and plan for those risks.\u201d Their responses, filed with FERC in early March, offer a glimpse into what RTO\/ISOs see as the most pressing threats to their systems. For some \u2013 most\u00a0 notably the New England ISO<\/a> \u2013 it\u2019s clearly the potential for fuel supply disruptions. Others \u2013 such as the Midcontinent ISO<\/a> \u2013 seem more concerned about the risk of cyber and physical attack. None, however, are focused on the threats posed by climate change. That is a significant oversight which leaves RTO\/ISOs ill-equipped to deal with the impacts of climate change and thus threatens the resilience of the bulk powers system.<\/p>\n

Recognizing this, in a letter<\/a> filed with FERC today, the Sabin Center calls for action to ensure that RTO\/ISOs adequately plan for the impacts of climate change. The letter draws on a recent Sabin Center white paper<\/a> discussing the potential for climate change impacts to disrupt operation of the bulk power system, for example, by forcing generating facilities to curtail output or shutdown and leading to widespread transmission outages. As explained in the letter, while climate change-related disruptions are likely to be experienced in all RTO\/ISO regions, they have been largely ignored in RTO\/ISO planning. No RTO\/ISO has, to our knowledge, undertaken a comprehensive assessment of how climate change will affect their system or developed a plan for managing those effects.<\/p>\n

To address this deficiency in RTO\/ISO planning, FERC should convene a technical conference to explore the risks posed by climate change, and how best to plan for those risks. FERC should also consider initiating a rulemaking or other appropriate proceeding to develop standards for climate change planning. This is, in our view, necessary to fulfil FERC\u2019s statutory duty to ensure the bulk power system delivers reliable electricity services at just and reasonable rates. To achieve that goal, the bulk power system must be able to withstand and recover from climate change-related disruptions, which will only be possible if RTO\/ISOs plan effectively. Planning is also required to ensure that RTO\/ISO-operated markets account for the risks posed by climate change and thus provide appropriate incentives for investment in new facilities capable reliably delivering electricity. Hopefully FERC will remember that as it explores options to enhance the reliability and resilience of the bulk power system.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to read our letter to FERC in full. Further information about FERC\u2019s resilience proceeding is available <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Romany Webb On January 8, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) initiated a proceeding to \u201cevaluate the resilience of the bulk power system\u201d in areas overseen by Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators (RTO\/ISOs). As part of the proceeding, RTO\/ISOs were asked to provide information on \u201cthe primary risks to resilience in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1889,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5680],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5667","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-clean-energy","7":"czr-hentry"},"yoast_head":"\nFERC Must Act to Ensure the Climate Resilience of the Bulk Power System - Climate Law Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.law.columbia.edu\/climatechange\/2018\/04\/13\/ferc-must-act-to-ensure-the-climate-resilience-of-the-bulk-power-system\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FERC Must Act to Ensure the Climate Resilience of the Bulk Power System - Climate Law Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Romany Webb On January 8, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) initiated a proceeding to \u201cevaluate the resilience of the bulk power system\u201d in areas overseen by Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators (RTO\/ISOs). 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