PNNL

Abstract

This report is one of six reports developed under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program in Power System Integration and Reliability (PSIR). The objective of this report is to review, analyze, and evaluate critical reliability issues demonstrated by recent disturbance events in the North America power system. Eleven major disturbances are examined, most occurring in this decade. The strategic challenge is that the pattern of technical need has persisted for a long period of time. For more than a decade, anticipation of market deregulation has been a major disincentive to new investments in system capacity. It has also inspired reduced maintenance of existing assets. A massive infusion of better technology is emerging as the final option to continue reliable electrical services. If an investment in better technology will not be made in a timely manner, then North America should plan its adjustments to a very different level of electrical service. It is apparent that technical operations staff among the utilities can be very effective at marshaling their forces in the immediate aftermath of a system emergency, and that serious disturbances often lead to improved mechanisms for coordinated operation. It is not at all apparent that such efforts can be sustained through voluntary reliability organizations in which utility personnel external to those organizations do most of the technical work. The eastern interconnection shows several situations in which much of the technical support has migrated from the utilities to the Independent System Operator (ISO), and the ISO staffs or shares staff with the regional reliability council. This process may be a natural and very positive consequence of utility restructuring. If so, the process should be expedited in regions where it is less advanced.