"If we follow the rules, the transmission will always be adequate," NERC President Michehl Gent said at a news conference Wednesday at the Energy Daily. Since last summer's blackout NERC has conducted "reliability and readiness reviews" to make sure power companies are ready for the summer rush on electricity.
From these reviews NERC provides suggestions for improvements to ensure electric companies run smoothly.
However, NERC does not have the power to enforce compliance with its suggestions. Many industry representatives, wanting to prevent another blackout, are cooperating with the procedures, Gent said. But federal regulations are needed to hold companies accountable when they don't comply.
"I'm trying to take the tack that Congress knows what it's doing," said Gent, showing some frustration with the law's slow progress through the Senate.
The longer Congress waits to pass the legislation, the greater the risk government and industry will lose the focus the blackout channeled toward reliability legislation, Gent said. "As time goes on we won't be able to make this stick."
Federal regulation would also help educate power companies of the steps necessary to keep the power grid running smoothly. If reliability regulations existed before last summer, "executives would have known the consequences of not following the rules," and the blackout may have been averted, said Gent.
The delay in bringing government enforcement to the utilities industry is because the legislation is part of the administration's vast Energy Bill. The bill includes many different policy areas in the Department of Energy and has stalled in the Senate.
In anticipation of the law's passing, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has reviewed NERC's suggestions given to power companies nationwide, according to FERC spokesman Bryan Lee. Although there are some technical disagreements over the wording of NERC's procedures, Lee said FERC has told power companies that following NERC's suggestions is necessary for "good utility practice."
The groups are working together to improve reliability standards until FERC is given enforcement authority if and when the current plan passes Congress. If the energy bill does pass, FERC would be responsible for setting up a board of industry officials to determine regulations and investigate non-compliance, according to David Meyer, an adviser with the Office of Electric Transmission and Distribution in the Department of Energy.
"If it was necessary to have a federal backstop, they could turn to FERC," Meyer said.
But Gent is not waiting for the blessings of Congress before he acts as if FERC is in charge. "I'm determined to use the power of government to enforce these standards," he said. FERC inspectors already have begun to assist NERC with its reviews of industry practices. "That puts the industry on notice," Meyer said. "Industries pay attention when FERC comes to call."
Reliability testing has found that most problems are with equipment maintenance and training of personnel. NERC has worked with power companies like First Energy and supplied observations and recommendations to improve reliability standards. "We voluntarily made NERC's standards mandatory for our company," said Ralph DiNicola, a First Energy spokesman.
Although NERC expects an improving economy will mean an increase in the demand for electricity this summer, Gent said the problem is not with generating electricity, but with transmitting it.
The reliability standards often sound simple. Maintaining clear throughways for transmission cables is vital to the power grid. But making sure the nation's transmission lines are clear of "killer trees" can be a daunting challenge. A single tree interfering with a transmission line can start a chain reaction leading to a massive blackout. Gent blamed "killer trees" for setting off last summer's blackout in Ohio and a West Coast blackout in 1996.
Even though Gent said NERC has conducted extensive tests to ensure the reliability of electrical companies, he still refused to issue any guarantees. "You can't say there's no chance of another blackout. You can't say never," he said.
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