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EPSA SAYS NERC REGISTRY PROCEDURE SETS ENTITIES UP FOR UNMERITED PENALTIES

"It's Virtually Impossible for an Organization to Be Assured of Complete Compliance With the Applicable Set of NERC's Reliability Standards With No Notice"

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA) filed a motion to intervene at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on the process of registration of different entities in functional categories with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). According to NERC's current procedures, it sends written notice to entities of their respective functional categories and registry status. Companies are expected to be in full compliance with category reliability standards on receipt of that written notification or face stiff financial penalties of up to $1 million per day per violation.

"We fully support the objective of maintaining the reliable operation of the bulk power system and we respect NERC's efforts to do so," EPSA President and CEO John E. Shelk said. "We simply request that NERC take into consideration the difficulties raised by this procedure and improve it so that entities have a reasonable period of time to manage their compliance." Shelk said EPSA's members consider market reliability and the rules and protocols associated with NERC's Registry Criteria as essential considerations.

"The current procedure places companies in an untenable position," said Shelk. He said, "It's virtually impossible for an organization to be assured of complete compliance with the applicable set of NERC's Reliability Standards with no notice. Compliance entails the need to conduct and document an assessment, to develop plans, and perhaps to purchase new equipment or hire new personnel."

In its comments, EPSA proposed a more reasonable timeframe for compliance, including a 90-day notice period prior to registration. During this 90-day period, the entity would not be subject to penalty, monitoring or enforcement. The entity could appeal its registration within 21 days after the receipt of its notice of intent. Once a decision on the appeal is handed down, the entity would have 90 days to come into compliance. EPSA's motion to intervene at FERC on this matter comes in response to a NERC filing that requests approval of an amendment to the current Statement of Compliance Registry Criteria (Rev. 3.1) to include the functional category of Interchange Authority on NERC's Compliance Registry as of November 13, 2007.

A complete copy of EPSA's motion to intervene can be found at www.epsa.org under "Positions and Filings."
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CONTACT: JOHN SHELK
(202) 349-0154or 703-472-8660

EPSA is the national trade association representing competitive power suppliers, including generators and marketers. These suppliers, who account for nearly 40 percent of the installed generating capacity in the United States, provide reliable and competitively priced electricity from environmentally responsible facilities serving global power markets. EPSA seeks to bring the benefits of competition to all power customers.