FERC Approves Reliability Standards BAL-005-1 and FAC-001-3

On September 20, 2017, in Docket No. RM16-13-000, FERC issued a final rule approving (i) revised Reliability Standards BAL-005-1 (Balancing Authority Control) and FAC-001-3 (Facility Interconnection Requirements); (ii) the associated violation risk factors and violation severity levels; (iii) the associated implementation plan; (iv) revisions to the definitions of Automatic Generation Control, Pseudo-Tie; and Balancing Authority; and (v) the retirement of currently-effective Reliability Standards BAL-005-0.2b, BAL-006-2, and FAC-001-2. The Commission expects Reliability Standards BAL-005-1 and FAC-001-3 to enhance the reliability of the Bulk-Power System by clarifying and consolidating existing requirements related to frequency control. The Commission also determined that the revised Reliability Standards support more accurate and comprehensive calculation of Reporting Area Control Error (Reporting ACE).