NERC 2023 Test Questions and Answers Graded A+

What percentage of load gives a 1 Hz change in an island condition? - ANSWER-6-10% (Think 6-10 day island vacation) If ACE is Zero but system Hz is off, what should a system operator do? - ANSWER-Nothing! ACE bias and interchange schedule will improve frequency If ACE is Zero, why not adjust generation to help frequency? - ANSWER-Could overload equipment, this is a NERC violation When restoring from blackout condition, what should be done with load? - ANSWER-All load breakers should be opened, load should be restored in a controlled manner not to exceed 5% of current available gen What's the point of COM-001? - ANSWER-Each TO, BA, RC and NERCNet Use Orgs need to have good comms Where do they need to have comms? - ANSWER-Internal, Between RC, TO and BA, Other RC, TO, BA and authorities Where applicable comms should be ______ and _______ routed. - ANSWER-Redundant and Diversely routed, just in case something fails How do we know comms will be good? - ANSWER-They will manage, alarm, test and/or actively monitor, especially emergency comm facilities and equipment (non-routine equipment) When can languages other than English be used? - ANSWER-Only for internal operation, Operation of the BES requires comms in English What is required so operation during a loss of comms will be ensured? - ANSWER-Written operating instructions and procedures What is the point of COM-002? - ANSWER-Ensure BA, TO, GO, and RC have comms and capability to use them for addressing emergency and that operators are trained to use them Who should a BA or TO notify if they are aware of any condition that could threaten area reliability or when shedding load? - ANSWER-Notify their RC and any other potentially affected BA or TO How should directives be issued by an RC, TO or BA? - ANSWER-In a clear, concise and definitive manner, using 3 part(way) communications Who is required to create a blackstart restoration plan? Who approves it? - ANSWER-Transmission Operators; Its RC When is the blackstart condition finished? - ANSWER-When the choice of the next load to be restored is not driven by frequency and voltage control Who directs the procedure for restoring interconnection between Tos? - ANSWER-RC What must be done prior to implementing changes in a restoration plan? - ANSWER-The parties invloved must be told of changes to their role and specific tasks prior to implementation. How often must the plan be confirmed given no changes were made? - ANSWER-TO annually review the plan and report to RC After a system modification is made, how long does the TO have to update restoration plans? - ANSWER-90 days Where is a copy of the restoration plan required to be kept? - ANSWER-Main and backup control rooms What must be done on the restoration plan every five years? - ANSWER-Analyze the plan through actual events, steady state and dynamic simulations or testing that the plan can work as intended. How often must a Blackstart Resource verify it can meet real and reactive power requirements of its cranking path and intial load? - ANSWER-Every 5 years How often must the location of loads required to control voltage and Hz in a blackstart be verified within operating limits? - ANSWER-Every 5 years How often is the capability of generating resources required to control voltage and Hz in a blackstart condition verified? - ANSWER-Every 5 years What should a TO use if the restoration plan cannot be executed? - ANSWER-Use its restoration strategies Under what conditions can a TO resynchronize with its neighboring TO? - ANSWER-Only with RC approval or with the established procedures of the RC What is the point of Blackstart Resource testing? - ANSWER-To ensure the resource is capable of me4eting the requirements of the restoration plan How often must a Blackstart Resource be verified at a minimum? - ANSWER-Once every 3 years Name two requirements when testing a Blackstart Resource: - ANSWER-Ability to start with no BES support and remain energized without the rest of the system; The ability to energize a bus What is the frequency that system restoration training for operators is required? - ANSWER-Annually What is the purpose of annual operator system restoration training? - ANSWER-To assure proper execution of its restoration plan Name 4 things required in annual operator system restoration training: - ANSWER-System restoration plan including coordination with RC and GO; Restoration Priorities; Building of cranking paths; Synchronizng How often and how much training is required for field switching personnel who are included in the system restoration plan? - ANSWER-Minimum 2 hrs every 2 years When must a TO or GO participate in RC restoration drills, exercises or simulations? - ANSWER-As requested by the RC What is a Blackstart Resource Agreement? - ANSWER-This is an agreement between a TO and GO that includes the terms and conditions of the use of the Blackstart Unit; e.g. procedures, protocols, testing requirements What is required by each GO for their Blackstart Resources? - ANSWER-Documented procuedures for starting each resource and energizing a bus Who must a GO notify if a Blackstart Resource ability to perform its function is changed? - ANSWER-The TO who holds the agreement What is the time requirement for a GO to notify its TO when a Blackstart Resource capabilities are compromised? - ANSWER-24 Hours Who is required to perform the agreed upon testing of a Blackstart Resource? - ANSWER-The GO What minimum information should be recorded for a Blackstart Resource test? - ANSWER-Name of Resource, unit tested, date of test, duration of test, time required to start, and any test requirements not met If requested by a TO or RC, when must Blackstart Resource test results be produced? - ANSWER-The GO has 30 days to provide test results to its TO or RC How much time and how frequently must a GO train its personnel on starting a Blackstart Resource and energizing a bus? - ANSWER-2 hours every 2 years minimum What two things must be included in the GO Blackstart Resource biannual training? - ANSWER-The system restoration plan including coordination with the TO; The procedures associated with the Blackstart Resource Agreement What must each RC have in regard to restoration? - ANSWER-Each RC is required to have an RC Area Restoration Plan. Name the three things covered in the RC Area Restoration Plan? - ANSWER-Blackstart Resources used to re-energize a shut down area of the BES; separation has occurred between neighboring RC; An energized island has been formed on the BES When does the RC exit the Restoration plan? - ANSWER-All TO are interconnected its RC area is connected to all neighboring RC What 9 things are included in the RC restoration plan? - ANSWER-High level strategy; Operating process to restore Interconnection; coordination elements between TO restoration plans; elements between RC plans; criteria and condition for reestablishing interconnections (TO-TO in the RC; TO-TO w/ other RC; w/ Other RC); Reporting requirements; Criteria for info sharing w/ neighboring RC and TO/BA in its area; RC as main contact for all parties; Criteria to transfer operations & authority back to BA Who is in control during system restoration? - ANSWER-RC Who is given control after a system restoration has been completed? - ANSWER-The appropriate BA To who must an RC distribute its RC Area Restoration Plan? - ANSWER-Each of its TO, neighboring RC When must an RC distribute its RC Area Restoration Plan? - ANSWER-Within 30 days of creation or revision of the plan How often must the RC review its restoration plan? - ANSWER-Within 13 months from last review Who reviews an RC Restoration plan? - ANSWER-The neighboring RC Within what time frame must a conflict in an RC plan be corrected? - ANSWER-30 days Who reviews a TO restoration plan and in what time frame? - ANSWER-The RC within 30 days If a TO restoration plan does not work with the RC or neighboring TO what must be done? - ANSWER-The RC will inform the TO of the conflict with stated reasons within 30 days of receiving the plan What must be kept in the Primary and Backup RC control room in regard to documentation? - ANSWER-The RC must have a copy of the restoration plans of each of its TO If the exact restoration plan will not work, what must an RC do? - ANSWER-Use restoration strategies to facilitate system restoration Who coordinates and authorizes resynchronizing islanded areas that bridge TO or RC boundaries? - ANSWER-The RC How often must the RC train personnel on restoration? - ANSWER-Annually What two things are required in RC annual restoration training? - ANSWER-Coordination role of the RC; Reestablishing the Interconnection How many system restoration drills, exercises or simulations must be conducted by an RC each year? - ANSWER-2 system restoration drills, exercises or simulations Who must be included in the RC System restoration drills, exercises or simulations held each year? - ANSWER-GO and TO as directed by the scope of the drill How often must a TO or GO be requested to participate in an RC system restoration drill, exercise or simulation? - ANSWER-At least once every two years What is the purpose of the Loss of Control Center Functionality standard? - ANSWER-To ensure continued reliability of the BES in the event a control room is compromised What 3 entities does the Loss of Control Center Functionality standard apply to? - ANSWER-TO, RC and BA What is each TO, BA and RC required to have in regard to the loss of primary control center functionality? - ANSWER-Each must have an Operating Plan describing how it will continues to control the BES Name 5 things required to support a backup control centers functionality: - ANSWER-Tools and applications giving BES situational awareness; Data comms; Voice comms; Power souce; Physical and cyber security Name 5 components of the Backup Control Facility Operating Plan: - ANSWER-Location and method to provide backup functionality until primary is restored; a summary of backup functionality elements; plan to keep backup consisten with primary function; a transition period between loss of primary and fully implemented backup funcitionality; actions required to be taken during the transition Within what time frame must a backup control facility be fully functional? - ANSWER-Less than or equal to two hours What 3 elements must be included in the control center transfer Operating Process? - ANSWER-Entiites to notify; Actions to manage risk of the BES; Identification of Roles during transition Where must a copy of the control center transition Operating Plan be kept? - ANSWER-A copy in the primary and backup control facilities How long can an RC have only one available control center? - ANSWER-Planned outages of primary or backup facilities of two weeks or less do not require the minimum two facilities An RC backup control facility is not required to be available during what two conditions? - ANSWER-Planned outages of two weeks or less; unplanned outages What 4 things must be at a backup control facility in regard to operation of the BES? - ANSWER-Monitoring, control, logging, and alarming sufficient for maintaining compliance with standards How often must a RC, BA, or TO review and approve its Operating Plan for Backup functionality? - ANSWER-Annually If the Operating Plan for Backup functionality is changed, within what time frame must an update and approval be issued? - ANSWER-60 days What does independence mean in regard to control rooms? - ANSWER-The primary and backup functionality must not depend on each other for anything required to be in Reliability Standard compliance. What two things are required in the annual backup control facility functional test? - ANSWER-The transition time between simulated loss of primary to fully functional backup facility; Backup functionality for minimum 2 hours If one control center is lost for a length of ______ a plan must be submitted to the Regional Entityshowing how it will re-establish primary or backup functionality. - ANSWER-6 months What is the purpose of the Event Reporting standard? - ANSWER-Improved the reliability of the BES by requiring event reporting Within what time frame of meeting an event threshold must a responsible body report? - ANSWER-Within 24 hours of recognition; on the weekend it is the end of the next business day How often must an Responsible Entity validate all contact information contained in the event reporting operating plan? - ANSWER-Annually Events meeting event report threshold: - ANSWER-Damage, destruction or physical threats physical threats to a facility, physical threats to a control center, public appeal for load reduction, system-wide voltage reduction >3%, manual or automatic firm load shedding >100MW; voltage deviation +/- 10% for 15 minutes; IROL or SOL violation, loss of Firm load, System separation (islanding), generation loss, complete loss of offsite power to a nuclear plant, transmission loss, control center evacuation, complete loss of voice comm or monitoring capabilities What is the minimum loss of system-wide voltage required to report? - ANSWER-> 3% What is the minimum manual load shed required to report? - ANSWER-> 100 MW What is the minimum automatic load shed required to report? - ANSWER-> 100 MW (by UFLS, UVLS, SPS/RAS) What observed voltage deviation requires reporting? - ANSWER-Deviation of +/- 10% voltage sustained for 15 minutes or more What is the minimum time for an IROL violation in regard to reporting? - ANSWER-If an interconnection operates outside of IROL for a time greater than IROL Tv In WECC, if an SOL occurs for ______ minutes or more it must be reported. - ANSWER-30 What are the event reporting limits of loss of firm load? - ANSWER-Loss of firm load for 15 minutes or more, >300 MW for entities with >3000 MW in the previous or > 200 MW for all other entitites What is the event reporting threshold for a system separation (islanding) condition? - ANSWER-Each separation resulting in an island > 100 MW What is the event reporting threshold for a loss of generation? - ANSWER-> 2000 MW loss within one minute in the WECC or EAST, >1000MW in ERCOT or Quebec What is the event reporting threshold for loss of power to a nuclear plant? - ANSWER-Complete loss of off-site power affecting a nuclear generating station