EPAS Meeting Minutes August 22, 20171
1.Welcome, Call to Order, Introductions
Greg Park, Event and Performance Analysis Subcommittee (EPAS)Chair, called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. A quorum was present for the conducting of business. A list of attendees is attached as Exhibit A.Mr. Park asked attendees to introduce themselves.
2.Antitrust Policy
Tim Reynolds, WECC, read aloud the WECC Antitrust Policy statement. A link to the posted Policy was provided in the meeting agenda.
3.Approve Agenda
Mr. Parkintroduced the proposed meeting agenda.
On a motion by Dean Spratt, the EPAS approved the agenda.
4.Review June 28, 2017 Minutes
Mr. Park introduced the minutes from the June 28, 2017 meeting.
On a motion by Dean Spratt, the EPAS approved the June 28, 2017 minutes.
5.Review of Previous Action Items
Mr. Reynolds reviewed action items carried over from the June 28, 2017 meeting of the EPAS.
- After a new chair and vice chair have been selected, Mr. Reynolds will coordinate with them to set up the next EPAS meeting.
- Assigned to: Tim Reynolds
6.EPAS Chair Report
Mr. Park provided a report on the EPAS.
Mr. Park would like to see a path forward to transitioning the monthly Operating Issues Work Group meeting to review Interconnection events to the EPAS. He would like to request that the EPAS members create a process for the subcommittees to report through. The EPAS is responsible for reviewing and sharing lessons learned with the community. Mr. Park recommended using the work being done by the Human Performance Work Group (HPWG) to achieve these efforts.
7.NERC Event Analysis Subcommittee Report
Rich Hydzik, Avista Corporation,was not available to provide a report on the NERC Event Analysis Subcommittee.
8.Relay Work Group
Randy Spacek, Avista Corporation, provided a report on the Relay Work Group (RWG).
The RWG has been reviewing quarterly misoperations and reporting them to NERC. A request was made to provide comment on completeness of details provided to get consistency with the reporting. They also do a yearly review of trending and event analysis of cause coding.
The RWG is developing a white paper tosupport the reduction of misoperationsstrategy and is presentingit to other entities in WECC.There was some discussion on how the approval of this document would occur. Tim Reynolds informed the group that according to the WECC Documentation Policy, this white paper would need to be approved by EPAS and then the Operating Committee.
It was suggested that the RWG consider working with the Human Performance Work Group (HPWG) with event analysis and lessons learned.
9.Performance Work Group (PWG) Report
James Wells, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), provided a report on the Performance Work Group (PWG).
Mr. Wells, has been elected as chair of the EPAS and Craig Figart, Avista Corporation, has been elected as vice chair.
Don Badley, Northwest Power Pool Corporation, and Rick Lowther, Salt River Project,will step down from the group around January 2018.
Mr. Reynolds reviewed the recently revised charter of the PWG. It was mentioned that the PWG is also seeking WECC Board approval to hold closed-door sessions. The EPAS votedon whether to approve the Performance Work Group Charter.
On a motion by Dean Spratt, and seconded by Paul Moreland, the EPAS approved the PWG charter.
Mr. Park and Mr. Reynolds will communicate to Rich Hydzik that the PWG charter wasapproved and that the closed-door sessions justification will need to be presented and approved at the nextWECC Board Meeting.
The presentation is posted to the WECC website.
10.Operating Issues Work Group (OIWG) Report
Mr. Reynolds provided an update on the OIWG activities.
The OIWG meets on the first Wednesday of every month to review brief reports that entities have submitted to WECC.
The OIWGhas one meeting remaining in 2017 and all EPAS members are invited to attend. This will be a closed-door session and Mr. Reynolds will send out a Closed Meeting Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) for all to sign if they wish to participate. Mr. Reynolds encouraged all members to review the events before every meeting. Mr. Reynolds will send the agenda and information on the new events for review the Friday prior to the meeting and will post them to the WECC website.
It was asked if there was any type of process document that the OIWG used to review the events. Outside of its Charter, the OIWG does not have any formal written guidelines. It was discussed the WECC Event Analysis Guideline needsto be either updated to reflect this process or retired it as it was written prior to the NERC Event Analysis.
The intent of the EPAS, in regard toits work with the OIWG, is to keep the monthly meetings going only for September. The EPAS will take over the monthly OIWG meetings starting in October.The EPAS will consider creating a process on how to do these reviews.
There was a concern among the EPAS members about not having enough expertise to review events. EPAS members will work on getting more subject matter experts to join to help educate the EPAS about Event Analysis.
The presentation can be found on the WECC website.
11.Human Performance Work Group (HPWG) Report
Norm Szczepanski provided an update on work being done by the Human Performance Work Group (HPWG).
The HPWG will hold a Human PerformanceConference on October 24-27, 2017 in Salt Lake City. More information on this event can be found on the WECC website.
Mr. Szczepanskimentioned that the HPWG made an events lessons-learned presentation at the July 2017 WECC Operating Committee meeting.
It was mentioned that the EPAS will continue to support the HPWG analysis of events by allowing individuals from the HPWG to attend the new EPAS monthly meetings. The intent is to continue to support and promote what human performance is and how to communicate the event lessons learned results with other work groups and subcommittees.
The next HPWG meeting will take place October 23, 2017 in Salt Lake City.
The presentation can be found on the WECC website.
12.Generator Operator Work Group (GOWG) Report
Mr. Reynolds provided a report on the Generator Operator Work Group (GOWG).
The GOWG recently named Carla Holly, BP Energy, as chair and Glen Farmer, Avista Corporation,as vice chair of the GOWG.
Presently, there are about 12 people interested in participating on this group. The first GOWG meeting will be November 6-8, 2017. Mr. Reynolds will finalize this and communicate the next meeting date and location. During this meeting, a charter will need to be created and approved. Mr. Reynolds has begun working on the charter with the chair and vice chair. The draft charter was displayed so the EPAS members could review it.
Mr. Reynolds will distribute the GOWG charter via email to all EPAS members.
13.Event Presentation
Dan Goodrich, Bonneville Power Administration,gave a presentation regarding different events that caused a Remedial Action Scheme (RAS) Misoperation. In general, the misoperationswere caused when the DC ground caused brief inputs into the RAS equipment causing the RAS unit to trigger sooner than designed.The first instance of this occurred in November 2016, but BPA has been using this equipment since 2004. The solution to the issue is to replace the DC input cards with completely new ones and test them prior to being put into service.Since the card manufacturer changed how the cards are built in 2014, the new cards won’t be subject to these issues. It is estimated that approximately 50 sites need to have this solution applied.
The presentation can be found on the WECC website.
14.Overview of NERC’s Event Analysis Database and Lessons Learned Website
Mr. Reynolds provided an overview of NERC’s Event Analysis Database and Lessons Learned Website. Mr. Reynolds also went over how events are submitted and posted to the WECC Website. It was mentioned that it is the preferred method of WECC for the entities to submit their reports through the WECC website. However, entities may continue to submit events via emails as has been the tradition.Mr. Reynolds also mentioned that alerts can be set up on the WECC website to allow the EPAS members to be notified of any new reports. All EPAS members will be required to sign an NDA to gain access to restricted documents.
15.Discuss New EPAS Process to Analyze Events and Interconnection Performance
Mr. Reynolds reviewed the recently revised WECC committee structure and the focus from the WECC OC for the NERC Event Analysis process to be a part of the subcommittees work.It was stated the monthly process that the OIWG forum works well and has proven to be productive in its evaluate of events. The EPAS will attend the last OIWG meeting in September and, as they continue the process in October, other work groups will be invited to attend to provide more expertise.
Mr. Morland requested to have more in-person presentations showing events that have occurred at different locations. There is value of having technical expertise presented to the EPAS members to help them understand events. The EPAS determined it will meet three times a year, prior to each WECC Standing Committee meeting. These meetings will provide presentations on events and allow the EPAS to receive updates on the work group’s efforts.
The EPAS will work on producing a product or process to share what is learned from its event analysis with the rest of the Interconnection. The aim is to create productssuch as lessons learned white papers and industry webinars.
16.Discuss Process to Track Resolution of Recommendations
The group discussed a process for assuming the responsibility to track on the progress of resolution to prevent future reoccurrence and their effectiveness.In the past, resolutions to events were submitted and tracked by the Operating Practices and Event Analysis Subcommittee (OPEAS). Mr. Reynolds will locate and consolidate this information and will reach out for updatesbefore the next in-person meeting. In regard to any future tracking, Mr. Reynolds will be able to keep a log and will provide regular updates to the EPAS.
17.Plan Future Meetings
The group decided to meet three times a year in person in addition to the new monthly meetings to review events. A list of the selected times to meet in person can be found under agenda item 19.
The EPAS discussed its membership as outlined in the charter. Each WECC member is allowed multiple member-representatives, but only one member-rep can vote. It was suggested to do more outreach to gain more members on EPAS.Mr. Reynolds will update the current EPAS membership list on the website.
Mr. Park will ask the OC if EPAS can accept members without approval from their OC member. He will also make it known that EPAS is still working on membership.
18.Review of New Action Items
- Work with the WECC OC chair to make sure the PWG receives Board approval to hold closed-door meetings.
- Assigned to: Tim Reynolds and Greg Park
- Send out the working draftGOWG Charter to EPAS
- Assigned to: Tim Reynolds
- Follow up with Mark Willis (SMUD) and Bob Johnson (PSCO) for membership in EPAS
- Assigned to: Tim Reynolds
- Send out closed-meeting NDA to all EPAS members
- Assigned to: Tim Reynolds
- Send out reminder and invitations to all EPAS members to attend the September 6, 2017 OIWG closed-door webinar
- Assigned to: Tim Reynolds
- Obtain email permissions for all EPAS members to be able to send and receive on behalf of EPAS
- Assigned to: Marshelle Butler
- Consolidate historical information on status to resolutions regarding system events before the next in-person meeting.
- Assigned to: Tim Reynolds
19.Upcoming Meetings
February 28, 2018...... Salt Lake City, UT
June 6, 2018...... Salt Lake City, UT
September 26, 2018...... Salt Lake City, UT
20.Adjourn
On a motion by Mr. Spratt, Mr. Park adjourned the meeting without objection at 2:15 p.m.
Exhibit A: Attendance List
Name...... Affiliation
Members in Attendance
Don Badley...... Northwest Power Pool Corporation
Glenn Barry...... Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Pat Curley...... NW Energy Coalition
Sandra Ellis...... Pacific Gas & Electric
Dan Goodrich...... Bonneville Power Administration
Jill Hoyt...... Peak RC
Robin Manuguid...... San Diego Gas & Electric
Joe Medina...... Arizona Public Services Company
Paul Morland...... Colorado Springs Utilities
Greg Park...... Northwest PowerPool Corporation
Randy Spacek...... Avista Corporation
Dean Spratt...... Avista Corporation
Norm Szczepanski...... Sacramento Municipal Utility District
James Wells...... Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Others in Attendance
Marshelle Butler...... Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Deveny Bywaters...... Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Western Electricity Coordinating Council