Below are summaries of discussion sessions from the October 24-25, 2017 RC Users Group meeting, held in Denver, CO. All presentations are available HERE.

Welcome and agenda Review

Tom Botello, Chair of the RC Users Group, welcomed participants and thanked Xcel Energy for hosting the meeting and asked Kevin Pera to address safety considerations. Tom then introduced Ben Brandt as the new co-chair of the RC Users Group and reviewed the agenda for the meeting. Terry Baker reviewed the anti-trust statement.

SOL Methodology Update

Vic Howell introduced the four panelists; Terri Kuehneman (SRP), Dede Subakti (CAISO), Saad Malik (Peak), and Jerry Jackson (BPA). Vic Howell went over different operational observations Peak has made since April 1, 2017 as well as ways to improve. He brought up Peak-led conference calls for 2018 regarding the right level of involvement in the TOP-to-TOP coordination by Peak. There were several questions and comments on the topic. Vic reviewed how to determine whether multiple contingencies are credible or not. He then reviewed the two different categories of multiple contingencies. The panelists then had a discussion about the current approach, what problems or challenges it creates, and should anything be changed? Jerry Jackson started the discussion for the panel. Terri Kuehneman and Dede Subakti then talked about how the changes on April 1 have effected them. There was discussion between the attendees and the panelists.

Vic moved on to the Seasonal Planning revision project. The goal to finalize the revised seasonal planning process is Summer 2018. There is a small team that has been meeting since June 30, 2017 to draft up a revised process. Vic then took questions from the attendees.

Vic ended his presentation by discussing BES vs non-BES. He then took questions and comments from the attendees of the meeting.

Solar Eclipse Lessons Learned

Jason Ausmus presented on post-event observations from the Solar Eclipse. He summarized the event and its impact on the Peak Footprint. He then opened the floor up for questions.

Regional Tools Advisory Group

Brett Wangen introduced April Freeman from Peak to discuss the Regional Tools Advisory Group which developed the RFF (Regional Flow Forecast Tool). This tool helps the entities in the Northwest who are using the tool to be proactive in mitigation. April Freeman went on to explain how the RFF tool works. She then took questions from the attendees.

V&R Energy Tool

April then discussed an enhancement to the ROSE tool (stability analysis). She also talked about other possible future enhancements to the tool. The floor was then turned back over to Brett in order to finish up the presentation and take questions. There were several questions and a discussion among attendees and presenters.

RC Users Group

Brett Wangen (Peak), Terry Baker (Peak), & Tom Botello (SCE) talked about other work groups that fall under the RC Users Group that have specific areas they are discussing and addressing. In the future, these sub-groups could come and present during the RCUG meeting to keep the larger group informed. Tom also brought up the name “RC Users Group” and whether or not it really represents the group appropriately. Would anyone be opposed to changing the name of the group? There were questions from the floor as to whether this would re-define the group itself. Tom went on to say that the mission of the group would not change, just the name in order to better describe what is being discussed during these meetings and the function of the group.

Outage Coordination Update

Jason Ausmus discussed observations of the Outage Coordination process by Peak since the April 1 implementation. He mentioned the Operations Planning Working Group that is focused on Operations Planning study. Jason Smith (Peak) then discussed Outage Coordination Phase II which will initially focus on cleaning up process issues and Akshay Shivaram (Peak) covered Outage Coordination Metrics. Finally, Jason Ausmus gave information on how to be a member of the upcoming groups. Questions were then asked from the floor regarding the different groups.

Avangrid Overview

Kit Blair (Avangrid) gave an overview of who Avangrid is and what they do. He discussed the plans for Avangrid to become their own BA next year and why they plan to do this. Kit then took questions from the group.

Peak Visualization Platform Demo

Murat Uludogan explained the purpose of Peak’s visualization platform, what content is available, and how it works. He then gave a demonstration of the tool. Afterwards he took questions from attendees. There was discussion about where the data would come from regarding disasters like fires and if there could be manual entries from the RC (which they receive from entities in the field) to supplement since the information in the field may be more up-to-date.

Synchrophasor Roadmap

Hongming Zhang (Peak) gave a presentation on Synchrophasor Techonology. He reviewed what Peak has been working on and what they will be focusing on going forward. Hongming covered the progress that has been made and where they plan to be this time next year. He went over the SMART (Synchronized Measurements and Advanced Real-time Tools) Working group, what the purpose of it is, who is part of the membership, and to whom the working group reports. Hongming then took questions from attendees.

Transient Stability Analysis Tool (TSAT)

Stephanie Conn (Peak) covered the milestones that have been completed as well as those that are upcoming. She covered the trainings that Peak Real Time Operator Engineers have been attending as well as the trainings that will occur as this moves forward. She then opened up the floor for questions or comments.

ECC Update

Jeremy West and Kevin Pera, Chair of the ECC Task Force, gave an update on the ECC tool. Jeremy reminded the group that the ECC migration occurred on June 27th which was a little later than originally planned and of the primary changes with ECC UFMP. He gave an update on events that have occurred since the migration and showed a comparison of the ECC tool vs the prior year using webSAS.The floor was then opened up for questions.

Roundtable Discussion

There was a roundtable discussion with all attendees regarding a recap of the summer, preparedness for the winter and any notable system issues. Wade Kiess (Peak), started off by recapping recent reliability events and system issues. Phillip Shafeei wanted to discuss BES vs. non-BES so there was discussion among the group. Terry Baker thanked everyone for attending and reminded that the next meeting will be in April/May 2018 and we will need a host.

Phillip Shafeei offered Colorado Springs. Tom Botello thanked everyone for coming and PSCO for hosting the meeting. Ben Brandt expressed appreciation to those who coordinated and presented during the meeting. Also, asked for feedback on ways to increase the value of the meeting.

Attendance

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  • Ashley Kelly (APS)
  • Annemarie Steinhoff (APS)
  • Kit Blair (Avangrid)
  • Christopher Sanford (BPA)
  • John Phipps (CAISO)
  • Dede Subakti (CAISO)
  • Chris McDarment (CHPD)
  • Mitchell Betonie (FEUS)
  • Ben Brandt (Idaho Power)
  • Matt Smelser (IID)
  • Andrew Minter (IREA)
  • Johnathon Flores (LADWP)
  • Toxie Burriss (MID)
  • Jill Hoyt (Peak)
  • Jason Ausmus (Peak)
  • Terry Baker (Peak)
  • Robin Baker (Peak)
  • Tony Burt (Peak)
  • Stephanie Conn (Peak)
  • Vic Howell (Peak)
  • Wade Kiess (Peak)
  • Saad Malik (Peak)
  • Akshay Shivaram (Peak)
  • Jason Smith (Peak)
  • Murat Uludogan (Peak)
  • Brett Wangen (Peak)
  • Jeremy West (Peak)
  • Hongming Zhang (Peak)
  • Jeff Landis (Platte River Power Authority)
  • Tom Botello (SCE)
  • Therese Kuehneman (SRP)
  • Marc Donaldson (Tacoma Power)
  • Michael Houglum (TSGT)
  • Igor Kormaz (TSGT)
  • Diane Glessner (WAPA)
  • Vincent Thor (WAPA)
  • Eric Baran (Western Interstate Energy Board)
  • Robert Johnson (Xcel)
  • Kevin Pera (Xcel)
  • Michael Rein (Xcel)

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WebEx Attendees

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  • R. Bray (AEPCO)
  • Leo Bernier (AES)
  • Richard Freeman (Avangrid)
  • Garth Brandon ( Avista)
  • Dean Spratt (Avista)
  • Denton McGregor (BHP)
  • Meg Albright (BPA)
  • David Brown (BPA)
  • Susan Millar (BPA)
  • Audrey Stevenson (BPA)
  • James Wong (BPA)
  • Tricia Johnstone (CAISO)
  • Gabriel Santillan (CENACE)
  • Anna Yankova (Cisco Webex)
  • Mike Schultz (CSU)
  • Phillip Shafeei (CSU)
  • Josh (GWRNB)
  • Glen Barry (LADWP)
  • Nick Braden (MID)
  • Alex Cerna (MID)
  • Paul Olson (NATU)
  • Anne Eisenach (Peak)
  • Tim Ellis (Peak)
  • April Freeman (Peak)
  • Tami Keith (Peak)
  • Jaison Tsikirai (Peak)
  • Mario Espinoza (PNM)
  • Anil KC (PNM)
  • Benito Lopez (PNM)
  • Cesar Miron (PNM)
  • Bran Reindl (PNM)
  • David Nichols (POPD)
  • Chifong Thomas (Smart Wire Grid, Inc.)
  • Wei Shao (SMUD)
  • Ruben Luna (SRP)
  • Daniel McGuire (SRP)
  • Amy Cuellar (TANC)
  • Chad Edinger (TPWR)
  • Rebecca Lim
  • Adao
  • Debbie
  • (WAPA)

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