The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) held a joint meeting on Wednesday, May 28, 2014, at NRC headquarters. Most of the meeting was open to the public and concluded with a tour of NRC’s new control center. Commissioners from both agencies participated. Speaking on the topic of Grid Reliability, Markets and Extended Loss of All Alternating Current Power were:

  • Mr. Burgess, NERC – 2014 State of Reliability Report
  • Mr. Quinn, FERC – Market Dynamics that May Affect the Financial Viability of Nuclear Power Plants
  • Mr. Smith, NRC – Nuclear Power Plants – License Renewals and Projections of New Units, Extended Loss of All AC Power Mitigation Strategies – Order Implementation and the Scope of the Rulemaking Activity

With EPA rulings, plant closures, polar vortexes as well as cyber and physical security issues, 2013 was a rough year. Despite the challenges, the first key finding from Mr. Burgess’ presentation is that the bulk power system has a sustained high performance level. This highlights the strength of the grid. You can read the transcript and presentations on NRC’s website.