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Two Suspects Charged With Attacks on Washington State Substations

January 4, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 4, 2023

Two suspects have been charged in attacks on substations in Washington State that occurred on Dec. 25, 2022.

The four substations that were targeted were the Graham and Elk Plain substations operated by public power utility Tacoma Power and the Kapowsin and Hemlock substations operated by Puget Sound Energy, an investor-owned utility.

The two suspects were scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Wash., on Jan. 3 and were charged with conspiracy to damage energy facilities and possession of an unregistered firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. 

The two men were arrested Saturday, December 31, 2022, following an investigation by the FBI. 

According to the criminal complaint filed with the court late Saturday, December 31, 2022, and unsealed Jan. 3, the two men were identified as possible suspects through the analysis of cell phone records.  At one of the substations, Tacoma Power captured images of one suspect and the image of a pick-up truck that appeared to be connected with the attack. 

When law enforcement served a search warrant on the home of the suspects, they recovered distinctive clothing pictured in the surveillance photos, according to a Department of Justice news release.

Tacoma Power on Jan. 3 said that it “values its close working relationships with local, state, and federal law enforcement, and we appreciate their quick and diligent work in arresting the suspected perpetrators. We take the safety and security of our substations and all critical infrastructure we operate seriously.”

The utility said that it has committed significant resources to both cyber and physical security over the past several years to increase protection of its assets.

“As noted by federal investigators, those security measures aided in these swift arrests. We also want to thank our customers, who were not only patient and gracious as we worked to restore power during their interrupted holiday, but who also provided important tips to law enforcement to aid in the investigation,” Tacoma Power said.

On the morning of Dec. 25, Tacoma Power was notified that two of its substations were deliberately targeted with physical damage. Over 7,000 customers in Graham and Elk Plain were without power. “There is no danger to public safety, and we are working with federal and local law enforcement,” the utility reported on Dec. 25.

The following day, Dec. 26, Tacoma Power reported that all customers were back online after the intentional damage to its system yesterday. “We appreciate everyone’s patience while our crews worked overnight and into this afternoon on restoration. We were able to deploy a mobile substation to restore power,” the utility said in a tweet.

Earlier in December, Tacoma Power was alerted by federal law enforcement of a security alert for the electrical grid. “Tacoma Power follows federal reliability standards, including assessing physical risks to our critical energy infrastructure and applying recommended mitigation measures. In accordance with best practices, we do not share the details of our resiliency and security tactics,” it said.

Tacoma Power said that it was working closely with law enforcement on their investigation into these incidents and have implemented additional increases to security around its infrastructure.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department in Washington State on Dec. 25 reported that along with the Tacoma Power incidents, it was notified by Puget Sound Energy that it too had a power outage. Deputies were sent to the facility where the fenced area was broken into and substation equipment vandalized.

In early December, Duke Energy responded to power outages caused by vandalism against utility equipment in North Carolina.

Duke Energy on Dec. 4 said that crews responded to widespread outages in Moore County, N.C. The company experienced multiple equipment failures affecting substations leaving about 45,000 customers without power.

President Biden Names Willie Phillips Acting Chairman of FERC

January 4, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 4, 2023

President Biden on Jan. 3 named Willie Phillips as acting chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Richard Glick departed from FERC in early January after serving as chairman of FERC for the past two years.

Phillips joined FERC as a Commissioner in December 2021. Prior to that he served as the Chairman of the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia, named to that role in 2018 and serving on the DCPSC since 2014.

Prior to the DCPSC, Acting Chairman Phillips served as Assistant General Counsel for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, in Washington, D.C. Before joining NERC, he worked for two law firms where he advised clients on energy regulatory compliance and policy matters.

Small Modular Reactor Technology Delivers Reliability, Resiliency, Safety and Affordability

January 4, 2023

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
January 4, 2023

New nuclear technologies, such as small modular reactors (SMR), have reached a point where they are able to help utilities address growing concerns about fulfilling their core mission: delivering safe, affordable, and reliable electric power.

Several industry trends are challenging utility executives’ abilities to balance those three key objectives.

A July report from the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) highlighted the growing threats to reliability, including extreme weather events, the growing proliferation of “inverter based resources” such as photovoltaic solar power and energy storage, and increasing reliance on natural gas-fired generation.

The growth of renewable resources aimed at meeting state and federal goals aimed at addressing greenhouse gas emissions has been impressive. In the first half of the year, 24 percent of utility-scale generation in the United States came from renewable sources, according to the Energy Information Administration. However, as NERC pointed out this summer, as renewable resources have proliferated, gas-fired generators are becoming “necessary balancing resources” for reliability, leading to an interdependence that poses “a major new reliability risk.”

In this environment, if utilities are going to stay on track to meet their clean energy targets while providing secure, safe and reliable electric power to meet growing demand, they are going to need a new solution.

“NuScale Power’s SMR technology offers a carbon-free energy solution with features, capability, and performance not found in current nuclear power facilities,” Karin Feldman, Vice President of NuScale’s Program Management Office, said in an interview.

Several utilities have already begun exploring the potential of a new generation of nuclear technology to help them meet both their clean energy and reliability needs as they work toward meeting growing demand.

NuScale’s project portfolio includes a six module, 462-MW VOYGR™ SMR power plant. Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) plans to develop at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls for their Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP).

NuScale also has memorandums of understanding to evaluate the deployment of its SMR technology with Associated Electric Cooperative in Missouri and Dairyland Power Cooperative in Wisconsin.

“What we bring to the table is a technology that is smaller and simpler; that lowers total costs while providing high reliability and resilience, and greater safety,” said Feldman, who develops and manages NuScale’s portfolio of projects and establishes and maintains project controls, cost estimating, and risk management standards. She is also NuScale’s primary interface with the DOE.

Cost Comparisons

The smaller scale of NuScale’s reactors – 77 MW versus 700 MW or even 1,600 MW or more for conventional reactors – brings several cost advantages, Feldman said. Smaller reactors can be fabricated in a factory, which is cheaper than field fabrication, because it involves repetitive procedures that foster iterative improvement and economies of scale, she said. Smaller reactors also take less time to build, which lowers construction costs.

Because they are modular, an SMR does not force a utility to commit to participation in a nuclear project in the 1,000-MW to 2,000-MW size range. An SMR project can be scaled to meet demand, and modules can be added as demand requires, Feldman said. That helps reduce financial risk for a utility, she said.

Another, related consideration, highlighted by the supply chain disruptions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, is that much of NuScale’s technology can be locally sourced. “We are taking advantage of the U.S. supply chain to the greatest extent possible,” Feldman said. “We have some overseas manufacturers, but we are also engaged to develop additional U.S. capabilities in areas such as large-scale forgings.”

Reliability and Resiliency

Nuclear power plants generally have high reliability, over 92 percent, nearly twice the reliability of coal and natural gas plants, but the smaller, compact design of SMR technology can offer additional reliability advantages, Feldman said. Because NuScale plants are designed to scaled up in incremental steps, if any one of the individual reactors has an issue, the other reactors can continue to generate power, she explained.

NuScale’s SMR technology also enhances resiliency, Feldman said. The design calls for the reactors to be housed in a building below grade, hardening their vulnerability to airplane strikes and very large seismic events, she said.

An SMR plant also is designed with black start capability so that it can restart after a disruption without using the surrounding electric grid. “So, in the event of an emergency, it could be a first responder to the grid, one of the first generators to start up,” Feldman said.

And because the design calls for multiple reactors, a problem with one reactor does not require the entire plant to shut down. An SMR plant can also operate in island mode, serving as a self-sufficient energy source during an emergency, Feldman said.

In some ways, a NuScale SMR power plant resembles a microgrid. In fact, NuScale’s technology team has done a lot of analysis on microgrid capacity, Feldman said, noting that the analysis found that a 154-MW SMR plant could run for 12 years without refueling. “The technology is very good for mission critical functions and activities,” she said.

Safety First

Cost and resiliency are important considerations, but if a power plant, especially a nuclear power plant, is not safe, other considerations pale in comparison.

Safety is built into NuScale’s SMR design, Feldman said. “The SMR has a dual walled vessel design that gives it an unlimited coping period,” she said. “If an incident does occur, the plant can shut down without operator intervention or action and be safe and secure,” she said.

NuScale’s integrated design encompasses the reactor, steam generators and pressurizer and uses the natural action of circulation, eliminating the need for large primary piping and reactor coolant pumps.

If needed, the reactor shuts down and self cools indefinitely without the need for either alternating current or direct current power or additional water. The containment vessel is submerged in a heat sink for core cooling in a below grade reactor pool housed in a Seismic Category 1 reactor building as defined by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In essence, the unit continues to cool until the decay heat dissipates at which point the reactor is air cooled, Feldman said.

In 2018, the NRC found that NuScale’s SMR safety design eliminates the need for class 1E power, that is, power needed to maintain reactor coolant integrity and remain in a safe shutdown condition.

In August 2020, the NRC approved the overall design of NuScale’s SMR. In a next step, the NRC in July directed staff to issue a final rule certifying NuScale’s SMR design.

If approved, the certification would be published in the Federal Register and have the effect of law, providing even greater comfort to any entities exploring SMR technology to provide clean, emission free, reliable and affordable power, Feldman said.

The rulemaking is on NRC’s docket for a decision in November.

Finally, after a rigorous years long review by the NRC, the Final Safety Evaluation Report (FSER) regarding NuScale’s Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) methodology was issued. This is another tremendous “first” for NuScale’s technology. With the report’s approval of our methodology, an EPZ that is limited to the site boundary of the power plant is now achievable for a wide range of potential plant sites where a NuScale VOYGR™ SMR power plant could be located.

EPA, Army Release Final Rule on “Waters of the United States”

January 4, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 4, 2023

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Dec. 30 released a final rule that repeals the Trump Administration’s 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule and adopts a new WOTUS definition. The agencies said that the new definition is founded on the pre-2015 WOTUS definition but is updated to reflect their broad interpretation of Supreme Court decisions.

Specifically, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers released a final pre-publication version of the Phase I WOTUS rule.

The final rule is generally consistent with the agencies’ proposed rule. As with the proposal, the definition of WOTUS is broader in scope than the NWPR and the pre-2015 definition, particularly due to the agencies’ expansive read of a 2006 case (Rapanos v. United States). Importantly, the agencies maintain the waste treatment system exclusion and adopt a number of other exclusions. 

In February, the American Public Power Association submitted comments to the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in response to the proposed rule to revise the definition of WOTUS.

APPA has over the years provided to the agencies its position with respect to developing a clear and easily implementable WOTUS definition.

The final rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register soon and will become effective sometime in March 2023. 

Multiple challenges by industry and states are likely to be filed in district courts across the country, perhaps within the next few weeks. And the Supreme Court’s pending decision in Sackett v. EPA, (No. 21-454) may have implications for the durability of provisions of the rule.

Click here for more information on the final rule.

The agencies will host a public final rule overview webinar on January 19, 2023, from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET.

Power Sector Seeks Solutions for Supply Chain Issues

January 3, 2023

by Darrell Proctor
POWER Magazine
January Issue, 2023

The pandemic exposed issues with the global supply chain that provides resources for power generation. The pressure of having enough equipment to meet industry needs has spurred an emphasis on domestic manufacturing in the U.S. and elsewhere.

See story here: https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2023/index.php#/p/26

Grid Infrastructure and Renewable Energy Projects Thrive, Workforce and Supply Chain Issues Continue in 2023

January 3, 2023

by Aaron Larson
POWER Magazine
January Issue, 2023

The inflation Reduction Act will spur growth in clean energy and upgrades to grid infrastructure, but workforce shortages and supply chain constraints are likely to challenge power companies for at least the next year or more.

See story here: https://www.nxtbook.com/accessintelligence/POWER/power-january-2023/index.php#/p/18

FERC, NERC to Investigate Grid Operations During Recent Winter Storm

January 3, 2023

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 3, 2023

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, and NERC’s Regional Entities in late December announced that they will open a joint inquiry into the operations of the bulk power system during the extreme winter weather conditions that occurred during Winter Storm Elliott.

The severe cold weather during the storm in December contributed to power outages affecting millions of electricity customers across the country, they noted.

FERC, NERC, and the Regional Entities will work with other federal agencies, states, and utilities to identify problems with the performance of the bulk power system and, where appropriate, recommended solutions for addressing those issues​.

“This storm underscores the increasing frequency of significant extreme weather events (the fifth major winter event in the last 11 years) and underscores the need for the electric sector to change its planning scenarios and preparations for extreme events,” said NERC President and CEO Jim Robb.

In its 2022-2023 winter reliability assessment, NERC said that a large portion of the North American bulk power system was at risk of insufficient electricity supplies this winter.

SMUD, EPRI Launch Pollinator Project at Former Nuclear Power Site

January 3, 2023

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
January 3, 2023

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) recently launched a project to restore prairie land and pollinator habitat on a portion of land at the site of a former nuclear power plant.

The SMUD Rancho Seco Restorative Energy Project is at the 2,000-acre site of the Rancho Seco nuclear plant that was decommissioned in 1989 and is part of native tribes’ ancestral lands. It is now used for public recreation, an endangered species conservation bank, a sanctuary for rescued wildlife and is home of the 1,000-megawatt (MW) gas-fired Cosumnes power plant and a utility-scale solar power project, as well as the federally protected California Tiger Salamander.

The restoration project aims to create a pollinator habitat under solar arrays and along other portions of 20 acres of land at the Rancho Seco site in Sacramento County, Calif. The project will measure changes in energy, soil carbon, and management costs. Expected outcomes include the establishment of native plant species promoting pollinator habitats, EPRI said.

“Successful demonstration could provide the blueprint for future renewable energy projects throughout the country that are restorative not just in their kilowatts, but also for local people and biodiversity,” Jessica Fox, senior technical executive and conservation biologist at EPRI, said in a statement.

Collaborators in the four-year, multi-phase Restorative Energy Project include the University of California, Davis, the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments, and NovaSource Power.

SMUD is part of EPRI’s Power-In-Pollinators initiative, which was launched in 2018 and is the largest collaboration of power companies in North America working to understand pollinators.

In addition to SMUD, several other public power utilities across the country are engaged in efforts to improve pollinator habitats, including Bonneville Power Administration, City Utilities of Springfield in Missouri, Lincoln Electric System in Nebraska, Logansport Municipal Utilities in Indiana, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Nebraska Public Power District, New York Power Authority, Omaha Public Power District, Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, Vermont Public Power Supply Authority, and Salt River Project.

California Grid Operator Adopts Policies to Support Grid Reliability

January 3, 2023

by APPA News
January 3, 2023

California Independent System Operator governing entities in December adopted policies and tools to support system reliability.

The ISO’s Board and Western Energy Imbalance Market Governing Body approved the Energy Storage Enhancements and Resource Sufficiency Energy Enhancements initiatives in a joint meeting.

Both proposals are scheduled to be implemented by this summer when extreme heat can create high
demand for energy resources during critical hours.

With nearly 5,000 megawatts of storage resources now connected to the grid, the storage enhancements proposal reflects the ISO’s continuing work with industry stakeholders to refine its policies ensuring batteries are accurately priced in the real-time market and fully charged to provide energy when needed, CAISO said.

The Energy Storage Enhancements proposal adopted by the Board and WEIM Governing Body encompassed several refinements, including:

The Board and Governing Body also approved the WEIM Resource Sufficiency Evaluation Enhancement Phase 2 initiative to make sure the WEIM entities have enough capacity and energy in the real-time market to meet their demand before voluntarily transferring electricity to other participants.

APPA Details How it Can Help Implement DOE Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program

December 20, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
December 20, 2022

There are a number of ways in which the American Public Power Association (APPA) can help the Department of Energy successfully implement a Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program including assisting in identifying solutions as well as potential pathways for increasing information sharing with small- and medium-sized public power utilities, APPA said.

APPA made its Dec. 19 comments in response to a request for information (RFI) issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) to inform its implementation of the Rural and Municipal Utility Advanced Cybersecurity Grant and Technical Assistance Program.

In its comments, APPA noted that public power utilities are eligible entities for the new program, with over 1,000 of these utilities likely to fall into one or more of the priority categories of: (1) having limited cybersecurity resources; (2) owning assets critical to the reliability of the bulk power system; or (3) owning defense critical electric infrastructure (as defined in section 215A(a) of the Federal Power Act.

APPA said that along with awarding grants directly to owners and operators to address individual entity needs, DOE should also consider working with trade associations and other trusted partners around technical assistance options and needs.

“The needs of eligible utilities are diverse — some entities are in need of technical assistance on simply how to begin or move forward with basic programs, whereas others are more advanced and may be in need of assistance (financing and/or technical) in implementing technology or other cybersecurity solutions,“ APPA said.

APPA “presents a robust pathway for assisting large swaths of these communities, especially for those whose cybersecurity preparedness is not as mature as others,” it said.

For smaller utilities — including many public power utilities that make up the majority of eligible utility entities for this new grant program — cybersecurity can be daunting task, APPA pointed out.

“Many public power utilities have limited resources to put toward cyber services, technology deployments, additional cyber staff, or to increase participation in threat intelligence information sharing programs. Moreover, most public power utilities are distribution only utilities, whereas most existing government cybersecurity resources are focused on the bulk electric system (BES).”

The program’s focus on small- and medium-sized electric utilities, particularly public power and rural electric cooperative utilities, is a welcome development, the trade group told DOE.

In addition, APPA encouraged DOE to work with trade associations to reach their smaller members to ensure they are engaged and have clear pathways for resources available under the program.

APPA pointed out that it has worked with DOE through cooperative agreements on efforts like increasing increase adoption of cybersecurity solutions for operational technologies. This work has included the production of templates and guidance to assist in the adoption of these types of technologies, such as data sharing considerations.

APPA went on to note that tools and resources that are specifically intended for small distribution utilities are more likely to be utilized. “Therefore, it would be beneficial for DOE to consider pathways for creating, updating, or promoting these types of materials and resources.”

It would also be beneficial, when it comes to public power utilities, for DOE to consider ways it could partner with the Department of Homeland Security to identify tools and resources that DHS has already created for State, Local, Tribal, or Territorial communities that could be promoted, updated, and utilized by public power utilities, APPA told DOE.

“APPA is very interested in assisting and promoting such an effort within its membership, including bringing members to the table to help shape such products.”

These efforts would need to be complementary, not in place of, individual grant awards to qualifying utility owners and operators to implement solutions they have individually identified, the public power trade group said. “Access to a trusted community-focused forum where best practices can be confidentially shared and learned from would be very valuable for these communities.”

APPA also said the program will provide opportunities for smaller utilities to lean further in on cybersecurity issues to the benefit of their communities and the nation. “The ease of the process and the ability for smaller utilities to meet program requirements will be enormous factors in how much traction this new program is able to generate. To that end, DOE should also seek opportunities to limit the application of cost share or compliance reporting requirements, as these obligations may place an undue administrative burden on smaller utilities and be a significant barrier to participation.”