regional entity

The regional entities, at the bottom of the structure for the development and enforcement of the reliability standards for the US electric grid, were established by the Section 215 of the Federal Power Act as amended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The statute tried to mimic the balance of power between the federal and state authorities in the US, with REs playing the role of regional (state-like) components.{{sfn|Skees|2010|p=8}}

As of 2021, there were six regional entities:{{sfn|NERC|2021|p=iv}}

• Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO);
• Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC);
• ReliabilityFirst (RF);
• SERC Reliability Corporation (SERC);
• Texas Reliability Entity (Texas RE);
• Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC).

The original list included eight entities,{{sfn|Skees|2010|p=8}} two REs were later dissolved:

• Southwest Power Pool regional entity operation was dissolved in 2018{{Federal Register|84|705}} (by merging into MRO),
• Florida Reliability Coordinating Council was dissolved in July 2019 (by merging into SERC).{{Federal Register|87|1746}}

The reliability standard development process had Regional Entities developing regional standards, to be approved by NERC and FERC. By the 2010, the process was slow: just nine standards were developed, all by the WECC.{{sfn|Skees|2010|p=8}}

An RE approves the transmission plans and chooses the projects for regional (as opposed to per-local-pricing-zone) cost allocation.{{cite web |last1=Goldfarb |first1=Eli |last2=Nasir |first2=Iqra |last3=Spinner |first3=Amanda |title=Electric Transmission Policy in the United States |url=https://closup.umich.edu/sites/closup/files/uploads/working-papers/closup-wp-53-Goldfarb-Nasir-Spinner-Electric-Transmission-Policy-in-the-United-States.pdf |website=closup.umich.edu | page=10 |publisher=Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy |access-date=5 November 2022 |date=December 2020}}

One of the important roles of an RE is suggesting to NERC (and FERC) to include the facilities into - or exclude from - the list of "elements" that constitute the bulk-power system (BPS, also known as a "bulk electric system", BES), subject to the oversight of the NERC.{{sfn|Carpentier|2014}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite web |last1=North American Electric Reliability Corporation |title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://www.nerc.com/AboutNERC/Documents/NERC%20FAQs%20AUG13.pdf |website=nerc.com |publisher=NERC |access-date=5 November 2022 |ref={{SfnRef|NERC|2013}} |date=August 2013|author1-link=North American Electric Reliability Corporation }}
• {{cite web |last1=North American Electric Reliability Corporation |title=Balancing and Frequency Control |url=https://www.nerc.com/comm/OC/ReferenceDocumentsDL/Reference_Document_NERC_Balancing_and_Frequency_Control.pdf |website=nerc.com |publisher=NERC |access-date=5 November 2022 |ref={{SfnRef|NERC|2021}} |date=May 11, 2021|author1-link=North American Electric Reliability Corporation }}
• {{cite journal | last1 = Carpentier | first1 = Deborah | title = NERC and Enforcement Issues: NERC Provides New Definition of Bulk Electric System | journal = Natural Gas & Electricity | date = 22 August 2014 | volume = 31 | issue = 2 | pages = 29–32 | issn = 1545-7893 | doi = 10.1002/gas.21785 | pmid = | url = https://m.crowell.com/files/NERC-Provides-New-Definition-of-Bulk-Electric-System.pdf }}
• {{cite journal | last1 = Skees | first1 = J. Daniel | title = Inventing the Future of Reliability: FERC's Recent Orders and the Consolidation of Reliability Authority | journal = The Electricity Journal | date = June 2010 | volume = 23 | issue = 5 | pages = 7–15 | issn = 1040-6190 | doi = 10.1016/j.tej.2010.04.015 | pmid = | url = }}

• [https://www.nerc.com/AboutNERC/keyplayers/Pages/default.aspx ERO Enterprise | Regional Entities] (NERC Web site)

{{North American Electric Reliability Corporation}}

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Category:Electric grid interconnections in North America