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NERC | TADS Frequently Asked Questions | August 12, 2014I

NERC TADSFrequently Asked Questions

August 12, 2014

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Preface..................................................................................................................................................................... iv

Executive Summary..................................................................................................................................................v

Chapter 1 – Questions and Answers.........................................................................................................................6

1. TADS Reporting, Generator Lead Lines, and Generators:.............................................................................6

2. Lightning causes a line to trip. Line fails to auto-reclose as designed, causing the line to remain out for 10 minutes. Should the sustained cause be Lightning or Failed Protection System Equipment?..............................7

3. Clarification of “Normal Clearing”: If a breaker fails to trip from primary relaying but does successfully trip in the required time via secondary/backup relaying, is this considered normal or abnormal?............................7

4. Trees washed out during flooding, slid down hill, and contacted line. Is the cause Environmental or Vegetation? [In the TADS definitions, flood seems to be a natural disaster that’s excluded from the vegetation cause code, so we’re thinking that the cause = Environmental]...........................................................................8

5. See Figure 3 for the Following Questions:....................................................................................................8

6. For the following questions, refer to Figure 4:.............................................................................................9

7. Please see Figure 4 for the Following Questions:.......................................................................................10

8. Please see Figure 5 for the following questions:........................................................................................11

9. Please see Figure 6 for the following questions:........................................................................................12

10. For the following questions, refer to Figure 7:.......................................................................................13

11. For the following questions, refer to Figure 8:.......................................................................................14

12. FRCC TADS T.O. states that it would probably be of benefit if NERC included some examples in the next version of the TADS Manual that covers the rounding of outage durations. Example: An extended outage that lasts 1 min 27 seconds would be rounded down to 1 min when reported in TADS, whereas an outage of 1 min 56 seconds would be rounded up to 2 min in TADS...........................................................................................15

13. Recently our group reviewed again some events and realized that the representation of the DC line with only two circuits was misleading because in fact we really have four sections, two per pole: X to Y (1000 km) and Y to Z (500 km). This is a complex system with several multiterminal and two-terminal configurations. We thought we could represent it as one section per pole but this leads to significant errors since the section length. This is a problem for automatic outages but will help a lot also the planned outages representation. We are not proposing to change it now since all the data are finalized for 2010 but we will like to rediscuss the representation for 2011. We understand that this will require to go back on previous years as well. We will be prepared to provide the data for other years with this new line model if you agree that this could be done.. .15

14. Temporarily Jumpered AC Circuit...........................................................................................................16

15. Momentary, then Less than 1 Minute Operational Outage....................................................................17

16. If a breaker trips for lightning and doesn't reclose because of an issue reclosing, this is NOT abnormal clearing. Is this correct?......................................................................................................................................17

17. Abnormal clearing has nothing to do with reclosing only tripping. Correct?..........................................17

18. Also, if the system is set up to clear more than one line during a fault (and this is the expected result) even though it is not Normally set up this way (issue with breaker so two lines are being protected by single breaker), this would be Normal Clearing as well?...............................................................................................18

19. Operator Turns the Wrong Handle.........................................................................................................18

NERC | TADS Frequently Asked Questions | August 12, 2014ii

Preface

20. A line correctly trips, and correctly recloses from one end. The other end of the line is designed to not reclose. If the operator closes the second end of the line back after more than one minute, what is the “Sustained Code”? There is no damage to the line, and the operator did not make an error. In the past, I was advised that this would be the same as the Outage Initiating Code. Is this correct?.........................................18

21. A line correctly trips fails to reclose on one end due to a reclosing relay failure. What is the “Sustained Code”? Reclosing is no longer part of the NERC Glossary definition of Protection System. I feel like “Other” would be the most correct sustained code if we are following the document the way it is actually written, but “Failed Protection System” seems to follow the intent a little more..................................................................18

22. NERC cannot force a Generator Owner (GO) to register as a Transmission Owner (TO) to report the transmission interconnections to the power grid. How should these transmission elements be handled?......19

23. Since the TADS reporting based new BES Definitions will begin January 1, 2015, will the Quarter 4 inventory data, normally submitted by the January 15, 2015 deadline, need to include the 100kV and above elements?...........................................................................................................................................................19

24. We had a circuit out for scheduled maintenance all day and it is entered in TADS as a planned outage. It was accidentally energized and closed/tripped. I believe it should be entered in TADS as a momentary outage. TADS will not let me enter it as an automatic outage since it is overlapping time with the planned outage. I was wondering what I should do........................................................................................................19

25. Could you address an issue SERC and a few TOs are having with the Duration fields? TADS exports data to a CVS file format, but every Duration field does not translate well to the Excel environment. This necessitates a lot of manual interventions in order to normalize the data to a common format......................19

26. IMEA is registered as a TO in RF on behalf of an IMEA member with a 138 kV municipal system that serves only local distribution. IMEA will qualify for Exclusion 1 (Radial Systems) and Exclusion 3 (Local Networks) under the new BES Definition which becomes effective July 1, 2014; this will allow IMEA to deregister as a TO. If IMEA needs to take additional action, I would appreciate your advice............................20

27. Could you address the training for TOs TADS reporting when we go to the BES TADS Elements? NERC Training of the regions last November had a slide showing that 2015 Q1 reporting would be for all BES TADS Elements.............................................................................................................................................................20

28. TOs will need to be updating their system to accommodate the larger dataset and are enquiring into the training schedule. The sooner we have the data specifications delivered to the TOs, the better...............21

29. With the expanding scope of TADS reporting in 2015, will there be a significant change in the workbook to accommodate this reporting? If so, when an updated workbook will be available so that entities can begin compiling inventory data for sub-200 kV elements?..........................................................................21

30. When we start reporting 161 kV information in 2015, will it be just Automatic (Unplanned) outages or both Non Automatic (Planned) and Automatic (Unplanned). Seems to me I heard that only Automatic outages will need to be entered for 161 KV. Also is there a site where I can get a summary of reporting requirements for 2015 or is it still in the works?.......................................................................................................................21

31. Should Form 3.4 be completed quarterly, or, is it a form that needs to be completed only in Q4?.......22

32. Is the transformer with the arrow pointing to it TADS Reportable with the new BES alignment?.........22

NERC | TADS Frequently Asked Questions | August 12, 2014iii

Preface

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is a not-for-profit international regulatory authority whose mission is to ensure the reliability of the bulk power system (BPS) in North America. NERC develops and enforces Reliability Standards; annually assesses seasonal and long term reliability; monitors the BPS through‐ system awareness; and educates, trains, and certifies industry personnel. NERC’s area of responsibility spans the continental United States, Canada, and the northern portion of Baja California, Mexico. NERC is the electric reliability organization (ERO) for North America, subject to oversight by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and governmental authorities in Canada. NERC’s jurisdiction includes users, owners, and operators of the BPS, which serves more than 334 million people.

The North American BPS is divided into several assessment areas within the eight Regional Entity (RE) boundaries, as shown in the map and corresponding table below.

NERC | TADS Frequently Asked Questions | August 12, 2014iv

FRCC Florida Reliability Coordinating CouncilMRO Midwest Reliability OrganizationNPCC Northeast Power Coordinating CouncilRF ReliabilityFirstSERC SERC Reliability CorporationSPP-RE Southwest Power Pool Regional EntityTRE Texas Reliability EntityWECC Western Electricity Coordinating

Council

Executive Summary

The purpose of this document is to provide a record of answers to questions that NERC staff has received on the NERC Transmission Availability Data System.

NERC | TADS Frequently Asked Questions | August 12, 2014v

Chapter 1 – Questions and Answers

1. TADS Reporting, Generator Lead Lines, and Generators:A. Are generator lead lines part of the Bulk Electric System?It depends on the generator. (poor answer, research more) If the AC Circuit leads to a network comprising more than 75 MW of generator capacity, the AC Circuit is considered part of the BES. (research more)

B. Should they be reported in TADS?All Bulk Electric System AC Circuits should be reported within webTADS.

C. In Scenario A, all the substations and transmission lines are 345kV. There is a 10 mile line/connection to a wind farm. This is considered a generator lead line at OG&E. For faults or planned outages, should the line/connection between substation B and the wind farm be reported in TADS? (Note: The wind farm trips offline due a SPS (Special Protection System) in place for faults between Substation A and Substation B.)

Figure 1: Scenario A

If the Wind Farm is at a total combined capacity above 75 MW, the generator lead line is considered part of the Bulk Electric System and should be reported in TADS.

D. In Scenario B, the gas unit plants sit adjacent to the 345kV substation. The gas units trip offline from time to time. In addition, they are taken offline for maintenance and load curtailment during the spring and fall seasons. Should Automatic and Planned outages on those lines be reported in TADS?

NERC | TADS Frequently Asked Questions | August 12, 20146


Figure 2: Scenario B

Based on the configuration shown, no Outages would be reported if the Gas Units on the right are tripped offline with the circuit breaker to its left. The Gas Units on the left would only result in a reportable Outage if either circuit breaker above or below it were operated. This is based on the definition of In-Service State that requires all terminals to be connected and energized.

2. Lightning causes a line to trip. Line fails to auto-reclose as designed, causing the line to remain out for 10 minutes. Should the sustained cause be Lightning or Failed Protection System Equipment?

In the past, a recloser was considered part of the Protection System. However, with the new Protection System definition, the recloser is no longer considered part of the Protection System.

In this case, the DRI recommends to apply for the Sustained Cause Code the cause that “contributed to the longest duration of the Outage”. The recloser failing is the cause contributing the longest duration. Based on the AC Circuit boundary, the recloser could be considered within either the AC Circuit or AC Substation. It could be either Failed AC Circuit Equipment or Failed AC Substation Equipment based on the recloser’s location.

3. Clarification of “Normal Clearing”: If a breaker fails to trip from primary relaying but does successfully trip in the required time via secondary/backup relaying, is this considered normal or abnormal?

This is considered abnormal clearing according to the definitions. The Event should be coded as Event Type 61 (Dependability based).

4. Trees washed out during flooding, slid down hill, and contacted line. Is the cause Environmental or Vegetation? [In the TADS definitions, flood seems to be a natural disaster that’s excluded from the vegetation cause code, so we’re thinking that the cause = Environmental]


Andy, 08/12/14,

We really need to tackle the problem of Generator Step-Up Transformers and Generator Lead-Lines in TADS.


The Initiating Cause Code would be Environmental due to the flooding.

5. See Figure 3 for the Following Questions:

Figure 3: At substation B, 345 kV line A-B connects to 345 kV line B-C via PCB 123.

A. What is the terminal of Line A-B at substation B? SW122 or PCB123?SW122, SW125 and PCB123 are considered the terminal for the line. SW122, SW125 and PCB123 must be connected for the AC Circuit to be considered In-Service.

This would not be the case if Substation B was in a breaker-in-a-half, double breaker, ring bus, or other multiple breaker situation. The terminal must comprise all switches and circuit breakers that would be necessary to allow power flow to cross the network into the AC Circuit.

B. What is the terminal of Line B-C at substation B? PCB123, SW124, or SW125?SW122, SW125 and PCB123 are considered the terminal for the line. Both SW122, SW125 and PCB123 must be connected for the AC Circuit to be considered In-Service.

C. If PCB123 trips from low gas but both lines remain energized from their remote ends and SW 122, 124, and 125 remain closed, are Line A-B and Line B-C still in service?

According to the TADS definitions, Line A-B and Line B-C are not in an In-Service State. This is a case where the two AC Circuits are sharing a common terminal. The two Outages would both be Common Mode and have an Initiating Cause Code of Failed Protection System Equipment.

D. Assume that lightning strikes Line A-B and causes PCB123 to open. Line B-C remains energized from its remote end at Substation C. With PCB123 open, is Line B-C considered to be fully connected at Substation B? Is line B-C still in service, or has it been interrupted?

Because PCB123 is interrupted, the terminal connection is severed. Line B-C is no longer in an In-Service state.



E. If line B-C is considered to be interrupted in question #E, what is the outage mode? Dependent Mode or Common Mode?

The two Outages would both be Common Mode and have an Initiating Cause Code of Failed Protection System Equipment.

6. For the following questions, refer to Figure 4:

Figure 4: Line D-E is a 345 kV radial feeder circuit that supplies a 345 kV/138 kV transformer at Substation E.

A. Is there a terminal of Line D-E at substation E? If so, where does Line D-E end? SW3502, 3500CS, or PCB1510?

The terminal of AC Circuit D-E at Substation E would be comprised of SW3502 and 3500CS. Both must be connected in order for power flow to occur across the line from substation E. This would not be the case in a different bus configuration such as a radial bus, breaker-and-a-half, or double breaker configuration because power flow could still occur if some of the circuit breakers/switches were opened.

B. If Line D-E remains energized from Substation D, does opening 3500CS cause a TADS reportable interruption?

Opening 3500CS would disconnect the terminal consisting of SW3502 and 3500CS. This would cause an Automatic Outage of AC Circuit D-E.



C. If Line D-E remains energized from Substation D, does opening 3502 cause a TADS reportable interruption?

Opening SW3502 would disconnect the terminal consisting of SW3502 and 3500CS. This would cause an Automatic Outage of AC Circuit D-E.

D. If a transformer fault causes PCB1510 and 3500CS to open, is Line D-E still in service?

Opening SW3502 would disconnect the terminal consisting of SW3502 and 3500CS. This would cause an Automatic Outage of AC Circuit D-E.

Although Line D-E is reportable, everything forward of 3500CS going towards the Transformer is non-reportable because it is excluded from the Bulk Electric System. Please reference Exclusion E1 in http://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/BES%20DL/BES%20Definition%20Approved%20by%20FERC%203-20-14.pdf.

7. Please see Figure 4 for the Following Questions:

Figure 4: Power Plant P connects to the grid at Substation Q via the generation feeder circuit P-Q.

A. Is the feeder circuit P-Q considered a line for TADS purposes?If the feeder AC Circuit P-Q is either completely or partially owned by an Entity with a Transmission Owner function, the Circuit should be reported for TADS purposes. TADS only applies to the Transmission Owner function.

B. If so, what are the terminals?The terminals would be 3511 and 52-4. These two switches/breakers must be connected to ensure the AC Circuit can transfer power flow.


http://www.nerc.com/pa/RAPA/BES%20DL/BES%20Definition%20Approved%20by%20FERC%203-20-14.pdf


C. If the circuit remains energized and connected at Substation Q, does opening PCB 52-4 at Power Plant P cause an interruption?

Yes, the terminal at 52-4 would be disconnected. This would place the AC Circuit P-Q in a not In-Service State.

8. Please see Figure 5 for the following questions:

Figure 5: Line F-G is owned and operated by Company #1. Line G-H is owned and operated by Company #2.

Company #1 has registered Line F-G as a TADS Element. Company #2 has registered Line G-H as a TADS Element. There is no fault current interrupting device between Line F-G and Line G-H. When one line encounters a fault, both lines must trip in order to clear the fault.

A. Is Line F-G considered a separate line from Line G-H for TADS purposes?Yes, Line F-G is considered a separate AC Circuit from Line G-H.

B. If so, what is the terminal for line F-G at Substation G? SW3424?The terminal for line F-G is switch 2105 and switch 3424. Both must be connected for power flow to occur across the Element. Generally, the terminal can be determined from the minimal set or sets (in the case of a multiple



breaker bus configuration) that must be connected for power flow to occur across the Element. This does not mean that the Element could not be deenergized from beyond its terminals.

C. If so, what is the terminal for line G-H at Substation G? SW3423?The terminals for AC Circuit G-H would be SW3423 and SW3406. These switches must be connected for the AC Circuit to be considered In-Service. However, it could be confusing because the Circuit could be deenergized from beyond its terminals. For an AC Circuit to be considered In-Service for TADS, it must be both energized AND connected to all of its terminals. In many cases, it can be quicker to determine Outage reportablility by whether the Element is energized.

9. Please see Figure 6 for the following questions:

Figure 6: Line Q-R is a 345 kV circuit between Substation Q and Substation R. The line connects to a ring bus at Substation Q.

A. What is the terminal of Line Q-R at substation Q?The terminal for Line Q-R at substation Q would comprise the switches/breakers: 3512, 3518E, 3518N, 3518, 3517S, 3517N and 3517. In determining this, you can see the 3 “sub-terminals” of: {3512}, {3518E, 3518N, 3518}, and {3517N, 3517S, and 3517}. The set of {3512} and the other two “sub-terminals” comprise the combined terminal. For a reportable TADS Outage to occur by disconnecting the terminal, {3512} AND BOTH OF the other two “sub-terminals” or both the sets containing 3517 and 3518 must be disconnected.

B. If PCB 3517 and PCB 3518 are open at Substation Q but line Q-R remains energized from Substation R and SW 3512 remains closed, is Line Q-R still in service?

Line Q-R is not considered in an In-Service state because both “sub-terminals” containing 3517 and 3518 had been disconnected. It is no longer possible for power flow to cross the Element.

C. What is the terminal of Line Q-R at substation R?The terminal at substation R for Line Q-R would consist of the switches/breakers: 3457, 3454L, 3454 and 3454B.



D. Assume that all breakers and switches at Substation Q are closed and Line Q-R is energized from Substation Q. If PCB 3454 is opened at Substation R, but SW 3457 and SW 3454L remain closed, is Line Q-R still in service?

Assuming that the network behind Substation R is part of the Bulk Electric System, Line Q-R would be considered in a not In-Service state. This is because it is no longer possible for power flow to cross Line Q-R.

E. Assume that all breakers and switches at Substation Q are closed and Line Q-R is energized from Substation Q. If SW 3454L is opened with SW 3457 closed, is Line Q-R still in service?

In this case, Line Q-R would not be considered in an In-Service state. For TADS, all terminals must be connected for the Element to be considered In-Service. This is different from other systems which handle the case of a “dangling, energized from one end AC Circuit” as being in-service.


Figure 7: Line S-T is a 345 kV circuit between Substation S and Substation T.

A. Line S-T trips and recloses during a storm with a P-G fault. Because of a failed communications circuit, the remote end of Line S-U trips and recloses at Substation U. Is this the correct way to report these interruptions?

Form 4.1 – Line S-T Form 4.1- Line S-UFault type: P-G fault No faultOutage Initiation Code Element-Initiated Other Element-Initiated? Or Other Facility?Initiating Cause Code Weather, excluding lightning Failed Protection System EquipmentSustained Cause Code N/A - Momentary N/A - MomentaryOutage Mode Code Dependent Mode Initiating Dependent ModeBoth interruptions will use the same TADS Event ID Code with Event Type = 50.

For each field listed, a response is provided:



Fault Type: This is correct.Outage Initiation Code: Line S-T is correct. Line S-U should be Other Facility Initiated because the Protection

System directly initiates the Outage. If a subsequent Element was placed in a not In-Service state behind S-U, that Element would have an Other Element-Initiated Initiation Code.

Initiating Cause Code: This is correct.Sustained Cause Code: This is correct.Outage Mode Code: This is correct.The Event containing these Outages will have the TADS Event ID Code of 62 (Security: Unintended Operation). Prior to 2012, Type 50 would have been correct, but the Event ID Codes have subsequently changed.


Figure 8: Assume that Line A-B-C is a 345 kV circuit with multiple radial feeds to sub-100 kV transformers.

B. Assume that loops are opened as circled in green in the diagram, but the line is fully energized and all breakers are closed. Is this line in service with the loops opened?(The line is energized and fully connected at all terminals, so per the TADS definition, this line would seem to be in service.)

Radial lines serving Non-BES Load are considered to not be a part of the BES under Exception E1. However, you will want to verify that the line is question is not in the Bulk Electric System. For 2015, Line A-B-C is no longer part of the Bulk Electric System. If you determine this AC Circuit is a part of the Bulk Electric System, the AC Circuit would be considered In-Service. Sectionalizing switches are traditionally not counted as terminals in TADS. Therefore, the AC Circuit would be connected at all terminals (power flow across the Element is possible) and be energized (power flow can be obtained for 100% of the AC Circuit’s length).



C. If switch 8101 is opened at Substation F with all other breakers/switches closed and the line energized, is Line A-B-C in service?

Substation F, to TADS, does not exist (it is outside of the Bulk Electric System). The AC Circuit would be considered In-Service.

D. If inline switch 1380 near Substation E is opened with all other breakers/switches closed and the line energized, is Line A-B-C in service?

Substation F, including switch 1380, in the TADS world does not exist. Substation F is outside of the Bulk Electric System. Therefore, Line A-B-C is in an In-Service state.

12. FRCC TADS T.O. states that it would probably be of benefit if NERC included some examples in the next version of the TADS Manual that covers the rounding of outage durations.

Example: An extended outage that lasts 1 min 27 seconds would be rounded down to 1 min when reported in TADS, whereas an outage of 1 min 56 seconds would be rounded up to 2 min in TADS.

An example will be placed into the 2015 TADS DRI.

13. Recently our group reviewed again some events and realized that the representation of the DC line with only two circuits was misleading because in fact we really have four sections, two per pole: X to Y (1000 km) and Y to Z (500 km). This is a complex system with several multi-terminal and two-terminal configurations. We thought we could represent it as one section per pole but this leads to significant errors since the section length. This is a problem for automatic outages but will help a lot also the planned outages representation. We are not proposing to change it now since all the data are finalized for 2010 but we will like to discuss the representation for 2011. We understand that this will require to go back on previous years as well. We will be prepared to provide the data for other years with this new line model if you agree that this could be done.

If you can control the terminals in such a way that the power flow goes from 0 to a maximal value, it should be treated as the equivalent to a circuit breaker for a DC Circuit. Then, treat the network similarly to an AC Circuit network with each DC Circuit having two poles. In this specific case and with the limited information, this network would be interpreted as 2 separate DC Circuits (X-Y and Y-Z).



14. Temporarily Jumpered AC CircuitAt a station that has numerous transmission lines:

A scheduled outage is performed on one line starting on 5/17/2010. Before the line is restored, the line is temporarily jumpered (around the station) on 7/1/2010 to another line. The single ‘new’ (temporary) line is then energized and connected to the system (although not in their ‘normal’ configuration) through the opposite ends. The circuit breakers at the affected station have been jumpered around and are out-of-service (but by definition are not part of the AC Circuit). It may remain like this for several months for example until 1/17/2011 (I imagine for some companies a situation similar to this could exist for years and may never be returned to their ‘original’ configuration).

A. Since the lines are energized and connected to the system, they are technically “in-service”. Correct?

However, the outage duration definition states that it is “the amount of time the Element is fully restored to its original or normal configuration”.

This was an issue before detailed inventory in TADS (implemented for 2013 reporting). By changing the terminals of the first AC Circuit in this way, a de-facto new AC Circuit has been created of the first and second AC Circuit. You would retire both of the old AC Circuits as of 7/1, and you would create a single, new AC Circuit with a precursor element of “LINE1,LINE2” if the Element Identifiers were “LINE1” and “LINE2” (no quotes in Element Identifier). The new line would be considered In-Service as of it being connected to all of its terminals and energized. The change/reconfiguration dates for the combined AC Circuit would be 7/1.

Circuit breakers, in the TADS world, are not assigned an In-Service or not In-Service state. Only AC Circuits, Transformers, DC Circuits, and AC/DC Back to Back Converters have a possible In-Service state.

When the TO is ready to separate the AC Circuit into two AC Circuits (with new breakers, etc.), new AC Circuit Unique Identifiers are used, the combined AC Circuit is retired, and the new AC Circuits should use the combined AC Circuit’s Element Identifier for the Precursor Element. This is to allow TADS to determine the history of an AC Circuit over time.

If you wanted to perform the same steps for prior to 2013 TADS reporting, you perform the same steps as above in a spreadsheet, and you would calculate the Equivalent Circuits of all of the AC Circuits involved.

B. Should this outage be reported as approximately 1.5 months or 8 months? (If a company left lines temporarily configured like this for years, it could significantly affect the reporting data.)

This was an issue in previous years, but as of 2013, you would follow the method in A to combine the AC Circuits temporarily. You would have two Planned Outages of the previous AC Circuits. Then, once combined and energized, the AC Circuit would be in an In-Service state. You would have one Planned Outage of 1.5 months for the first line, another short Planned Outage for the duration of the jumpering, and then a subsequent Planned Outage when the AC Circuits are separated.

C. Since the new normal (temporary) configuration is now acting as one Element, would this change the Element count?

The Equivalent Element counts would depend on the retirement/in-service reconfiguration dates of all of the AC Circuits involved.



A “temporary” example such as this should be considered to be added to the guidelines.

When detailed inventory was implemented, the quarterly reporting of a situation where AC Circuits are being split and recombined was specifically handled, in detail, to help address this problem. Unfortunately, it was unclear when lumped inventory was used in TADS because the example did not cover adding and removing AC Circuits in as much depth.

My thought is that since both Elements are fully energized and connected to the system the outage has ended at 1.5 months. And since it is a temporary configuration that it will remain reported as 2 Elements. Further note that if an automatic outage occurs while in this configuration, 2 Elements will be recorded with Dependent Mode. If lightning were to hit the line while in this temporary configuration, if the lines were not considered restored, the outage could not be reported. Also, if a line is connected to a spare breaker at a substation the line is considered restored, even though it is not in its original or normal configuration.

The changes using detailed inventory to TADS should help resolve this issue. Depending on whether the AC Circuit is separated or combined, there will be either 1 or 2 Outages in this case. In the 2 Outage case, that is an example of a shared breaker situation, and both Outages would be Common Mode with the same Initiating Cause Code.

15. Momentary, then Less than 1 Minute Operational OutageWe had a momentary outage on a transmission line (5th on that line that day) because of buzzard “pollution”. 50 seconds later, the dispatchers manually opened the line (Emergency Forced) and the line remained deenergized for a week.

Should this be reported as a single outage due to buzzard “Pollution”? I’m not sure that it should. If the dispatcher’s had waited 11 seconds then it would be one momentary automatic outage and then one emergency forced outage. For all we know, if they had not manually opened it, it may have stayed in service for days or months without another outage.

It should be reported as a single Outage due to the buzzard “Pollution”. You may wish to install buzzard “Pollution scrubbers” to help with the problem.

How do you believe we should report these outages? One (automatic) or two (automatic and manual)?

In this case, it would be one Automatic Outage. The AC Circuit must be energized and connected at all terminals for at least 1 minute to be considered back in an In-Service state. This is a compromise to avoid lots of auto-reclosing Automatic Outages.

16. If a breaker trips for lightning and doesn't reclose because of an issue reclosing, this is NOT abnormal clearing. Is this correct?

For TADS, once the breaker correctly trips, it is Normal Clearing.

17. Abnormal clearing has nothing to do with reclosing only tripping. Correct?

This is correct.



18. Also, if the system is set up to clear more than one line during a fault (and this is the expected result) even though it is not normally set up this way (issue with breaker so two lines are being protected by single breaker), this would be Normal Clearing as well?

By manually changing whether the breaker is bypassed or not, the TO has indicated that it has changed its Normal Clearing Circuit Breaker Set. However, if the second AC Circuit cleared due to the primary protection failing or the backup protection overreaching, the Event would be Abnormal Clearing.

19. Operator Turns the Wrong HandleWhat about a case where the operator was switching out a breaker and turned the wrong handle?

It is NOT automatic, as the operator manually opened the wrong breaker. It's clearly a Manual operation. (The same argument could be made for test personnel who are intentionally 'tripping' a relay, but unintentionally open a breaker. The operation was NOT automatic.)

Also, it's not scheduled, because the particular breaker was not scheduled for removal from service.

Also, it's not operational.

For 2015, an Operational Cause Code called “Human Error” was added to specifically address this situation.

20. A line correctly trips, and correctly recloses from one end. The other end of the line is designed to not reclose. If the operator closes the second end of the line back after more than one minute, what is the “Sustained Code”? There is no damage to the line, and the operator did not make an error. In the past, I was advised that this would be the same as the Outage Initiating Code. Is this correct?

In this case, the Sustained Cause Code would be the same as the Initiating Cause Code.

21. A line correctly trips fails to reclose on one end due to a reclosing relay failure. What is the “Sustained Code”? Reclosing is no longer part of the NERC Glossary definition of Protection System. I feel like “Other” would be the most correct sustained code if we are following the document the way it is actually written, but “Failed Protection System” seems to follow the intent a little more.

Depending on whether the recloser is contained within the AC Circuit or AC Substation, the Sustained Cause Code would be either Failed AC Circuit Equipment or Failed AC Substation Equipment.



22. NERC cannot force a Generator Owner (GO) to register as a Transmission Owner (TO) to report the transmission interconnections to the power grid. How should these transmission elements be handled?

TADS is only applicable to Transmission Owners. If an Element is either partially or fully owned by an Entity with a Transmission Owner function, that Element should be reported in TADS.

23. Since the TADS reporting based new BES Definitions will begin January 1, 2015, will the Quarter 4 inventory data, normally submitted by the January 15, 2015 deadline, need to include the 100kV and above elements?

The January 15, 2015 deadline applies to 2014 Quarter 4 TADS data. All Elements 200 kV and above should be reported for 2014 Quarter 4 reporting. Reporting of 100 – 199 kV Elements and Less than 100 kV Bulk Electric System Elements should commence with 2015 Quarter 1 reporting, commencing with all Outages beginning on January 1, 2015 00:00:01 UTC.

24. We had a circuit out for scheduled maintenance all day and it is entered in TADS as a planned outage. It was accidentally energized and closed/tripped. I believe it should be entered in TADS as a momentary outage. TADS will not let me enter it as an automatic outage since it is overlapping time with the planned outage. I was wondering what I should do.

For TADS, an AC Circuit must remain in an In-Service State for at least 1 minute for the Outage to be counted as a separate Outage. In this case, there would not be a second Outage because the closing/tripping occurred during an already occurring Planned Outage.

25. Could you address an issue SERC and a few TOs are having with the Duration fields? TADS exports data to a CVS file format, but every Duration field does not translate well to the Excel environment. This necessitates a lot of manual interventions in order to normalize the data to a common format.

For Detailed Outage Data: On the “Filter” options, there is a checkbox for “Format for Export”. This will convert durations to dddd.tttt upon export, where dddd is the number of days and tttt is a fractional day. This is the native Excel format for time durations, so you should be able to add it to the Outage start time to get an Outage end time.

For Summary Outage Data: NERC Staff and the vendor are working to resolve the issue.



26. IMEA is registered as a TO in RF on behalf of an IMEA member with a 138 kV municipal system that serves only local distribution. IMEA will qualify for Exclusion 1 (Radial Systems) and Exclusion 3 (Local Networks) under the new BES Definition which becomes effective July 1, 2014; this will allow IMEA to deregister as a TO. If IMEA needs to take additional action, I would appreciate your advice

Although some steps may not be applicable in your case, here are the steps that should occur for either TOs who are losing the TO function or when their Element(s) become BES Exempt:

1. For each Element that is BES Exempt:a. In the proper 3.X form, indicate the Element is BES Exempt by checking the “BES Exempt” field.

In the XML, a Boolean TRUE can be used for Bulk Upload.b. Also, set the Retirement Date(s) of the Element(s) to the date the Bulk Electric System

exemption request was approved by NERC. If your Elements are self-identified on January 1, 2015 as being exempt, you would enter January 1, 2015.

2. As long as your company maintains a TO function (prior to deregistration), you would indicate that you are either a reporting or non-reporting TADS Transmission Owner by filling Form 1.1 each year until your deregistration is complete.

3. Once the TO deregistration is approved, you must send an e-mail to [email protected] indicating your company has deregistered. NERC staff will verify that your company has deregistered successfully from the TO function, and you will no longer be responsible for TADS reporting as of your company’s deregistration date.

27. Could you address the training for TOs TADS reporting when we go to the BES TADS Elements? NERC Training of the regions last November had a slide showing that 2015 Q1 reporting would be for all BES TADS Elements.

Training for the TADS Bulk Electric System alignment will commence in 2014 Quarter 3 and 2014 Quarter 4. Notices will be sent to all TOs to invite them to participate. As per tradition, multiple live sections will be held where TOs are encouraged to ask questions. If you cannot attend any of the sessions or need to review the material, one session of each area will be recorded. An attempt will be made to provide “time marks” along the video feed, so you can see the particular form you need assistance with and avoid needless searching through the video. An attempt will also be made to pre-send the PowerPoint presentations for each training, but it may not be possible with the large amount of participants that usually attend.

A new training is being developed to help TOs with this reporting and to reorganize the content. The training, as traditional for TADS, will be in two webcasted parts, but will be reorganized into two areas:

1. Concepts of TADS Reporting: How does the TADS world work?This training will center on the basic definitions in TADS and describe how TADS views the transmission system. For new reporters, this will be an important training to ensure they understand “what the terms mean” in TADS. Although helpful, it will be assumed that new reporters are unfamiliar with the TADS Data Reporting Instruction Manual. For experienced reporters, a brief introduction to the various changes for 2015 reporting definitions will be given before the basic definitions are discussed.



2. Accomplishing 2015 TADS ReportingThis training will center on the “hows” of data reporting for 2015 in webTADS with a primary emphasis on using the Bulk Upload Spreadsheet. A NERC staff member will go step-by-step through the reporting process with a fake TO in webTADS to show how each step of the process should go. The staff member will use only files available on the public website to complete the TADS reporting to mimic what an actual TO would do. They will see any errors, problems, and encounter any validation errors, so that TOs can see exactly what could happen during data submission. Also, the various reporting features of webTADS will be discussed.

For new reporters, the training will guide you step-by-step on how to perform TADS data submission during 2015. If you follow the steps as laid out in the video, you should be able to complete TADS reporting without significant issues. If issues occur, the training will discuss resources to help you resolve the problem. For experienced reporters, a brief introduction detailing changes in webTADS forms and the Bulk Upload Spreadsheet from 2014 to 2015 will be discussed.

28. TOs will need to be updating their system to accommodate the larger dataset and are enquiring into the training schedule. The sooner we have the data specifications delivered to the TOs, the better.

This is correct. The 2015 workbook is still under development, but it should not change radically from the 2014 workbook. The major change will be the addition of the Voltage Classes “Less than 100 kV (BES Only)” and “100-199 kV”. A copy will be posted to the TADS public website as soon as it is in a good enough state for TOs to use for reporting.

29. With the expanding scope of TADS reporting in 2015, will there be a significant change in the workbook to accommodate this reporting? If so, when an updated workbook will be available so that entities can begin compiling inventory data for sub-200 kV elements?

The 2015 workbook should be available in 2014 Quarter 3. The changes to the workbook should not be too significant from 2014 reporting except for the addition of the Voltage Classes “Less than 100 kV (BES Only)” and “100-199 kV”. It is recommended that you start collecting your inventory on the 2014 TADS workbook if you want to collect it ahead of time. You would need to type in the new Voltages Classes for Elements below 200 kV in the 2014 workbook and then copy/paste it to the 2015 workbook to use in 2015.

The 2015 workbook, of course, will include those Voltage Classes in the proper dropdowns.

30. When we start reporting 161 kV information in 2015, will it be just Automatic (Unplanned) outages or both Non Automatic (Planned) and Automatic (Unplanned). Seems to me I heard that only Automatic outages will need to be entered for 161 KV. Also is there a site where I can get a summary of reporting requirements for 2015 or is it still in the works?



Currently, for 2015, only Sustained Outages (Automatic Outages lasting more than 1 minutes) would be collected for the “Less than 100 kV (BES Only)” and “100-199 kV” Voltage Classes. Depending on the results of the TADS Non-Automatic Outage Sunset, Operational Outages may also need to be reported later in 2015. However, this would be only for future quarters after the decision, and TOs would be given time to prepare for the change.

31. Should Form 3.4 be completed quarterly, or, is it a form that needs to be completed only in Q4?

Form 3.4, because it is in the Inventory Series (Forms 3.X) should be completed only in Q4. There is a known issue where this form will not validate correctly until Quarter 4 reporting is complete. If you encounter the validation error on Form 3.4, you can ignore it until Quarter 4 reporting. NERC and the vendor are currently working on fixing this issue.

32. Is the transformer with the arrow pointing to it TADS Reportable with the new BES alignment?

Figure 9: Assuming the 138 kV is radial, non-BES is the given Transformer reportable?



If the 138 kV AC Circuit beyond the Transformer is radial and not in the Bulk Electric System, the Transformer and tap would also not be part of the Bulk Electric System. Therefore, the Transformer would be non-reportable because it is not a BES Element.


Documents

NERC TADS: Frequently Asked Questions Availability Data... · Web viewThe North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is a not-for-profit international regulatory authority