A regional entity (RE) in the

North American power transmission grid The electrical power grid that powers Northern America is not a single grid, but is instead divided into multiple wide area synchronous grids. The Eastern Interconnection and the Western Interconnection are the largest. Three other regions incl ...

is a regional organization representing all segments of the

electric industry Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

electric utilities An electric utility is a company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major pr ...

(investor-owned, cooperatives, state, regional, and municipal), federal agencies, independent power producers, power market operators, and end-users of the energy.

North American Electric Reliability Corporation The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is a nonprofit corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia, and formed on March 28, 2006, as the successor to the North American Electric Reliability Council (also known as NERC). The original N ...

(NERC) delegates to REs authority to enforce reliability standards (which NERC has throughout the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

), collectively REs, together with NERC, are known as an "ERO Enterprise" (from the

Electric Reliability Organization The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is a nonprofit corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia, and formed on March 28, 2006, as the successor to the North American Electric Reliability Council (also known as NERC). The original ...

History

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 The Federal Power Act is a law appearing in Chapter 12 of Title 16 of the United States Code, entitled "Federal Regulation and Development of Power". Enacted as the Federal Water Power Act on June 10, 1920, and amended many times since, its origina ...

as amended by the

Energy Policy Act of 2005 The Energy Policy Act of 2005 () is a federal law signed by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005, at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The act, described by proponents as an attempt to combat growing energy problems ...

. 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. As of 2021, there were six regional entities: *

Midwest Reliability Organization The Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO) began operations on January 1, 2005, as the successor to the Mid-continent Area Power Pool (MAPP), which was formed in 1965. MRO is one of six regional entities under North American Electric Reliability ...

(MRO); *

Northeast Power Coordinating Council The Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC) was formed January 19, 1966, as a successor to the Canada–United States Eastern Interconnection (CANUSE). It was formed in order to improve reliability of electric service. NPCC is one of six reg ...

(NPCC); *

ReliabilityFirst ReliabilityFirst (RF) is one of the six Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission)-approved regional entities responsible for ensuring the reliability of the North American Bulk-Power System, pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Rel ...

(RF); *

SERC Reliability Corporation The SERC Reliability Corporation (SERC) is responsible for ensuring a reliable and secure electric grid across 16 southeastern and central states. The SERC region lies within the Eastern Interconnection, and includes the states of Alabama, Georgia ...

(SERC); *

Texas Reliability Entity The Texas Reliability Entity (Texas RE) is one of the six Regional Entities under North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) authority. Each Regional Entity is tasked with compliance, monitoring, and enforcement on the behalf of NERC ...

(Texas RE); *

Western Electricity Coordinating Council The Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) promotes Bulk Electric System (BES) reliability for the entire Western Interconnection system. WECC is the Regional Entity responsible for compliance monitoring and enforcement. In addition, WEC ...

(WECC). The original list included eight entities, two REs were later dissolved: *

Southwest Power Pool Southwest Power Pool (SPP) manages the electric grid and wholesale power market for the central United States. As a regional transmission organization, the nonprofit corporation is mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to ensure ...

regional entity operation was dissolved in 2018 (by merging into MRO), *

Florida Reliability Coordinating Council The Florida Reliability Coordinating Council (FRCC) was (until 2019) one of the Regional Entities (REs) that were delegated authority to ensure reliability by North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) in North America and was forme ...

was dissolved in July 2019 (by merging into SERC).

Functions

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. An RE approves the transmission plans and chooses the projects for regional (as opposed to per-local-pricing-zone) cost allocation. One of the important roles of an RE is suggesting to NERC (and

FERC The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in ...

) 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.

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

ERO Enterprise , Regional Entities
(NERC Web site) {{Electric-stub Electric grid interconnections in North America