Find, Fix and Track Entity, Docket No. RC12-6 (December 30, 2011)
Reliability Standard: VAR-002-1a
Requirement: R3
Region: FRCC
Issue: FFT Entity self-certified it was not in compliance with the requirements of VAR-002-1.1a R3. In particular, FFT Entity found evidence that its generating unit operator did not notify the TOP of a mode status change from automatic to manual for its Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) within 30 minutes. In addition, the operator did not report how long the change was expected to last. The inadvertent status change was caused by a failure of the AVR control logic which caused a malfunction to manual mode.
Finding: FRCC found the issue posed a minimal and not serious or substantial risk to the reliability of the BPS because the operators were still controlling voltage manually. In addition, the TOP did know of the AVR status through the EMS. Furthermore, this issue was limited to a single instance. Lastly, the unit was only in “manual” mode for 12 minutes before being returned to “automatic.”
