.svg)
Transcript
NERC Compliance and Testing
When protective systems react as intended, they prevent major failures that could injure employees or endanger power systems our communities rely on. IHI Power Services Corp. (IPSC) operates power plants with a commitment to safety, reliability, and environmental stewardship. They are a subsidiary of IHI Corporation, with a global presence in aerospace, industrial services, and power generation.
Challenge
Upon taking over operations of a power generation plant in Lorain, Ohio, IPSC discovered some protection system devices had been previously left out of a testing program for PRC-005-6 compliance standards.
NERC compliance requirements update frequently, adding more equipment, more settings, and more stringent requirements. IPSC needed to update their testing program quickly and mitigate any deficiencies at the first outage of opportunity.
“I work with many different testing companies, and the level of familiarity with the PRC-005- 6 Standard and testing methods demonstrated by ABM has led me to take comfort that our protection system program documents and testing should pass audits without issue.”
— Angela Mendolia
NERC Manager, IHI Power Services Corp
Solution
ABM helps over 40 power generation operating units for six different operating companies across Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Virginia meet the ongoing challenge of NERC compliance. Having experience testing at various sites, our team was ready with recommendations that would keep them in compliance.
Experience with NERC Compliance
“I started working with ABM to update the program and ensure all applicable devices were tested,” said Angela Mendolia, NERC Manager for IPSC. “The ABM team leader was very knowledgeable on the requirements of the NERC PRC-005-6 Standard and how to lay out documentation that was very easy for Regional Entity Auditors to follow.”
ABM was able to help IPSC meet commitments to the regional operating authority with a plan to meet each short outage window as they occurred. To avoid a full outage on incoming lines, our teams were able to isolate primaries and test backups without causing inadvertent trips and outages to the interconnecting utility substation. ABM provided testing and engineering services to support:
- PRC-005-6 NERC compliance through relay testing, DC critical circuit testing, and online CT/PT verifications
- PRC-025 compliance through relay settings changes and testing
- PRC-027 compliance through relay settings changes and testing
Benefits
ABM fields highly skilled engineers with experience testing assets in the bulk electric system at 138 kV and above, including Level 3 and 4 NETA certified technicians with years of combined NERC experience. Once our experts helped update the site NERC compliance program and documents, our teams were able to schedule testing within the operator’s requirements and complete testing within compliance deadlines.
“When we discovered there were certain components missing from our Protection System program, the ABM team was able to review and verify the components, determine what needed to be added to the program, and get everything tested on schedule,” said Mendolia. “They even helped update the program document.”
ABM expanded NERC compliance support to IPSC-operated power generation plants in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, with benefits including:
- Proactively scheduling testing needs with our compliance database
- Preventing fines and keeping generating plants vin compliance
- Mitigating risk and cost of liability
- Helping the plant operator provide reliability to communities and customers
- Testing and verifying protective systems are reacting as designed, to provide a safe workplace and prevent major failures
