The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s Large Loads Task Force recently released its first white paper, which includes recommendations offered as guidance for future work to ensure the reliability and security of the bulk power system.
NERC’s Reliability and Security Technical Committee (RSTC) established the Large Load Task Force (LLTF) to analyze the reliability impacts related to emerging large loads (e.g., data centers (including cryptocurrency mining and AI), industrial facilities, and hydrogen production facilities).
The white paper released in July characterizes large loads and defines the reliability risks that they may pose to the bulk power system.
A reliability gap analysis white paper will follow, shedding more light on where the most significant risks exist.
The loads examined in the paper range in size from several megawatts to several gigawatts, “posing novel challenges to the reliability and security of the BPS.”
Several Reliability Coordinators and utilities have existing large-load constructs based primarily on facility peak demand, the white paper noted. “However, additional characteristics should be considered in any definition of large loads, as this white paper shows that peak demand is only one of many characteristics that can impact BPS reliability.”
The Large Load Task Force analyzed the following risk categories for the white paper:
• Large Load Observability and Data Risks
• Long-Term Planning
• Operations and Balancing
• Stability
• Power Quality
• Physical and Cyber Security Risks
• Load Shedding Programs and System Restoration
The white paper includes the recommendations that are offered as guidance for future work to ensure the reliability and security of the bulk power system:
• Recommendation 1: The NERC LLTF should identify existing processes and standards that do not fully address the risks of emerging large loads, as planned for the LLTF’s second work item -- White Paper: Assessment of Gaps in Existing Practices, Requirements, and Reliability Standards for Emerging Large Loads.
• Recommendation 2: The LLTF should identify potential mitigations to risks posed by emerging large loads through improvements to existing planning and operation processes and interconnection procedures for large loads as planned for the LLTF’s third work item -- Reliability Guideline: Risk Mitigation for Emerging Large Loads.
• Recommendation 3: The LLTF should clearly define each of the identified characteristics of emerging large loads and develop a framework for classifying large loads.
• Recommendation 4: The NERC Load Modeling Working Group should create and approve load models that can show the characteristics and risks of each category of emerging large loads in simulations.
• Recommendation 5: The NERC System Protection and Control Working Group should assess possible protection system impacts to the BPS from emerging large loads.
• Recommendation 6: The NERC Energy Reliability Assessment Working Group and Probabilistic Assessments Working Group should investigate methods for grid operators and planners to assess the risks potentially posed by emerging large loads to resource adequacy.
