FERC Requests Comments On Appropriate Performance And Compensation Requirements For Frequency Response From New And Existing Generation Resources

On February 18, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC" or the "Commission") issued a Notice of Inquiry ("NOI") seeking comments on the need for reforms to its rules and regulations regarding the provision and compensation of primary frequency response. As described by the Commission, "Frequency Response" is "a measure of an Interconnection's ability to arrest and stabilize frequency deviations within pre-determined limits following the sudden loss of generation or load." Primary frequency response is used to maintain an electrical frequency of 60 Hz among the three synchronous interconnections in the United States (Eastern, Western, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas), when certain contingencies (e.g. the loss of a large generator) disrupt the balance between generation and load.