Reliability News No. 6
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation reliability model
To ensure the power market in North America operates efficiently and fairly, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has developed a reliability functional model that also provides the foundation for its reliability standards.
The model defines the functions and responsibilities electric utilities must perform to ensure the reliability of the Bulk Electric System (such as real-time generation/load balancing and reliability operations) and assigns each one to a functional entity, regardless of the organization’s legal status or business model.
These reliability functions include the Reliability Coordinator, Transmission Owner/Operator and the Generator Owner/Operator. As a result, a power company may play the role of different reliability functions. In Québec, some functions are the responsibility of a small number of entities, or even a single entity, which are defined in the tables below.
NERC Reliability Functional Model and functional entities in Québec (based on the 2024)
Standards and Compliance
| Function | Name of functional entity | Entity |
|---|---|---|
| Standards Developer | Standards Development | NERC, NPCC |
| Compliance Enforcement Authority (CEA) | Compliance Enforcement | NERC, NPCC, Régie |
| Reliability Assurer | Reliability Assurance | NPCC, NERC |
Reliability Service
| Function | Name of functional entity | Entity |
|---|---|---|
| Reliability Coordinator (RC) | Operating Reliability | DPCMEER |
| Transmission Service Provider (TSP) | Transmission Service | HQ |
| Planning Coordinator (PC) | Planning Reliability | HQ |
| Balancing Authority (BA) | Balancing | DPCMEER |
| Function | Name of functional entity | Entity |
|---|---|---|
| Market Operator | Market Operations | HQ and others |
Planning and Operations
| Function | Name of functional entity | Entity |
|---|---|---|
| Transmission Owner (TO) | Transmission Ownership | HQ and others |
| Transmission Operator (TOP) | Transmission Operations | DPCMEER |
| Transmission Planner (TP) | Transmission Planning | HQ |
| Resource Planner (RP) | Resource Planning | HQ |
| Generator Owner (GO) | Generator Ownership | HQ and others |
| Generator Operator (GOP) | Generator Operations | HQ |
| Load-Serving Entity (LSE) | Load-Serving | HQ |
| Distribution Provider (DP) | Distribution | HQ and others |
Acronyms
| DPCMEER: | Direction principale – Contrôle des mouvements d’énergie et exploitation du réseau [system control and operation] |
| HQ: | Hydro-Québec |
| NERC: | North American Electric Reliability Corporation |
| NPCC: | Northeast Power Coordinating Council |
| Others: | Entities other than HQ that are subject to the reliability standards |
In addition to providing the mechanisms that allow the power market to operate, the model defines the functions needed to ensure real-time generation/load balancing and Bulk Electric System reliability. The model is presented in detail in two NERC documents: Reliability Functional Model – Function Definitions and Functional Entities, Version 5 and Reliability Functional Model – Technical Document, Version 5.