Today’s LiveWire Spotlight evaluates NERC’s detailed recap and analysis of the eighteen-minute oscillation event which set off alarms or alerts at nearly every Control Center in the Eastern Interconnection on January 11, 2019. The report confirms the source of the forced oscillation was a steam turbine in a combined cycle plant located in Florida, although investigators also discovered defects in the interconnected BA/RC/TOP alarm analysis systems and procedures that prevented a more-timely resolution of the problem.
As follow-up, NERC’s Synchronized Measurement Subcommittee expects to develop a white paper identifying any RC-to-RC coordination gaps in the IRO standards. Requirements for oscillation trouble-shooting tools and turbine control settings may also be considered.