2013 Northwest Hydro Operators Forum Hydro Reporting to NERC GADS Steve Wenke Avista May 7, 2013

GADS Benefits Generator Availability Data System (GADS) To Reliability Organizations:  Data to provide information to help set policies  Data to research systemic problems  Data to find trends with generating resources To Generator Owners  Performance statistics to measure your operation  Benchmark information to help improve your operation

Mandatory GADS Reporting GADS Reporting became Mandatory for 50 MW and Larger in 2012 for 20 MW and Larger in 2013 As you begin to provide the data requested in the report, it becomes quickly apparent that the system is not developed around hydro generating assets.

GADS Reporting Requirements Design Data – nameplate and other rating information Performance Data – unit performance statistics such as MWh’s, Forced Outages, etc. Event Data – descriptions of outages and other details

GADS Reporting Design Data This data included:  GADS Utility Code- GADS Unit Code  Unit Name- Commercial Date  Type of Unit- Size (in MW)  State Located In

GADS Reporting Performance Data  Generation (MWh’s)  On Line hours  Off Line hours  Unit Service Hours (synchronized to grid)  Reserve Shutdown Hours  Synchronous Condense Hours (Motored)  Planned Outage Hours  Unplanned (Forced) Outage Hours  Maintenance Outage Hours  Outage Extension Hours  Unit De-Ratings

GADS Reporting Performance Data Net Maximum Capacity - This is the maximum output of the plant less any station service consumption Gross Maximum Capacity - This is the maximum output of the generator Net Dependable Capacity – This is plant capacity that is available due to outside restrictions. This is net any station service Gross Dependable Capacity - This is the maximum output of the generator due to outside restrictions Reserve Shutdown – unit available but not synchronized for economic reasons.

GADS Reporting Event Data Events are either an outage of some type or a de-rating of some type These are broken down further into planned outages, unplanned outages, planned de-ratings, and unplanned de-ratings

GADS Reporting Event Data Each time a generator breaker operates, an event must be recorded For each event, the operator must report:  The Cause Code of the event – There are several hundred codes to select, depending on the type of unit  The Amplification Code – There are dozens of these codes, depending on the original cause code  Times and Durations  Any Time Extensions

Hydro Specific Issues When there is less than full plant capacity in river flow, should you: a)Report the operating hours? b)Track the times the units are shut down as Reserve Shutdown? c)Report that the unit is down due to lack of fuel? Most seem to report lack of full plant water as a Reserve Shutdown (RS) event. This creates a lot of data for those projects that may be able to peak multiple times each day. Some owners report as “lack of fuel – outside management control”. Some owners don’t report these events at all.

Dependable Capacity Should dependable capacity be defined at minimum head? At maximum head? Does it depend on the time of day? The time of year?

Other Questions being Considered What if you are saving the water to push through the machines for peaking power? What if you are a “run of river” project that can’t regulate water levels? What if you can swap units? How are ramp rate restrictions handled? If your operation is restricted by fish, wildlife, or recreational requirements, do you identify these as “forced de-rates” or “forced outages”. Are they outside management control? Should these be reported at all?

What are we doing to resolve this? It is important, that if we must report this information that the industry get some benefit from this data in terms of benchmarking, performance information, etc. To accomplish this objective, we need to develop either new descriptions or better definitions of existing terms for hydro owners to report.

What can you do? If interested, please provide input on these concepts through: CEATI – that has established a working group that has been recently engaged on this Provide input to me with your thoughts on how best to address these issues. Also, you can monitor NERC’s activities on GADS. However, this is not a standard and changes are not vetted as you might be familiar with.

Questions? Contact Information: Steve Wenke (509)