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Enron Mail |
Mark -
The ad hoc team's product is attached. It is a suggested revision to the NERC A3A1 time table for the WSCC. Some basic points are: * Elimination of manually setting the WSCC pre-schedule flag. The table provides rules for the e-tag software to automatically set the flag. * The majority of our efforts were focussed on creating an incentive mechanism to encourage timely tag submission and assessment. The team agreed that the best incentive mechanism would be a financial one (i.e., tags submitted close to the deadline would pay a high submittal fee - tags submitted early in the hour would pay little or no submittal fee - approval entities would receive compensation for assessing/approving late tags, etc.). But, a financial mechanism would have to go through a cumbersome review/approval process which would be too inflexible for the fast paced world of E-Tag and NERC's electronic scheduling. So, the suggested incentive process increases the risk of a tag not being approved the closer the submittal time is to the start time. To do this, we considered three parameters - the assessment window, deferred denial, and the default composite status. * The assessment window is a period time that the E-Tag Authority Service gives the Approval Services to assess a submitted tag. Each Approval Service is to check the tag for various things and respond with a approved or denied vote back to Authority service who then set the final composite status. * Deferred denial is when a entity denies a tag, the composite status does not immediately become Denied, but instead waits until the end of the assessment window to set the composite status. This allows the denying approval entity time to reconsider their vote and change it, if appropriate. * The default composite status is a final stated reached at the end of the assessment window when one or more approval entities fails to actively approve or deny a tag. Currently, tags submitted before a certain deadline will have their final composite status default to Approved. Tags submitted after a certain deadline will have their final composite status default to Denied. For real-time tagging, we cite the hour-ahead business where Purchasing-selling entities trade products for delivery in the next hour. * Tags submitted in the first half of the hour-ahead, referred to 0 to 30 past, will have a 10 minute assessment window, are subjected to deferred denial, and will default to Approved/Conditional. * Tags submitted from 30 to 40 past, will have a 10 minute assessment window, are not subjected to deferred denial (can be called instant denial), and but will still default to Approved/Conditional. * Tags submitted in the after 40 past, will have a 5 minute assessment window, are not subjected to deferred denial (can be called instant denial), and will default to Denied (thus assigned a composite status of Late). * The table references specific times in the submittal and assessment process which should all reference a consistent time zone standard. The team was divided on the best approach. Some suggested all times on the table be the prevailing time for the LCA. This would require each CA to include in the e-tag registry their time zone. Some suggested all times on the table be in Pacific Prevailing Time. And some suggested that all times on the table be in Pacific Standard Time. The conclusion is that a white paper would be produced prior to the July ISAS meeting discussing the pros and cons of each suggestion. * The group does not recommend basing submittal time on the tag agent's time clock - submittal time should stay with the authority service. * Here's a big one - because the timing table allows for later submittal times, the tag assessment process is encroaching on the start of the WSCC standard ramp (i.e., currently starts at 10 minutes before the hour). We are recommending that ISAS request the OC to study the feasibility of moving the WSCC standard ramp from a twenty minute duration straddling the hour to 10 minute duration straddling the hour (i.e., starts at 0:55 and ends at 0:05). Such a change would align the WSCC with the Eastern Interconnection and relieve some of the issues surrounding late tag submittals. * There was some discussion on establishing a new regional practice for the tariff deadline for schedule changes (most are set to 20 before the start). It was felt that there is little chance at getting all entities to change their tariffs in a coordinated and timely manner. * The team did not want to address at this time issues concerning multiple preschedule days and how they are not recognized in Policy 3 or the E-Tag specifications. * Finally, the team can not stress enough that a composite status of Late should not and does not mean automatic denial. The Late designation simple indicates that the default composite status is Denied. Approval entities should make every effort to assess all tags, Late or not. Hurray for the team members, many, many thanks. <<tag time table draft_rev3.doc<< Robert Harshbarger Puget Sound Energy OASIS Trading Manager 425.882.4643 (desk) 206.604.3251 (cell) - tag time table draft_rev3.doc
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